Screwfix list 3 at prices from ~£70, one of which is cordless.  Lidl seem to have them intermittently.  B&Q list several at prices down to £40.

As usual the LiDL (Parkside) offering is decently effective and value for money. All though the hose is rather short.

An effective pre-filter above the ash collection bit is desirable to extend the time it takes for the main filter to clog up. The LiDL one likes its main filter to be brushed up every two or three emptying and frequently given a proper blow out. Standing upwind is advisable!

Far as I can see the higher the power the better. Unconvinced as to any benefit of wheels.

Clive

On 8 January 2025 at 16:33 Clive Foster Said:

As usual the LiDL (Parkside) offering is decently effective and value for money. All though the hose is rather short.

An effective pre-filter above the ash collection bit is desirable to extend the time it takes for the main filter to clog up. The LiDL one likes its main filter to be brushed up every two or three emptying and frequently given a proper blow out. Standing upwind is advisable!

Far as I can see the higher the power the better. Unconvinced as to any benefit of wheels.

Clive

I have a couple of the largest Lidl/Parkside offerings, (rather than the one the market as an ash vacuum) It benefits from lengthy hose, wet & dry, with plenty of suck; even cleans gravel out of out clogged drains.
Video review of a similar model HERE albeit with an EU plug
Best deal on them, is if you happen to drop lucky with a 10% discount, having spent £250+ in the previous month.
This stacks up on top of the occasional 25% special offer on all Parkside items; hence having one in each garage.
They do come up on Ebay as well as Lidl from time to time.

Previously I used an original Aquavac, but it was on its last legs.
However, I had it coupled up to my grit blasting cabinet to keep the air clear inside.
It’s a similar issue to ash as the waste dust is very fine, I use a coarse filter in the cabinet, essentially made of white Scotchbrite. It’s not an abrasive and designed as a coarse air filter in commercial air handling units.

To deal with the fine dust, I have a plastic tub, ex bird fat balls, with a clip on lid, which houses a vortex dust extractor. The fine dust gets dumped in the tub and the vacuum’s filter stays clean.
This is a photo grabbed from eBay, where is you search for “Cyclone Dust Collector” you should find several similar offerings. I’ve one of these cast metal ones and recessed it into the tub, rather than sitting on top as per this photo.
Maybe you could just use your current vacuum, and one of these as a pre-filter.

Bill

The Lidl ash vac is just the regular one with a short hose so better to get the regular one. Never used one on the stove, just empty the ash pan manually every morning as it fills every 16 hrs. ‘Hardly ever needs emptying’ is just marketing bullshit to sell to townies. It depends on the timber and ash, the wood, produces a lot more ash, the residue, than any other fuel I have used in the last 60 years, though I’ve not tried Polish “coal” having only burned wood for the last 20 years.

The bit about wood burning better on a bed of ash is just an excuse for lazy servants. When some 200 years ago reducing transport costs introduced coal to new markets used to millennia of wood burning, they found that coal does not burn under its own heavy ash while wood would. However it burns even better on an open grate. Never try to keep the fire in overnight – it promotes creosotes in the stove and chimney.