Melinda,
I am not sure what criteria you consider most important in a vacuum. Following are my suggestions but you need to make your own choices.
Most "shop" vacuums have HEPA particulate filtering available. Thus, inexpensive vacuums can be converted to "museum-standard" HEPA relatively easily. A critical factor to consider, though, is the cost of the HEPA filters. Some only have OME filters which tend to be more expensive, but others have aftermarket filters available that can be quite reasonable.
Variable speed is built into a few shop-type vacuums. But many vacuums can be controlled with a speed control. These generally sell for about $25 and are often marketed as router speed controls. But they work well with many vacuums. Not only is the suction reduced, but the noise level is also reduced. I have personally tested one with a Fein vacuum (a good quality German-made shop vacuum) and it worked very well. YMMV The older Fein vacuums with the round, not square, filters have very inexpensive aftermarket HEPA filters, so going used is an option for a very inexpensive vacuum. I recently purchased one on Craigslist several states away from me as it was a good value, but they also come up on ebay.
These vacuums are canister type floor units, so if you want a backpack unit, your options will be limited. But, HEPA is HEPA, so it does not matter what vacuum you use for this specification, as long as you follow the manufacturer's guidelines to achieve this. In actual fact, HEPA probably is not required for many vacuuming needs, although the standard 5 micron filtration is far too large for most instances. But 1 micron filtration often is available for low cost, and for all but the most sensitive situations, this should be fine. BTW, HEPA is 3/10 micron.
Marc
American Conservation Consortium, Ltd.
4 Rockville Road
Broad Brook, CT 06016
www.conservator.com
860-386-6058
Marc A. Williams, President
MS in Art Conservation, Winterthur Museum Program
Former Chief Wooden Objects Conservator, Smithsonian Institution
Fellow, American Institute for Conservation (AIC)
From: Melinda Mccrary
Sent: Monday, July 11, 2016 10:04 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Affordable Museum Vacuum??
Hello Listers,
Does anyone have experience in purchasing an affordable museum vacuum? I found several products online labelled museum vacuum with the hepa filter, but they are all a couple thousand dollars. Is there a traditional vacuum that can be modified for museum purposes? A low suction option is necessary for our purposes.
Any advice is much appreciated. Will take my answers off list. :-)
Have a great day!
Melinda McCrary
Richmond, CA
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