My Vacuum Sucks

Something that has popped into mind from time to time, is just how much does my vacuum really suck? In other words, how much vacuum does my vacuum vacuum? Today, I found out.

This is the Dyson DC07 "Animal". It's pricey, but it's also never failed to pick up anything I've thrown at it, and with 2 dogs, I throw a lot at it. (They do, actually) Given that, just how much vacuum does this thing really pull? To find out I went to get my vacuum gauges (duh). Being MIA, I got out my old A/C gauges instead (which also measure vacuum).
I discovered that the Dyson has some sort of check valve the opens when the hose is plugged. Despite that, it managed to pull 5-6" (inHg) of vacuum!

Next up, the Shop-Vac.
I was a little disappointed here. It came close, but even without any sort of check valve, I only managed to get 4" from it. This could be affected by the very long hose on it, or it could be in need of a new filter.



Finally, the carpet/fabric clenaer, Bissel's The Little Green Machine. This one was surprising- it barely pulled enough vacuum to even register on the gauge- 1, maybe 2 inches at best. Despite this, it does its' job very well. Probably pulling too much vacuum would end up being counterproductive. The goal is to get the cleaning solution up, not the carpet/fabric/whatever else with it.

I was unable to test the Flip-It dry/wet vacuum-floor scrubber thing due to the fact that it has no hose. Once my normal guages make an appearance I'll give that one a shot.