Cleaning Tip of the Month

Jumbo Vacs for Jumbo Cleaning Needs

By Mike Schaffer

When it comes to the cleaning and maintenance of large industrial facilities, such as factories floors, metal shops, and warehouses, many facility managers prefer wet/dry shop vacuums, which can be purchased from most “big-box” retailers.

However, in most cases, these shop vacuums are designed for household or light industrial cleaning and not for the heavy-duty cleaning needs of a factory or an assembly line. And these shop vacs tend to be expensive to operate. Replacements are often required since these machines, which are not well-suited for the required tasks, often become non-operational after just a few months.

Enter the Jumbo Vac

Industrial vacuums, also known as jumbo vacs, are a much more reliable, cost effective, and powerful option for large industrial facilities. These mighty wet/dry vacuums are capable of picking up material as heavy as lead shot or as fine as mist. Powered by compressed air, these vacuums have waterlift that is substantially beyond that found in traditional, smaller wet/dry vacuums. They are also designed for rapid, high-volume recovery of wet and dry debris.

In some settings, jumbo vacs are used to clean tools and factory machinery because they are able to remove bulk fly ash, refractory slag, heavy oils, cooling fluids, metal chips, dust, dirt, grease, oil, and other soils, which can harm factory equipment and create costly downtime. 

For example, in factories that produce tires, auto and industrial belts, and gaskets, a fine powder is used as a pigment. If not adequately removed from floors and workstations, this powder can become airborne and a potential health problem. Indeed, jumbo vacs are becoming a key component in improving factory/industrial worker’s productivity, health, and safety.

Vacuum on a Drum

Industrial vacuums deposit most collected waste into large drums. Certain more durable machines, such as Tornado’s Jumbo Vacs with 55-gallon “ribbed” steel drums, have greater capacity than traditional plastic or stainless steel tanks and have a drain valve for convenient removal of liquids.

The “ribbed” steel design helps provide strength and durability as negative pressure builds up in the drum. The vacuum powerhead, which sits on the drum’s top, is an air-compressor system with poly bags attached for recovery and containment of such materials as metal shavings, dust, sand, sawdust, and chips.  

And, Tornado’s industrial vacuum systems have several attachments and tools for various cleaning needs. Accessories include: wands, hoses, squeegees, crevice and dusting tools, attachments made specifically for carpet and hard-surface floor cleaning, and a four-wheel steel dolly, which adds portability.

The bottom line: when it comes time to evaluate a product-market match, be sure to select equipment that is adequately fits the job.