Hoover L2310 GUV 10 Amp 5-Gallon Garage Utility Vacuum
by Hoover
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Hoover L2310 GUV 10 Amp 5-Gallon Garage Utility Vacuum
Customer Review: Handy Utility Vac
Summary: 5 Stars
I have used this Hoover "garage utility vacuum" for many years in multiple houses. We have moved often. I always moved the vacuum and was one of the first items installed, although you can use it not mounted to a wall (semi-mobile). In fact, I have a wheeled base made from a plant container mover that I can use to roll the GUV around. As others have related, it works well, with sufficient suction for any job I needed, and is relatively quiet. It is WAY quieter than any Shop-Vac I have used. I currently have one in my garage and another in my basement. Both are so handy to just unroll the hose, turn on, clean up, and then shut off and re-roll the hose. I have it close to my workshop areas (benches and power saws) so don't even have to unroll the complete hose most of the time.
There are a few special things I've discovered. (1)The main one is that the permanent filter MUST be cleaned periodically to re-gain maximum suction. It is a round fabric material inside the main canister that raises up towards the motor when the suction starts. It filters the fine dust while the larger & heavier items fall down into the lower tank. To clean the filter, remove the lower tank. While off, put a garbage bag around the opening at the bottom of the main tank. Hold the bag tight around the tank with one hand and reach up inside the garbage bag and tank so your hand reaches the fabric filter. Then move your hand all around the filter using your fingers as if vigorously scratching someone's back. This loosens the caked-on fine dust and dirt. The dirt will fall down inside the garbage bag. Remove the garbage bag and empty the lower tank into it. Install the lower tank and you're ready for maximum suction once again. Needing to clean the filter is no different than any, and all, other vacuum I've used, as all have had filters that got clogged. For instance, the wall-mount Shop-Vac Hang Up Pro 5-Gallon clogged MUCH faster than the GUV. It also was too loud for me. My old Craftsman roll-around utility vac filter clogged very fast too. The GUV maintains sufficient suction much longer and the filter is easier to clean than any of the pleated filters. (2) You can make emptying the tank easier by installing a bag inside the tank before re-mounting it. Just let the bag edges stick out around the rubber seal. The dirt will already be in the bag and tank stays much cleaner. I don't do that because I prefer to clean the filter with a new garbage bag as described above in #1 and then empty the tank into that bag. (3) The hose may eventually work itself loose during use so I always give it a push in when I turn it on. (4) The top gets pretty hot so I don't put anything on top to help cool it, and eliminate possibility of heat damage to anything put on the top. (5) The GUV is DRY use only; no wet pick-up.
The only problem I've experienced is the small on/off switch went bad on one GUV early in its life. I had identical rocker switches in my work shop so merely replaced it. I suspect it would be an item kept in stock at any B&D parts supplier.
Customer Review: A Great Garage Vacuum
Summary: 5 Stars
I had never heard of this product until I saw it on sale for half-price at a major retail chain. I decided to buy it after doing some quick online searching for info. I have had it for less than a week but I am utterly giddy with the purchase. It only took about 10 minutes to install but I had to use my own screws as Hoover provides four screws and anchors for drywall. Mine is mounted on a stud that is in back of pegboard and I needed longer screws because of the way I mounted it. I would have preferred to have the vacuum mounted elsewhere but the 5 foot cord leaves few options.
I then used the vacuum to clean the garage and two cars. My garage was dirty with small debris, leaves, dirt, cottonwood seeds, sand, some chipmunk droppings, and scattered other small items. The vacuum has several attachments and I employed about half of them to help with cleaning different parts of the garage. I did not have to move items since the vacuum provides enough suction and small attachments to get under shelving, workbenches and standing cabinets. Wow, this thing is great. I used it to remove spider webs from the ceiling and it was no problem with the long hose and long set of attachments. There is NO WAY I can do that with a typical garage vacuum. It took about an hour to get the garage cleaned and it looked great. I then quickly vacuumed two cars.
The product is really helpful and I know that my garage is going to remain clean going forward. It is so easy to attach the hose to the unit and vacuum up a mess. Suction is excellent and the noise produced by the machine is low. Attachments and the 30' hose round out the great things about the machine. The hose and attachments are easily stored near the vacuum. I did not find an issue with dust being blown out the top of the machine. I assume one has to keep the filter clean to prevent this from happening. The one negative about the vacuum is the 5 foot power cord. Knowing what I do about the vacuum I would recommend that someone pay an electrician to put an outlet in the preferred spot if your current outlet is not suitable.
Update: It has now been a month since I purchased this product and after a number of uses have the following additional comments. It continues to work great and is still worthy of 5-stars. Attaching and then detaching the hose and storing it after use takes about 90 seconds so that is no big deal. My garage is still clean. I have cleaned the filter once. Wow, it was dirty. You have to be careful in removing the filter or dust/dirt will spew everywhere. I would recommend taking the unit off the wall when removing the filter. The filter istelf is pretty nifty and is easy to get out and put back in. The ease in cleaning the garage now just blows me away. This machine is nothing like a typical garage utility vac. It is well worth the money.
Customer Review: This thing sucks!
Summary: 5 Stars
And I mean that in the most positive way possible.
It's had a workout already, cleaning the garage, vehicles, screened porch, and most recently, demolition debris from a kitchen renovation project that we've just started. Keeping in mind one reviewer's comments that this cannot suck up chunks of wood, I picked up or swept any larger pieces by hand, and let the vacuum handle anything that would fit easily in its hose. Small bits of drywall up to roughly 1" were no problem, wood shavings, sawdust, etc. were easy.
With the unit in the garage (mounted near the entry door) and the hose running into the house, it is quiet; a lot like using a central vac system.
When working in the garage with it, the noise level is still very tolerable. When vacuuming off my workbench I realized that the noise of the air coming into the nozzle was louder than the sound of the vacuum system itself.
With my old Shop Vac, I had to wear hearing protection. Not needed with this vac. I'll keep the shop vac for when I actually need to suck up water -- that's the only thing this unit can't do.
Lots of attachments including a nice wide floor cleaner that is great for getting the finer construction debris and dust, and not filling up the (expensive!) vacuum bags of our regular Miele vacuum.
I agree with the reviewers who stated that the unit gets quite warm. Not a problem in a garage but I might be concerned about installing it in a small closet, for example.
If there is any downside to it, it's cleaning the filter. I've only had to do it once and I got dust all over the place, so I think it's just going to take me some time to figure out the right tricks.
Finally, what a rare pleasure it is to unbox an item that was not made in China. The quality of material is striking, as soon as you start unpacking it.
I'd like to see Amazon tag every item with its primary country of origin. I factor that into my buying decisions whenever possible.
Customer Review: Geat Garage/Utility Vac, but Attachment Could be Better
Summary: 4 Stars
This is about the best solution to the garage/utility vac I've found. The idea is that instead of pulling something on wheels all over the place and having the thing tip over or the hose pull out or it gets snagged on obstacles, you hang the vac (out of the way), and simply use the 30 foot hose to get to any area of your garage or cars. Suction is excellent, at least as good as any of the high-end vacs I've used, noise is reasonable, construction is very high quality. The all-metal tank enclosure that hangs on the wall is built like, well, a tank. The only disappointment was the quality of the attachments. The extension wands are a very flimsy thin plastic. Once, stepping backwards on one I actually cracked and broke it (I weigh 200 lbs.; I'm not fat but a big guy). Trying to buy a replacement part from Hoover is a nightmare. Other than bags and belts, pretty much nothing available from them on their web site. You have to call an 800 #, where an operator will give you the name of an "authorized Hoover dealer" who you then have to call for the privilege of having them order you a $3 part. The dealer I called was 1/2 hour away, and had no idea what I was talking about despite my having supplied him with the model # of the vac (the manual does not give you a parts diagram or exploded view). He just sold household vacs and clearly didn't want to be bothered with me. Hoover apparantly belongs to the old school mentality of "protecting their dealers," a great philosophy I guess if you have dealers worth protecting, but what about your customers?
Finally figured out that Sears sells this vac and in five minutes I had my part ordered on their web site which is excellent for parts replacement.
So I'm taking away one star for this dual annoyance of cheap attachments and making it as hard as possible to get replacement parts. But overall this thing rocks and I'm very pleased with it.
Customer Review: Great Vac, a few things missing
Summary: 4 Stars
I won't duplicate everything others have said, but a few thoughts from a 6' guy with a three car garage:
- The vac is much quieter than my shop vac and more convenient, a real positive.
- It comes with two extension wands which you use to vacuum floors. For me, the two wands just didn't provide enough length to avoid stooping a bit. Hoover does sell extras for around $6 each on their web site; they also carry all of the accessories if you need to replace something.
- Directions really aren't the greatest for installation. It tells you how to mount the vac to the wall using the bracket, but doesn't discuss how the bag and hose mounts. Can figure it out, but would have appreciated a little more guidance. Also, my vac did not ship with any fasteners, even though it was a factory sealed box, and the directions discussed them.
- This is a great vac for floor cleaning, car detailing, etc. I don't think it'd work as a dust collector in lieu of a shop vac or other collector as suction volume isn't quite there. Then again, it's much quieter and easier to use, so that's the tradeoff.
Overall a good purchase with a few minor things I wish were better. But a vast improvement over my 15 year old Sears Shop Vac for general cleanup.
LATE UPDATE: Recently completed some drywall work in the garage and used this to clean it up. Good news, the filter didn't let dust through. Bad news - it clogged quickly, and was a bear to remove and clean. Really wish it had an easier to remove and clean filter, the recommended method of using a grocery sack below the vac to catch dust isn't real efficient. Recommend taping a kitchen trash bag around the rim of the outside, then pulling it into that, otherwise you'll dump dust all over. Yech!