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100% Made in USA
JDM Design
FI Supports:
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Metro Vac n Blow Review
About a year ago I purchased this vacuum new during a sale from
Properautocare.com
I decided to write a review on it now because I believe I've been given ample
time to review and use it.
Current Estimated Street Price: $180
Factory Specifications:
Construction: Sturdy all steel construction
Motor: 4.0 Peak Horsepower
Voltage: 115 - 120 Volts AC
Amps: 11.25
Water Lift: 95 inches
Intro A man named Israel Stern came to the states from Poland in the
1930s. His small business of refurbishing Electrolux vacuums grew until he
developed his own dual voltage vacuum in 1964. Eventually he started his own
company "Metropolitan Vacuum" and now produces the Metro Vac. I believe the
Metro Vac has "roots" dating back to days when things were built to last and not
all colorful plastic with weird gizmos and gimmicks. This is why I decided to
get one to add to my collection of garage toys.
Review:
You get what you pay for. This vacuum has industrial quality written all over
it. Steel heavy duty construction, metal on/off switch, and thick reinforced
vacuum tubing. The clamps that hold on the cover for the bags look commericial
quality and from an engineering standpoint, this vacuum doesn't seem like it's
for home use. The only thing plastic about this vacuum is the wheels and
attachments. It reminds me of a 1970's commercial vacuum, or at least a vacuum
that'll last 30+ years.
When you turn it on, the torque of the dual ball bearing motor jolts the entire
vacuum body. You then hear a muffled wind suction like you just turned on a
Kirby vacuum. The cold rolled steel construction helps isolate the noise within
the vacuum so you hear a lot of air turbulence rather than just motor noise.
The 4.0 Peak HP motor produces 95" of water lift. To put this into perspective,
a $500 Dyson Animal has 110" of water lift. I will easily describe the suction
to be equivalent to my Rigid 4.0 peak HP shop vacuum only my rigid shop vac is
embarassingly loud and cumbersome in comparison. The Metro Vac is compact and
light enough for a strapping young man to easily carry around like a purse.
I keep my auto interior relatively clean, but I used the Metro on my interior
and it ended up filling 1/3 of the way with white/gray lint and dust. I could
literally pull out fuzz balls from the bag after vacuuming and It is like
cleaning a clothes dryer lint catch. For those with pet hair, you will need to
use the brush attachment and make a few passes. I have yet to find a vacuum
that can pull everything from auto carpet in one pass. However, this metro vac
with it's multiple attachment goes in places my other shop vac couldn't. I can
now easily vacuum under the seats and that hard to reach area next to the seat
rails. This is due to the "tube" being narrower in diameter compared to my shop
vac.
Now comes the best part. I put on this funnel attachment and switch the vacuum
to BLOWER mode. Under the hood I'm able to blow all the dust and dirt from
tiniest of nooks and crannies. I can also blow water out from the cracks of the
mirrors, door handles, and other crevasses.
When I'm done, the cord wraps around the wheeled base and the plug secures to
the cord for compact storage. I put all the attachments in a small bag and
store them next to the vacuum. The vacuum comes with a re-usable/washable
fabric bag, but also with 3 paper bags. These bags are only the size of a small
bag of chips so they'll fill up FAST if you had to vacuum an SUV. This is the
price to pay for the compact size of the vacuum. The paper bags are ONE times
use, but if you want to get FRUGAL you can empty the paper bags through the
quarter sized hole and re-use them like I did. haha
Final words:
If you're in the market for an industrial compact vacuum then the Metro is a
solid choice. If you don't care about space and loudness then just spend $40-60
on a shop vac and it's going to do the job just fine. Would I recommend this
vacuum for the professional detailer? Maybe not, due to the small bag capacity
and for pro detailing I like having a vacuum that is wet/dry.
PROS:
Steady and super strong suction.
Easy to use and service. On/off switch, retro functional design.
Compact size. Doesn't look cute, but also doesn't look goofy.
Industrial quality to survive most natural disasters
CONS:
Small capacity
Expensive... (Hint - wait for the 10% off coupons and free shipping)
Not for wet use
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