Vacmaster Professional Beast Series VFB511H 0201 5-Gallon 5.5 Peak HP Wet/Dry Vac, Black

I've been using the Vacmaster Professional Beast Series 5-Gallon 5.5 Peak HP Wet/Dry Vacuum for a few months now, and I can confidently say it's one of the best shop vacs I've ever owned. Performance: The suction power is outstanding. Whether it's sawdust, drywall debris, or water from a small leak, this vacuum handles it all with ease. The 5.5 Peak HP motor lives up to the "Beast" name – it's incredibly strong and efficient. Portability & Size: Despite its powerful motor, the unit is compact and lightweight enough to move around the garage, workshop, or even up stairs without any hassle. The 5-gallon tank is a great middle ground — large enough for most cleanup jobs but still easy to empty and store. Build Quality: Very solid and durable construction. The hose and attachments feel sturdy, not flimsy like with some other brands. The cord length is generous, and the onboard storage for tools is super convenient. Noise Level: For a vacuum this powerful, it’s surprisingly quiet. It’s not silent, of course, but it’s much less shrill than other wet/dry vacs I’ve used. Versatility: I love that it handles both wet and dry messes seamlessly. It's been a game changer for car detailing and cleaning up around the house and garage. Final Thoughts: If you're looking for a compact, powerful, and well-built wet/dry vac, the Vacmaster Beast is a fantastic choice. It's earned a permanent place in my workshop. Highly recommend!

This is the best vacuum I have ever used. I am using this for my car. It picks up dirt and crumbs with ease. The suction is really strong. To my surprise, it seems at least as strong or stronger than the vacuum at my local Caliber car wash. My carpet was padded with crushed goldfish. This vacuum picked up everything. Setting up was a breeze. It came with a vacuum bag that works really well. The hose is not super long. It does come with and extension for the nozzle, but moving the unit around is not a hassle. I just picked it up and moved it to the other side of the car. I highly recommend this for anyone looking for a car wash quality vacuum.

SUCTION POWER The suction power is just as powerful as you expect and it meets all expectations and justifies the highest rating it has received in many reviews. Easily beats everything else that I've tried before. A test for vacuuming a dirty car showed how efficient and useful it is. Cuts down the vacuum time by a lot. Another plus is that it can handle wet messes just as well. BLOWER EXHAUST Like bigger models that I was hoping to avoid, it has a permanent powerful hot exhaust that is also known as the blower. There is no way around this. All vacuums must create an exit for the suction. The blower functionality from the other end can't be turned off. The suggestion is to insert the sound muffler that comes with the accessories to reduce the sound and may decrease the intensity of air flow output and it works wonders. It works very well in eliminating the hot nasty blast and reduces the sound by a lot. But because it is hot and the foam is made of petroleum based materials, it will produce a chemical like odor. That will go away with time but at least in the beginning sessions of operation, the odor is very unpleasant. Not suggested for use in closed spaces initially. Also don't overlook the usefulness of a blower function. It can dub as a leaf blower, replace compressed air can functions like cleaning computer boards if you fit it with the right adapters and even help inflate things. DESIGN Overall, it is better than competition both in terms of accessories and size. I also like the attempts for helping the user organize the accessories and the hose. There are places to put in the attachments so they won't go missing. INCREDIBLE PRICE It is worth every penny and beats every other model I've tried/owned. You would think a combination of all this which is a rarity in all other models would be very costly but it isn't. The bags are priced very reasonably and easily replaceable/accessible. No price gouging on frequent replacement and throw away designs. NEEDS A CARRYING/STORAGE CASE Difficult to find any storage or carrying case for it. I wish they made one for the unit. There are also no wheels or rolling cart attachment solution. It is primary designed to be set up on a wall, on the floor and be carried on the go. NON-WHEELED This is a non-wheeled vacuum designed to be used as stationary vac shop, hung from a wall or otherwise manually placed close to the mess you are cleaning up. You can make a cart for it and turn it into a wheeled version. Therefore it is not suitable to be used as a substitute for a traditional vacuum. The other issue is that the type of hose is suited for stationary tasks and doesn't have a rotate mechanism at the attachment points like wheeled based variants that would adjust to the pull and push action of vacuuming.

Just used my new vacuum for the first time. Here are my thoughts: has outstanding suction. It is marketed as such and it is true. It is made very well and with the caster wheels on it moves across the floor smoothly when you pull it. The extra dust bag for finer dust is nice, as is the noise refractor, that really does make a difference. A couple of things that could be better. Because of the high suction power, the accessory tools (crevice, car tool, etc) get pulled off the hose. It would be nice to have them screw on like the hose does to the vacuum. Also wished it had a drain for water instead of having to turn vac over to empty. But these are minor complaints as I doubt you would be able to find another smaller tank vac that does as good a job as this one. And cost is reasonable. Larger vacs are around the same price, but I considered how much more a 8, 10, or 12 gallon would weigh and thought this would be easier to handle. I researched a lot of tank vacs and chose this because of its high rating and the power it had for a small tank vac. Don't be fooled by the size of this vacuum. It is very capable. Hose and power cord are long enough for most uses. Also has a a good warranty. Highly recommended.

More thought could have been put in to the overall design. There's no good way to wrap up the cord and the provided hose clips for storage are pretty much worthless. The on-board tool accessory storage leaves room for improvement. Also, the wheels are very disappointing and are an obvious attempt at cutting corners on manufacturing cost. The wheel base leaves the unit seeming to be prone to tipping over as the base seems a little narrow. However, the hose is the size of hose for a full size vacuum and is of excellent quality. The hose coupling is threaded so it stays secure. The hose attachments are of excellent quality also. The cord is of excellent quality to the effect that it is of heavy gage and flexible. The suction power is impressive and the motor has a solid build to where it doesn't seem whine like other cheaper vacuums do. With the short comings in mind the build quality is good and at $85.00 the bang-for-buck is satisfactory.

relatively small, so it can be stored and moved around the house easily. i had to take a 3/4" block of wood, place it between each of the two plastic wheels, and bang it pretty hard with a hammer to get the casters to seat properly. Also i was intially baffled by the two U shaped steel brackets for hanging the hose. you scrunch them together and insert so each end is just underneath the white plastic washer...if they are loose and flopping around, that is not inserted properly. you need a phillips screwdriver to istall the carrying handle. i inserted the two screws and jiggled them around until the screws were sticking out the bottom of the hole. then with the screwdriver inserted, i pushed one side of the handle in while screwing. after partially seated, i did the same with the 2nd screw on the other side of the handle. If you have a magnetic tipped phillips screwdriver, it probably would have gone easiier, as you can insert the screw after both ends of the handle had been pushed all the way in. hose is a little stiff. I will probably buy a foam prefilter for the corrogated paper filter to help it to last longer. all in all, i am quite happy with the vacuum's performance. maybe the only drawback is the two snaps that hold the top to the bottom are plastic. i wonder, years down the road, if they will fail?

As a professional detailer, I’ve used a variety of wet/dry vacuums, but this Vacmaster Professional Wet/Dry Vac has quickly become one of my favorites. The 5.5 HP motor provides all the power I need to tackle even the toughest cleaning jobs, from wet spills to fine dust in tight areas. The 1-7/8" hose is the perfect size for getting into small spaces like vents and cupholders. The 5-gallon capacity is ideal for detailing vehicles, allowing me to clean out interiors and quickly move from job to job without constantly having to empty it. The vacuum is compact and easy to maneuver, which is crucial when working in tight spaces. It’s also pretty quiet compared to other vacuums in its class, making it easy to use in busy environments without disrupting everything around me. Pros: ✔️ Powerful 5.5 HP motor makes quick work of any job ✔️ 1-7/8" hose is perfect for detailed work and tight spaces ✔️ 5-gallon capacity is ideal for vehicle detailing without frequent emptying ✔️ Compact and durable—built to last ✔️ Quiet operation compared to other vacuums in this class Cons: ✘ Hose length could be a little longer for large jobs, but that’s easy to work around with an extension Final Thoughts: If you’re a professional detailer or someone who needs a reliable, powerful vacuum for wet/dry cleaning, this is a solid choice. It’s built tough, works great for vehicle interiors, and helps me get the job done faster and more efficiently.

We initially purchased a Bauer 6 gal 4hp shopvac based on the glowing reviews, but returned it after three uses (I honestly didn't understand the high ratings because our stick vacuum had better suction). So we purchased the Beast 5 gal 5.5 hp shop vac also based on the great reviews. THIS SHOPVAC DIDN'T DISAPPOINT! It has strong suction that will pick up larger chunks and you don't have to put the nozzle right over it to get sucked up. It's nowhere near as loud as the Craftsman shopvac we had years ago (that was an excellent shopvac, but too large for our needs right now). This shopvac is compact in size, easier on the ears, and has great suction!!! And I really like the nozzle they include for vacuuming your car! The ONLY COMPLAINT is that they do not give you an additional extension wand because you have to bend over the entire time to vacuum. I don't understand why Vacmaster refuses to include two wands so people can stand upright to vacuum. Everyone else seems to include the correct number of extension wands. So be prepared to purchase an additional wand. The hose is 1-7/8" so you'll need to order extension wands in that size.