Best Vacuum

seanandnik

seanandnik

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The vacuum, a Dyson,at my pool hall, World Class Billiards, really does not work well at all and is not sturdy so it's falling apart. I was told by a really well respected 3C player that a water filtration vacuum is best for 3c tables. There is a Sai water filter vacuum on EBay for @ $140 shipped. There are also $3-4000 versions as well. Looking for opinions, what do you guys use ? We also use a wet/damp microfiber cloth , but was told this is not good for cloth. What about the X-1 cleaner ?Some other options for us ?
 
I've heard exact opposite opinions on the x-1. It seems to work pretty good for pool cloth, but not the greatest for billiard cloth. I use the sanitaire canister commercial vacuum. It works awesome. I'm sure you'll have lot's of opinion on this topic
 
cleaner

I use a 2x3 piece of wood with Micro fiber cloth wrapped around it. Micro fiber cloth should be slightly damp.I used this on my old cloth and had no problems.300 rapide Simonis Billiard cloth
 
X1 IMO is a waist of time.

The water vacuums are indeed the best but expensive. Rainbow is an excellent brand and can be found refurbished. $250-$500

A very good standard vac is MetroVac. Thats what I have. Wasn't aware of water filtration when I got it. It really has tons of power. I also use the damp microcloth after.

The Koreans use a heavy microfiber cloth and use it dry. Feels like really heavy felt. Its not supposed to be washed just shaken out or maybe vacuumed.
 
I use a Dyson vac and then a damp sponge on my Gorino Granito cloth and have no complaints.Use random circular motion with the sponge.
 
If you want affordable vacuums with some good suction, I would highly recommend Kenmore canister vacuums as long as it comes with a good brush attachment. There is a cheap $100 Kenmore vacuum called "Blue" something which has surprisingly decent suction. They also have a couple slightly more expensive models between $100 and $200. The key is the brush, I believe they call it a floor brush. It can't be tiny, otherwise it will take 30 minures to vacuum the table. I use one on my home table. I vacuum every 1-2 hours of playing and every so often I use a slightly dampened microfiber cloth on the entire cloth including the nose of the rails. It's absolutely amazing how much that microfiber cloth can pick up even AFTER vacuuming.

I also use the Korean product "Okong" which I got from Carom Cafe (who got it from Korea). The product does have silicone in it, and I dilute it extremely heavily with water in a spray bottle and use it on the balls AFTER I have cleaned the balls with Aramith Ball Cleaner.

I love the way my table plays and the cloth is now 7 years old.

BTW- whenever you use Aramith Ball Cleaner it is CRUCIAL that you wipe off as much Aramith Ball Cleaner as possible with a clean rag BEFORE putting the balls into your ball cleaning machine. Otherwise, you get a buildup on your cleaning pads and you end up with excess Aramith Ball Cleaner "built up" on your balls which can cause the balls to play "shorter" and also can leave white marks on your table that are extremely difficult to remove.

If you have the bucks, buy a Rainbow vacuum. Just be careful not to suck the cloth completely off the table.
 
I"m going off topic a bit but referencing Jim's last post on ball cleaner has me asking this question. I have a Diamond ball cleaner and use Aramith cleaner. Should I be wiping the Aramith on the balls then using the Diamond? I have been just placing a drop of Aramith on each ball and running the unit for 45 min. There is some evidence of buildup on the cleaning pads. Is this removable?
Thanks for answering both questions.
 
The way you clean the balls is definitely the EASIEST way. My way is the HARD way. But yes, you get buildup and usually you get excess onto the balls as well. Do you ever see a white speck of ball cleaner still on the ball after cleaning them?

That's why I use cotton gloves and wipe the aramith cleaner onto the balls with my finger and it also is the best cleaner possible for removing scuff marks as well. Then I use a clean rag and WIPE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE OFF THE BALLS before placing them into the machine. I believe this is the best method, but who knows?

If the pads are built up, i am not sure if you can clean them. My cotton gloves can not be cleaned well. I use them for as long as possible and they get hardened ball cleaner on the fingers almost like wax, where you cannot clean it well. They just go in the garbage. I suspect the same is true of the pads.
 
jimshovak said:
The way you clean the balls is definitely the EASIEST way. My way is the HARD way. But yes, you get buildup and usually you get excess onto the balls as well. Do you ever see a white speck of ball cleaner still on the ball after cleaning them?

That's why I use cotton gloves and wipe the aramith cleaner onto the balls with my finger and it also is the best cleaner possible for removing scuff marks as well. Then I use a clean rag and WIPE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE OFF THE BALLS before placing them into the machine. I believe this is the best method, but who knows?

If the pads are built up, i am not sure if you can clean them. My cotton gloves can not be cleaned well. I use them for as long as possible and they get hardened ball cleaner on the fingers almost like wax, where you cannot clean it well. They just go in the garbage. I suspect the same is true of the pads.
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I'm not sure how the diamond machine pads are set up. But if they're removable and you want to try to clean them I'd first try plain water. If that doesn't cut it purchase some of the citrus cleaner/degreaser then rinse well with water. The solvent in the Aramith cleaner is the same compound as the citrus cleaner. So this should be fine.

Just be sure you get liquid only. NOT citrus hand cleaner with pumice added.
 
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