A wet/dry vac is the tool you forget about for months and then need badly at nine on a Saturday night. The Vacmaster Beast Series FLT+ is a 10-gallon, 6.5 peak HP shop vac that sells for $199.99 and moves the filter out of the tank and up into the lid. Vacmaster sent one over, and it has handled everything I have thrown at it so far. There is one cleanup job it should not be used for, and that is worth knowing before you buy.
The Vacmaster Beast Series FLT+ 10-Gallon Wet/Dry Vac, model VJN1012PF 0201, carries an MSRP of $199.99 and is available direct from Vacmaster or on Amazon.com.
The money difference between a bargain shop vac and the Beast shows up in the parts you touch most.
- The filter lives in the lid - FLT+ puts the flat filter outside the tank, so you can check or clean it without pulling the powerhead off a full drum.
- A wireless key runs it - a Synchro remote key ships in the box and pairs to the powerhead.
- Your saw can switch it on - the Synchro outlet ties the vac's power to whatever tool is plugged into it.
- HEPA material down to 0.3 microns - the flat filter and the high-efficiency dust bag are rated for fine particles, not just wood chips and gravel.
- A self-cleaning filter and an LED readout - the powerhead carries a smart LED filter status display alongside a self-cleaning filter function.
- Wet Cleanup, From Soaked Floormats To A Flooded Basement
- The FLT+ Filter Sits In The Lid, Not The Tank
- The Remote And The Tool Outlet Helps Keep Sawdust Out Of The Air
- Garage Carpet, Leaves, And Vacuuming Up Patio Debris
- Do Not Vacuum Charcoal Ash With A Shop Vac!
- This Vac Really Sucks But The Hose Could Be A Bit Longer
- Who The $200 Beast Is For (and who should skip it!)
Most of what follows comes from putting this thing to work around the garage and the yard. The spec sheet is fine, but what sold me on owning a wet dry vac at all was a mess I did not have the right tool for.
Wet Cleanup, From Soaked Floormats To A Flooded Basement
A few weeks before this vac showed up, the condensation drain on my Passport plugged and started leaking inside the car. By the time I found it, the floormats were soaked through.
I did not own a wet dry vac. What I owned was a handheld vacuum, which I appropriated for the job, and which is no longer with us. It mostly worked, right up until enough water reached the motor to kill it.
The Beast would have made short work of it. That is the case for owning one before you need one, and the list of jobs it covers is longer than most people think. Water in the basement, a pot that goes over on the kitchen floor, a shower leaking past the pan. A household vacuum is the wrong tool for every one of them, as my handheld demonstrated.
The FLT+ Filter Sits In The Lid, Not The Tank
FLT+ stands for Filter Lift Technology, and it is why this vac looks different from the one your dad had in the basement. The flat HEPA-material filter sits in a tray on top of the powerhead instead of on a cage down inside the drum.
On a conventional shop vac, checking the filter means unlatching the powerhead, lifting it off a tank that may be full of water or debris, and finding somewhere to set it down that will not tip. Here you flip the lid open and look at it.
Two things come along with that. The filter is rated for particles down to 0.3 microns and pairs with a high-efficiency dust bag for the fine stuff, and the powerhead carries a self-cleaning filter function plus a smart LED filter status display, so the state of the filter is something you read off the panel rather than something you diagnose after the suction has gone soft.
Keeping the filter out of the tank also means it is not sitting in whatever you just picked up, which you appreciate the next time you open the thing after a wet job.
The Remote And The Tool Outlet Helps Keep Sawdust Out Of The Air
The powerhead carries a three-position switch marked I, O, and a wireless symbol. In the wireless position the remote key takes over, so the vac can sit parked behind the car while you keep working at the bench.
The tool outlet is the half I would miss more. A saw or sander with the right dust port plugs straight into the vac, which powers up on the trigger and shuts down a moment after you let go. You are collecting sawdust at the blade instead of breathing it and sweeping it up later. If you do your own brake jobs or share a garage for weekend projects, that outlet changes how the work goes.
Garage Carpet, Leaves, And Vacuuming Up Patio Debris
So far it has vacuumed the outdoor carpet, pulled up leaves and dust, and cleaned the carpet in the garage. It is also the tool you want after a long drive, when the floor of the car is carrying a weekend of sand and drive-thru debris.
The garage carpet is the job that sold me. It collects the pieces of scrap that would destroy the upright vacuum we use inside the house, and likely my marriage along with it. The Beast handles that, which is how the good vacuum stays inside where it belongs.
Do Not Vacuum Charcoal Ash With A Shop Vac!
I assumed a 10-gallon vac with a HEPA-rated filter would be the answer for seasonal grill and firebox cleanup. It is not, and I am glad I checked before I tried it!
Vacmaster's own wet-dry vac manuals are blunt about it: do not pick up hot ashes, coals, toxic, flammable, or other hazardous materials. Charcoal and wood ash hold live embers far longer than they look like they should, and a plastic tank full of fine dust is the wrong place to discover that. Fine ash also loads a pleated filter fast and pushes through into the airstream.
Vacmaster sells a separate answer for exactly this job. Their ash vacuums, the 6-gallon EATC608S and the 5-gallon stainless EAV508S, use metal tanks and are built for cold ash out of grills, fireplaces and pellet stoves. If cleaning out the smoker is on your list, that is the tool for it, not this one.
This Vac Really Sucks But The Hose Could Be A Bit Longer
We all joke about size doesn't matter, it's how you use it and while this vac really sucks - it's truly a BEAST - but, if I change one thing it is making the hose longer. Vacmaster quotes 27 feet of cleaning reach, but that figure is a 7-foot hose plus a 20-foot cord. Seven feet means you reposition the vac more often on a big job, though it rolls easily, so moving it is no great chore. Still I had to find something to nit pic on this amazing shop vac so there we are :)
Luckily, the hose detaches completely, so it is fixable. Vacmaster's own V78SH is an 11-foot 1-7/8 inch hose that fits most of their 1-7/8 inch systems, which buys four more feet.
I have not swapped one on yet, so take that as a starting point and not a confirmed fit. The stock hose locks into the inlet, and the only 1-7/8 inch Secure Fit hose Vacmaster currently lists is a 7-footer, which suggests the longer one may trade the lock for the length. Check the part number against your model before you order.
If you want real distance, Cen-Tec makes an extended shop vac hose in 20 and 30 foot lengths, with a 1-7/8 inch swivel end that takes standard wands and accessories. The tank end is a 2.25 inch male fitting sized for common shop vac inlets, and the barrel is narrower at 1.5 inches, so you trade a little airflow for the reach. Confirm that fitting against your own vac before you buy.
Who The $200 Beast Is For (and who should skip it!)
At $199.99, this Vacmaster Beast FLT+ is not the cheapest way to own a wet-dry vac, and it is not trying to be. If you have been getting by with a basic $50 shop vac and you have decided you are done with it, this is the tier you move up to. You are paying for the filter access, the remote and the tool outlet, and those are the three things I would not want to give back. It's also the right pick for a guy building out a premium garage that wants to upgrade from that cheap Walmart special they picked up on Black Friday a few years ago.
On the other hand, this is overkill for a guy who will have it sitting in the toolshed only to use it once a year. If your only need is for emergencies such as cleaning up when the sump overflows then you probably don't need something this awesome ... but you'll still be happy if you do get it :)
Two details to know before it shows up. The hose pulls off the intake and pushes onto the blower port, so the unit that vacuums the garage also clears the driveway and blows the leaves off the deck. And that 20-foot cord reaches a car sitting in the driveway from a garage outlet, which means the mess that started all of this gets handled without hunting for an extension cord first.
Plus, remember that warning earlier about not VACUMING your ash ... while Vacmaster probably doesn't endorse this method, I've taken my leaf blower to the grill before ... after converting the vac to blower mode, using the hose is a LOT better for blowing out the ash rather than sucking it in. Make sure to wear a good face mask and eye protection before doing this, though!
For current pricing and availability, check Amazon.com.