I found your video after searching for both DIY and powered blowers. Not wanting to spend $200+ for another yard tool to deal with, I decided to to try the gutter sucker. I had 2 inch PVC pipe left over from a previous project, and picked up 45 and 90 degree elbows and a 4x2 inch rubber coupling at the hardware store. In about half an hour, I had the gutter sucker ready for trial. I have a 16 gal Rigid shopvac with a 2 inch hose and the coupling fit perfectly. The 45 degree angle for the nozzle provided a good standoff, which I needed in my case. It worked great! Dry leaves did occasionally collect on the inlet nozzle and required me to drop it down and pull them off, but most went to the shopvac. I tried putting the hose on the discharge side of the shopvac to blew the dry leaves out first, then sucked up the balance of the debris from the gutters. Weight was not an issue for me as the main tube is only 6 ft in length. The two 3 ft sections of tubing that came with the shopvac extends that to 9 or 12 ft if needed. For less than $25, the roof dance and ladder climbs are history. Thank you for a great design, and a very well done video.
This is a great idea. What works better for me then thin wall Schedule -20 PVC tubing is 3 inch "round" x 10 ft long aluminum down spout. Pros: it's much lighter, far more rigid for better control and low cost. Cons: it takes a bit more effort to couple the various sections together. Results: I can easily reach my first, second and third story gutters buy coupling or decoupling 10 ft downspout sections. Bonus: After vacuuming all the gutters, I securely attach my iPhone to an expandable window washing pole, then in video mode inspect all the gutters to make sure they're all perfectly clean.
You just saved my life. I took a job cleaning 2nd story gutters and have never even done them before. I was gonna be hangibg from a ladder scooping into a 5 gal bucket like a bozo. Thank you sir, gonna go huild one right now
@@qcmize i want to know too lol im in the same boat, i have a gutter cleaning/ house wash job scheduled for next week, 2 story home, ill probably build one also, if i do ill return with the results!
@@bryanosorio9331 nice, i never ended up building it, just used a ladder and a homemade extention thing that helped me scoop towards me, worked good, only moved the ladder once on each side of the house.
I have a 2-story room addition WAY too far up to climb an extension ladder! I'm going to try this with my shop vac and hold it out the room addition window. It's about a 6-foot reach from there. *So much safer than climbing high up!!* Kudos, Todd!
GREAT VIDEO! You inspired me to build one myself. I used the black ABS drain pipe which was much lighter than the sched 40 PVC at Home Depot. I mounted my son's cell phone (wrapped in plastic wrap so it wouldn't get wet) on the snoot and used Skype video call over wifi from his phone to my phone :) worked great! Thanks for sharing your design!
This is the first cleaner that is angled so your not standing so close to the house having to look straight up which is a big problem for me this is the best way I've seen thank you for making this video
People say this all the time....but let me ask..... WHY look up?....you can't see what is being picked up, you go be "feel" anyway. So why not simply go slow and overlap the work area a bit?
Just built this and it works great. Forget searching for other leaf suckers. This one is built to last and do its job. Thanks for the video. (Mine was 3 10" pieces and it worked just as well)
Todd, I just purchased and assembled my own Gutter Sucker per your video. The cost was right as you said, about 30 bucks. Going to give it a go later this afternoon....wish me luck. Mike
@@qcmize It worked like a charm! I was able to clear the gutter in about 20 minutes. I also snaked a garden hose through the pipes and washed out all left over debris. Two thumbs up!! Mike
Hi gents. Could you please let me know what the kpa/water lift suction of your vacuum is? I’m looking at a $99 Ozito wet vacuum here in Australia with 76 inch water lift (18kpa). Thanks
I took the HEPA filter off of my shop vac, but I wrapped the filter cage with a piece of furnace air filter to keep stuff from getting sucked through the motor. There was minimal air flow restriction and it protected the motor. Thanks for your video!
That looks like a good solution to cleaning gutters every year. I got tired of cleaning mine because they were always wet and nasty and close to the electrical lines feeding my house. So 2 years ago I installed gutter guards from Amazon and will never have to clean my gutters again. Cheers!
Did you install them yourself? Was it difficult to do? Any chance you have the link to the ones you’d recommend? I see a lot of different opinions on which ones are best. Thanks 🙏
@@ilikemyrealname Here it is "FlexxPoint 30 Year Gutter Cover System, Matte Residential 5" Gutter Guards, 204ft" Check the size of your gutters, my were 5 inches wide. The screws were included. I installed them myself and it was super easy. I used a cordless drill with an attachment for the screws. Don't forget to clean your gutters out first, it will be the last time you will have to. Good Luck!
Gutter guards just delay the inevitable and make it harder to clean once you have have to as gutter still sludge up. They also tend to cause other leak problems over time. Vastly over hyped in general.
yarpos I’ve seen quite a few similar comments to this. Thank you for sharing. What do you do instead, just go up and clean them? If so, do you have a preferred method.
Male and female connectors are a great idea Todd. I’m almost done with my build and I was stuck on how to connect the pipes. Since it didn’t make sense to try and cement them.
I did this in 2021 with a Ridgid vac. Brother gave me a Sears kit to blow out the leaves with a blower. I didn't want to get covered in leaves so vacuuming them seemed to make sense. Great vid, thanks.
Looking at the camera attached to the device, reminds me of how terrified of heights I am. This is really a cleaver way of handling clogged gutters. My gardener wanted to charge me 250.00 US dollars to clean the gutters on my small one level ranch home. This is perfect...my gardener was not hired for the job. LOL. thanks for sharing.
Thanks for this amazing video! I build one tonight and will be trying it tomorrow. The one change I added was a male adapter at the 90 degree elbow where it would connect to a 5' section, just so it's even easier to store... I also didn't have a dremel to create the notches at the tip of the "snoot" so we'll see if I end up having issues.
If you mark the angle you plan to cut the tip at you can then drill some 1/2” or so holes in the pipe along the angled marking. Then your mitered cut will create the notches for you.
I'm too old for ladders now, so I'll definitely make one. (I had used a similar idea for depleting wasp-nests in my roof by slurping the workers up every day and starving the colony).
It really depends on the power of your ShopVac. I have since used it to suck some wetter material. If I were to rebuild, I would use the lighter pipe. Even though I have added a strap to the device since this video it is still kind of heavy.
I used the setup today, and it worked great. However, I would advise everyone to do this before the leaves in you gutter get too moist. I had to work a lot harder to free the debris from the gutters, because the leaves were really wet. I had to flush the system out several times with my garden hose several times before I finished the job. Thanks again.
This little baby packs a punch for the price (just over 30 bucks). I'm comparing it to an old Craftsman blower that recently died after about 15 years. So far I've used it four times th-cam.com/users/postUgkx9IdbewMd3eOaX3SS_kV4wC73v6yWG2KY and it's done an excellent job. It's light, and it moves leaves and debris very well. It's a little shorter than the craftsman, but it's fairly easy to manage. I don't ever use the front grip (requiring both hands). If I did, it would increase the distance between the blower and the debris, or it would require me to bend over awkwardly. I'm 6' 3", so I just hold it (since it's light enough) with one hand down at my side and it's a perfect fit. It's also back-heavy, making it easy to maneuver up/down/left/right motions of the blower end. As a final perk, I can actually appreciate the safety cord lock feature, since my other blower's lack of a decent one caused my power cord connector to start falling apart, due to all of the pulling, etc. If you're not ready to spend 200 - 400 on a gas leaf blower, and you don't mind messing with a cord 2 to 4 times a month, then this thing is for you.
I’ve just replaced all my guttering but will definitely be building one of these units. Thank you for the demo and information on pipe sizing. It’s a 👍🏻from the 🇬🇧
I made one of these several years ago but I used the whole house vacuum tubing they install in the walls of homes it's thinner than schedule 40 PVC. It's available from Amazon. I had trouble with mine because I have large oak leaves that constantly plugged it up. I finally switched the vacuum from suction to blowing and I actually blow the leaves out of my gutters.
I’m in a similar boat. I have oak trees too and was wondering if this system would work. How’s blowing the leaves? Does it make a complete mess or is it not that bad?
If you invested some time to cover the gutters with a mesh or screen to only let the water get in the gutters, you would never have to clean your gutters ever again. You can buy them premade or manufacture them yourself. Worth the effort!
Thank you for helping me solve a dilemma. I have a 2nd story gutter clog that is also just over my exterior stairs to my basement. I have an aluminum extension ladder but no firm place to safely extend this (try as I have in the past) to service the gutter. I seen this video and another similar on YT but like the threaded couplers really appeals to me to break down this system into smaller pieces for storage.
This is a better mousetrap than the one I built. use three shop vac extensions glued together with pvc cement onto the elbow sections. Then I used a 10 foot section of pvc connected to my shop vac. It still needed to get on the ladder to reach the second story. So, I will be adjusting my gizmo to meet your's. I like the addition of the male and female connectors for added strength and support. Thanks you.
I have a husband … however I need this done so I will build one lol no bashing just being pro active when you own a home you actually have to maintain. If you don’t want to maintain your home “RENT”. Thanks you have inspired me Got to love PVC!!!
Amazing, well done. Love the GoPro construction. I think I would use a cheaper action cam, because my GoPro would definitely end up somewhere in the gutter.
Schedule 20 PVC pipe is the stuff used to put together a whole-house vacuum system. I found mine at a local electrical supply house. I also slipped a 2'-long piece of 2" ABS pipe between two 8'-long pieces, making it easier to reach my second-story gutters.
This does work great! However, you really do want to use schedule 20 if you have a run of more than 15 feet. Not only is it heavy and almost impossible to lift the schedule 40, there's very little control. Save yourself time and money and seek out the schedule 20 if you're a two story home. If you're a one story home, the 40 will be fine.
@@nagyhanna3758 schedule 20 is a thinner wall pipe than schedule 40 which also means it won't be as stable if you're trying to reach 20 ft. in the air to 2nd story gutters. hardly anyone sells it anymore, but it's very close in wall thickness to class 200 pvc irrigation pipe.
I’m doing the same thing but using blower at bottom and plastic down spouts. Blowing is more effective in helping you get stuff out of crevices. Put tarp down below, wear cap and paper mask for the ride.
I put one together this weekend. I also used 2" diameter pipe with two 5 foot straight sections. As matthewskarate mentioned below, pine needles don't cooperate. On regular leaves, they would go through the curved section, then through the first 5 foot section but they get stuck a few inches before exiting the second 5 foot section. The leaves were dry. I would have to disassemble the second 5 foot section and pound it on the ground to dislodge the leaves.
Very impressive! Our super gutter cannot be accessed from the ground, so we have to clean it from the roof, so I would like to figure out a way to have a Shop Vac on the ground with the hose somehow extended so that a person standing on the roof can walk the length of the roof and vacuum up the leaves.
Thanks a million! Update. Just made one and man it works like a champ. Mine is heavy due to 2 ten foot sections but hey it keeps me off a ladder or hiring a guy to do it. $45 in total saved me $75 for a gutter guy.
Hye man. I have 20 ft gutters as well. How cumbersome was yours? I cant find the schedule 20 pipe anymore, and kinda apprehensive of using the heavier stuff
@@Middleguy37 If you have an extra set of hands to help it might not be as bad. Hardest part is raising it up to the gutter and bringing it back to the ground. If I can find the thinner pipe I will remake it again. Good luck 🇺🇸
To find schedule 20 or any other such material, go where the pros go: the local plumbing supply store. There are plenty of reasons pros frequently bypass the box stores. A good one will be happy to help a DIYer and keep you out of trouble. I really like the threaded couplers. That's a perfect solution
Who are the 85 losers that ave this video a thumbs down? This is the least expensive and safest way to clean your gutters. Thank you Sir for sharing your technique!
Great recommendations and video....especially the angled snout design.....BUT..... Sch 40 PVC is awfully heavy when building a unit like this, and you are better off with less weight using Sch 20.... used for in-home-wall vacuum systems and other areas.Available locally usually at electrical supply shops or from Amazon
I get heavy sludge. I use 3/4” pvc about 24’ long with a hook or “U” at the end that I form using a heat gun. Also using a heat gun, I pinch the end so I get a sludge busting spray. I attach a garden hose to the other end using adapters found at any hardware store.
I've been looking for a good way to clean our second story gutters. Definitely didn't enjoy the shady ladder left by the previous owners.... I like the threaded connections for breaking it apart, going to try this myself.
Great gadget, many folks could learn to use that after a few goes, magic idea to used screw couplings in the construction helps a lot for adding to or even taking away section to suit ground levels around house, also great for storage time, well done.
I built one of these and added another 5' section since we have a somewhat taller 2 story than the OP. We have 5 inch "K" style gutters. I used schedule 40 solid core PVC and it was really heavy and difficult to manage with the extended length. Also, pine needles in the gutters would clump together in such a way they were crisscrossed (like spaghetti noodles) and wouldn't go into the vacuum hole. This may work better on leaves and houses with shorter distance to the gutter. If using schedule 40 *foam* core may also help by being lighter. I was really wanting this to work. Now I am thinking the 20' 2.5" shop vac hose attached to a 24' telescopic pole and "U" turn hose on the end of the pole with a camera mount on the "U" may be the way to go.
Fantastic idea my friend. Great work!! This works super well for dry debris/when done in dry weather conditions. But caked-on wet sludge underneath is another story. I'm one of those people that actually cleans the whole inside of the gutter spotless. A bit OCD :( ;)
Wow, your method is amazing. I've not seen people use the male and female connection adaptor as well. Will you mind providing some type of link where I can purchase the GoPro and its adaptor so I can smoothly work and see what I'm doing? Thank you again for providing this awesome video!
This is brilliant. My 76yo father scales a ladder onto the roof of his 2 story house to clean his gutters. It'll be the end of him one day I'm sure. Going to make this for him!
I found a way to order the lighter schedule 20 pvc pipe but am still waiting for it to get here--was supposed to have already been delivered last Monday or Tuesday, Oct 30 or 31, 2023. Still waiting for UPS to update me on what has happened to my items. Supposedly they have already arrived in San Jose on Oct 30 but I have no updated information on that. Since I heard there is rain coming this weekend, I thought I'd try your method. You mentioned that the snout or actual sucker part was made from 10 inches of pipe. Looks like, in the video, maybe the length of the pipe from the edge of the 45 degree elbow is 10 inches--looks longer than mine looks so I'm just wondering. Did you cut 10 inches or a little longer to make the length from the edge of the 45 degree elbow 10 inches? Anyway, I like your design--I think the 45 degree elbow with the 10 inch pipe is better than the other design where the guy used the lighter pipe and he used 2 90 degree elbows for his. Now I'm working on getting the camera on this tool so I can see what's going on. Thanks for the great video!
Great minds think alike! Before even seeing this video, I was thinking of the idea of using screw coupler adapters! :D In my case, I'm planning to use something like this but the other way around with a leaf blower. I don't think my little shop vac is strong enough. 2" diameter PVC seems to be the most 'universal' as far as fitting into gutters as well. I should probably just get a bigger shop vac at some point.
@@shauncrochet7934 I ended up just hiring a guy to clean the gutters as they were super high up off the ground and I didn't want to bother with it. After that, we changed our gutters out too lol. I may revisit this in the future now that I've picked up a stronger shop vac though...
Two ways - my wife holds the phone and acts as my guide. I have also used a clamp to attach the phone to the pole so I can see it. The assistant method works the best.
![ร้อยพ่อพันแม่ - WanMai [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/XY2pNYASEbg/mqdefault.jpg)
I found your video after searching for both DIY and powered blowers. Not wanting to spend $200+ for another yard tool to deal with, I decided to to try the gutter sucker. I had 2 inch PVC pipe left over from a previous project, and picked up 45 and 90 degree elbows and a 4x2 inch rubber coupling at the hardware store. In about half an hour, I had the gutter sucker ready for trial. I have a 16 gal Rigid shopvac with a 2 inch hose and the coupling fit perfectly. The 45 degree angle for the nozzle provided a good standoff, which I needed in my case. It worked great! Dry leaves did occasionally collect on the inlet nozzle and required me to drop it down and pull them off, but most went to the shopvac. I tried putting the hose on the discharge side of the shopvac to blew the dry leaves out first, then sucked up the balance of the debris from the gutters. Weight was not an issue for me as the main tube is only 6 ft in length. The two 3 ft sections of tubing that came with the shopvac extends that to 9 or 12 ft if needed. For less than $25, the roof dance and ladder climbs are history. Thank you for a great design, and a very well done video.
The male /female threaded joints to for adjustment is a great idea, Should have thought of that myself being a plumber for 40 years. Great job.
I was much worried how to connect the pipe and saw this video,now feels relaxed 😅😊😊😊 thanks for the video
This is a great idea.
What works better for me then thin wall Schedule -20 PVC tubing is 3 inch "round" x 10 ft long aluminum down spout. Pros: it's much lighter, far more rigid for better control and low cost. Cons: it takes a bit more effort to couple the various sections together.
Results: I can easily reach my first, second and third story gutters buy coupling or decoupling 10 ft downspout sections.
Bonus: After vacuuming all the gutters, I securely attach my iPhone to an expandable window washing pole, then in video mode inspect all the gutters to make sure they're all perfectly clean.
Can you provide a link to some information about how to coup and decouple the 10 foot aluminum downspout sections?
You just saved my life. I took a job cleaning 2nd story gutters and have never even done them before. I was gonna be hangibg from a ladder scooping into a 5 gal bucket like a bozo. Thank you sir, gonna go huild one right now
Did you build it? How did it turn out?
@@qcmize i want to know too lol im in the same boat, i have a gutter cleaning/ house wash job scheduled for next week, 2 story home, ill probably build one also, if i do ill return with the results!
I literally was in the same position I just built it this morning and used it. Turned out pretty good lol
@@bryanosorio9331 nice, i never ended up building it, just used a ladder and a homemade extention thing that helped me scoop towards me, worked good, only moved the ladder once on each side of the house.
I have a 2-story room addition WAY too far up to climb an extension ladder! I'm going to try this with my shop vac and hold it out the room addition window. It's about a 6-foot reach from there. *So much safer than climbing high up!!* Kudos, Todd!
Thanks a Todd. You just saved a tree besides my house. I don't need to worry about leaves in gutter now. Great idea!
GREAT VIDEO! You inspired me to build one myself. I used the black ABS drain pipe which was much lighter than the sched 40 PVC at Home Depot. I mounted my son's cell phone (wrapped in plastic wrap so it wouldn't get wet) on the snoot and used Skype video call over wifi from his phone to my phone :) worked great! Thanks for sharing your design!
great idea with the skype video call!!
How long did you make your pipe? My 20' ladder doesn't reach the 2nd floor gutters. Using the ABS I was wondering about the weight of the unit.
I was just going to suggest ABS pipe in a comment when I saw yours. Much lighter than solid core pvc.
Very clever cell phone idea. I'm gonna try that! Thanks
Hi, what is the size of your ABS drain pipe? How high did you manage to reach, 1 story high, or 2 story high?
This is the first cleaner that is angled so your not standing so close to the house having to look straight up which is a big problem for me this is the best way I've seen thank you for making this video
You are very welcome.
People say this all the time....but let me ask..... WHY look up?....you can't see what is being picked up, you go be "feel" anyway. So why not simply go slow and overlap the work area a bit?
@@TheWilferch good point
Just built this and it works great. Forget searching for other leaf suckers. This one is built to last and do its job. Thanks for the video. (Mine was 3 10" pieces and it worked just as well)
Todd, I just purchased and assembled my own Gutter Sucker per your video. The cost was right as you said, about 30 bucks. Going to give it a go later this afternoon....wish me luck. Mike
Oh man, I am excited to hear how it went!!
@@qcmize It worked like a charm! I was able to clear the gutter in about 20 minutes. I also snaked a garden hose through the pipes and washed out all left over debris. Two thumbs up!! Mike
Hi gents. Could you please let me know what the kpa/water lift suction of your vacuum is? I’m looking at a $99 Ozito wet vacuum here in Australia with 76 inch water lift (18kpa). Thanks
I took the HEPA filter off of my shop vac, but I wrapped the filter cage with a piece of furnace air filter to keep stuff from getting sucked through the motor. There was minimal air flow restriction and it protected the motor. Thanks for your video!
I wish I had seen this video last year. For a guy that's not supposed to be on ladders, this idea saves my bacon. Thanks for sharing.
That looks like a good solution to cleaning gutters every year. I got tired of cleaning mine because they were always wet and nasty and close to the electrical lines feeding my house. So 2 years ago I installed gutter guards from Amazon and will never have to clean my gutters again. Cheers!
Did you install them yourself? Was it difficult to do? Any chance you have the link to the ones you’d recommend? I see a lot of different opinions on which ones are best. Thanks 🙏
@@ilikemyrealname Here it is "FlexxPoint 30 Year Gutter Cover System, Matte Residential 5" Gutter Guards, 204ft" Check the size of your gutters, my were 5 inches wide. The screws were included. I installed them myself and it was super easy. I used a cordless drill with an attachment for the screws. Don't forget to clean your gutters out first, it will be the last time you will have to. Good Luck!
Starman609 Thank you so much for your reply. I seriously appreciate this! Imma look into these.
Gutter guards just delay the inevitable and make it harder to clean once you have have to as gutter still sludge up. They also tend to cause other leak problems over time. Vastly over hyped in general.
yarpos I’ve seen quite a few similar comments to this. Thank you for sharing. What do you do instead, just go up and clean them? If so, do you have a preferred method.
wow first gutter cleaning video that is actually sensible and practical. Thanks!
Thanks!
You did it!!! This is what I was envisioning, but didn't think of PVC pipes! So awesome!
Thank for the video! Spent $100 on material and saved on a $350 service charge👍🏼
Awesome!!! Congratulations
Just found your video after climbing my ladder and doing the worst one by hand. I'm 68 y/o woman. Will definitely be trying this instead. Thanks!
Male and female connectors are a great idea Todd. I’m almost done with my build and I was stuck on how to connect the pipes. Since it didn’t make sense to try and cement them.
This Idea is awesome ,No damage to the shingles !! Safe and easy Steps !!good job
Thank you so much for sharing. I always told my children there are still awesome people willing to share their knowledge. All the best
I did this in 2021 with a Ridgid vac. Brother gave me a Sears kit to blow out the leaves with a blower. I didn't want to get covered in leaves so vacuuming them seemed to make sense. Great vid, thanks.
Looking at the camera attached to the device, reminds me of how terrified of heights I am. This is really a cleaver way of handling clogged gutters. My gardener wanted to charge me 250.00 US dollars to clean the gutters on my small one level ranch home. This is perfect...my gardener was not hired for the job. LOL. thanks for sharing.
Wow, that's insane! I charge 125$ in the Bay Area
@@christopheralmendarez6907 I only charge 80 for one story lol
@@wing_gundamzero_5433 you need to charge more! You are worth so much more than that, never forget it!
Thanks for this amazing video! I build one tonight and will be trying it tomorrow.
The one change I added was a male adapter at the 90 degree elbow where it would connect to a 5' section, just so it's even easier to store... I also didn't have a dremel to create the notches at the tip of the "snoot" so we'll see if I end up having issues.
How’d it work without the notches?
@@lindseyrsmith2194 not great. I ended up adding some. They don’t have to be perfect
If you mark the angle you plan to cut the tip at you can then drill some 1/2” or so holes in the pipe along the angled marking. Then your mitered cut will create the notches for you.
I'm too old for ladders now, so I'll definitely make one. (I had used a similar idea for depleting wasp-nests in my roof by slurping the workers up every day and starving the colony).
I read that wasps hate peppermint oil.
Now the wasps are living in a van...down by the river.
@@rongarza9488 I read about that to somewhere. Must use it one day during the summer to see if that's true.
great but how does it go with wet material ?????
It really depends on the power of your ShopVac. I have since used it to suck some wetter material. If I were to rebuild, I would use the lighter pipe. Even though I have added a strap to the device since this video it is still kind of heavy.
Fantastic idea using the Go-pro. I’m definitely gonna build one. Regards from Australia.
To buy one with camera and monitor is about £1k so fair play to you for creating your own and it worked very well!
I used the setup today, and it worked great. However, I would advise everyone to do this before the leaves in you gutter get too moist. I had to work a lot harder to free the debris from the gutters, because the leaves were really wet. I had to flush the system out several times with my garden hose several times before I finished the job. Thanks again.
If you had to use the garden hose and climb up on a ladder what's the point of using the gutter sucker then?
@@Essays4College I think he was washing out the vac tube... Wet leaves and dirt will stick to the side inside walls
This little baby packs a punch for the price (just over 30 bucks). I'm comparing it to an old Craftsman blower that recently died after about 15 years. So far I've used it four times th-cam.com/users/postUgkx9IdbewMd3eOaX3SS_kV4wC73v6yWG2KY and it's done an excellent job. It's light, and it moves leaves and debris very well. It's a little shorter than the craftsman, but it's fairly easy to manage. I don't ever use the front grip (requiring both hands). If I did, it would increase the distance between the blower and the debris, or it would require me to bend over awkwardly. I'm 6' 3", so I just hold it (since it's light enough) with one hand down at my side and it's a perfect fit. It's also back-heavy, making it easy to maneuver up/down/left/right motions of the blower end. As a final perk, I can actually appreciate the safety cord lock feature, since my other blower's lack of a decent one caused my power cord connector to start falling apart, due to all of the pulling, etc. If you're not ready to spend 200 - 400 on a gas leaf blower, and you don't mind messing with a cord 2 to 4 times a month, then this thing is for you.
Thanks for the insight. I have been up on my roof before, and its not too safe. I really appreciate the upload.
what an awesome idea thanks for sharing!
Awesome video! Perfect solution and perfect scripting / editing.
I’ve just replaced all my guttering but will definitely be building one of these units. Thank you for the demo and information on pipe sizing. It’s a 👍🏻from the 🇬🇧
Your video inspired me to make a copy of yours thanks you from Ireland:)
Great information... especially the Go pro. Thank you for sharing.
I made one of these several years ago but I used the whole house vacuum tubing they install in the walls of homes it's thinner than schedule 40 PVC. It's available from Amazon. I had trouble with mine because I have large oak leaves that constantly plugged it up. I finally switched the vacuum from suction to blowing and I actually blow the leaves out of my gutters.
I’m in a similar boat. I have oak trees too and was wondering if this system would work. How’s blowing the leaves? Does it make a complete mess or is it not that bad?
@@ilikemyrealname It just blows them out and you rake the up. Even blows the acorns out.
@@jsantef I'd say once on the ground ... easy to then suck them up. No need to rake. no?
@@johnjacobjinglehimerschmid3555 The problem is the oak leaves even with a power shop vac they tend to plug it up.
legion rider good to know thank you!
Like Ive been told, and have told others, this trade is 80% brain, 10%brawn ......
Cheers mate! Awesome configuration!
Hello from Australia🇦🇺. Great video thankyou. 👍
If you invested some time to cover the gutters with a mesh or screen to only let the water get in the gutters, you would never have to clean your gutters ever again. You can buy them premade or manufacture them yourself. Worth the effort!
Thank you for helping me solve a dilemma. I have a 2nd story gutter clog that is also just over my exterior stairs to my basement. I have an aluminum extension ladder but no firm place to safely extend this (try as I have in the past) to service the gutter. I seen this video and another similar on YT but like the threaded couplers really appeals to me to break down this system into smaller pieces for storage.
The 45* elbow is a great idea.
Oh boy, that is really really cool. Low tech and high tech mingle together
This is a better mousetrap than the one I built. use three shop vac extensions glued together with pvc cement onto the elbow sections. Then I used a 10 foot section of pvc connected to my shop vac. It still needed to get on the ladder to reach the second story. So, I will be adjusting my gizmo to meet your's. I like the addition of the male and female connectors for added strength and support. Thanks you.
I have a husband … however I need this done so I will build one lol no bashing just being pro active when you own a home you actually have to maintain. If you don’t want to maintain your home “RENT”.
Thanks you have inspired me
Got to love PVC!!!
This worked way better than I expected, thank you!!
So you built one? Very cool.
Awesome, this was exactly what I was looking for, thank you
Great Idea but in West Australia we have much less access to the gutter with tiles overlapping the gutters
Amazing, well done. Love the GoPro construction. I think I would use a cheaper action cam, because my GoPro would definitely end up somewhere in the gutter.
Thanks for the video!!! I just finished clearing out the gutter...
Thanks Todd - great clip. Might give it a try.
Just what I was looking for. I love the female male connectors for easy storage. Thanks.
Schedule 20 PVC pipe is the stuff used to put together a whole-house vacuum system. I found mine at a local electrical supply house. I also slipped a 2'-long piece of 2" ABS pipe between two 8'-long pieces, making it easier to reach my second-story gutters.
ingenious, no more calling overpriced gutter cleaners. Thanks
How much were you quoted for?
This does work great! However, you really do want to use schedule 20 if you have a run of more than 15 feet. Not only is it heavy and almost impossible to lift the schedule 40, there's very little control. Save yourself time and money and seek out the schedule 20 if you're a two story home. If you're a one story home, the 40 will be fine.
Width
Of pipe
@@nagyhanna3758 schedule 20 is a thinner wall pipe than schedule 40 which also means it won't be as stable if you're trying to reach 20 ft. in the air to 2nd story gutters. hardly anyone sells it anymore, but it's very close in wall thickness to class 200 pvc irrigation pipe.
Great idea thank you and be careful . hello from Canada
I’m doing the same thing but using blower at bottom and plastic down spouts. Blowing is more effective in helping you get stuff out of crevices. Put tarp down below, wear cap and paper mask for the ride.
I put one together this weekend. I also used 2" diameter pipe with two 5 foot straight sections. As matthewskarate mentioned below, pine needles don't cooperate. On regular leaves, they would go through the curved section, then through the first 5 foot section but they get stuck a few inches before exiting the second 5 foot section. The leaves were dry. I would have to disassemble the second 5 foot section and pound it on the ground to dislodge the leaves.
Very impressive! Our super gutter cannot be accessed from the ground, so we have to clean it from the roof, so I would like to figure out a way to have a Shop Vac on the ground with the hose somehow extended so that a person standing on the roof can walk the length of the roof and vacuum up the leaves.
That is such a great idea thank you for sharing. I love to try to make one
Great idea. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks a million!
Update. Just made one and man it works like a champ. Mine is heavy due to 2 ten foot sections but hey it keeps me off a ladder or hiring a guy to do it. $45 in total saved me $75 for a gutter guy.
Hye man. I have 20 ft gutters as well. How cumbersome was yours? I cant find the schedule 20 pipe anymore, and kinda apprehensive of using the heavier stuff
@@Middleguy37 If you have an extra set of hands to help it might not be as bad. Hardest part is raising it up to the gutter and bringing it back to the ground. If I can find the thinner pipe I will remake it again. Good luck 🇺🇸
@@nimrod275 Thanks for the followup
GoPro justifies the “Gutter Sucker” justifies the GoPro...elegance in simplicity! Bravo, Todd!
No dremel/grinder, drill before you cut?
To find schedule 20 or any other such material, go where the pros go: the local plumbing supply store. There are plenty of reasons pros frequently bypass the box stores. A good one will be happy to help a DIYer and keep you out of trouble. I really like the threaded couplers. That's a perfect solution
Flipping genius you Are sir the camera makes it 💯👌👊
30 years in photojournalism finally paid off ;) Thanks!!
Excellent idea and very simply explained, thanks.
i don't know why i didn't think of this,great idear.
Like I said the video I was looking for a way out of having to climb a later so I cobbled a few people's ideas into this. Glad you like it!
Hey us lazy cheap guys love day dreaming this stuff! Thanks
Great job buddy! Im building one too
thanks for sharing, what is the height ground to gutter of your house?
Simplest ideas are usually the best. Nice, my next project
DUDE!!!!!!!!! FLIPPING BRILLIANT!!!
Who are the 85 losers that ave this video a thumbs down? This is the least expensive and safest way to clean your gutters. Thank you Sir for sharing your technique!
Great recommendations and video....especially the angled snout design.....BUT..... Sch 40 PVC is awfully heavy when building a unit like this, and you are better off with less weight using Sch 20.... used for in-home-wall vacuum systems and other areas.Available locally usually at electrical supply shops or from Amazon
I made a gutter blower, which essentially uses a leaf blower attached to pvc and flexible pipe to blow the leaves out.
I get heavy sludge. I use 3/4” pvc about 24’ long with a hook or “U” at the end that I form using a heat gun. Also using a heat gun, I pinch the end so I get a sludge busting spray. I attach a garden hose to the other end using adapters found at any hardware store.
I've been looking for a good way to clean our second story gutters. Definitely didn't enjoy the shady ladder left by the previous owners....
I like the threaded connections for breaking it apart, going to try this myself.
I did this as well. When you break it down after usage, be sure to clean the shingle grit out of the threads before the next use!
HI. It would have been kind a nice to know how high your cutters were for comparative purposes....otherwise, this video was extremely helpful.
Great job, will be building mine soon!
Great idea. Will make.
Appreciate it.
This is absolutely brilliant. I am 100% going to try this.
Thanks!!!!
Kid I d I d I have
Great gadget, many folks could learn to use that after a few goes, magic idea to used screw couplings in the construction helps a lot for adding to or even taking away section to suit ground levels around house, also great for storage time, well done.
Heck yeahhhh! Almost bought a ladder. Nope!! Thank youuuu
You are welcome!!
I built one of these and added another 5' section since we have a somewhat taller 2 story than the OP. We have 5 inch "K" style gutters. I used schedule 40 solid core PVC and it was really heavy and difficult to manage with the extended length. Also, pine needles in the gutters would clump together in such a way they were crisscrossed (like spaghetti noodles) and wouldn't go into the vacuum hole. This may work better on leaves and houses with shorter distance to the gutter. If using schedule 40 *foam* core may also help by being lighter. I was really wanting this to work.
Now I am thinking the 20' 2.5" shop vac hose attached to a 24' telescopic pole and "U" turn hose on the end of the pole with a camera mount on the "U" may be the way to go.
I think the 20' shop vac hose means have to climb ladder
I think the 20' shop vac hose would necessitate climbing ladder
Thanks for sharing, that’s awesome!
this is brilliant!
Fantastic idea my friend. Great work!! This works super well for dry debris/when done in dry weather conditions. But caked-on wet sludge underneath is another story. I'm one of those people that actually cleans the whole inside of the gutter spotless. A bit OCD :( ;)
How good does it work on wet leaves and wet pine needles? Thank you for the video!
Wow, your method is amazing. I've not seen people use the male and female connection adaptor as well. Will you mind providing some type of link where I can purchase the GoPro and its adaptor so I can smoothly work and see what I'm doing? Thank you again for providing this awesome video!
I like this idea but what about cleaning out the downspouts ?
Genius! Exactly what I need. Do you have the kit written out for people to buy from you?
This is a great solution 👍 Gonna look into this
What kind of vacuum machine did you use? Thanks
6HP ShopVac
This is brilliant. My 76yo father scales a ladder onto the roof of his 2 story house to clean his gutters. It'll be the end of him one day I'm sure. Going to make this for him!
Great idea. Love it man
Pretty awesome! Will definitely make one! Thank you!
I found a way to order the lighter schedule 20 pvc pipe but am still waiting for it to get here--was supposed to have already been delivered last Monday or Tuesday, Oct 30 or 31, 2023. Still waiting for UPS to update me on what has happened to my items. Supposedly they have already arrived in San Jose on Oct 30 but I have no updated information on that. Since I heard there is rain coming this weekend, I thought I'd try your method. You mentioned that the snout or actual sucker part was made from 10 inches of pipe. Looks like, in the video, maybe the length of the pipe from the edge of the 45 degree elbow is 10 inches--looks longer than mine looks so I'm just wondering. Did you cut 10 inches or a little longer to make the length from the edge of the 45 degree elbow 10 inches? Anyway, I like your design--I think the 45 degree elbow with the 10 inch pipe is better than the other design where the guy used the lighter pipe and he used 2 90 degree elbows for his. Now I'm working on getting the camera on this tool so I can see what's going on. Thanks for the great video!
This is really well executed. Some sort of a rest at ground level so that you could take some weight off might be beneficial.
Great minds think alike! Before even seeing this video, I was thinking of the idea of using screw coupler adapters! :D In my case, I'm planning to use something like this but the other way around with a leaf blower. I don't think my little shop vac is strong enough. 2" diameter PVC seems to be the most 'universal' as far as fitting into gutters as well. I should probably just get a bigger shop vac at some point.
This is what I'm wanting to accomplish also. Any success using with a blower?
@@shauncrochet7934 I ended up just hiring a guy to clean the gutters as they were super high up off the ground and I didn't want to bother with it. After that, we changed our gutters out too lol. I may revisit this in the future now that I've picked up a stronger shop vac though...
Super video i mean once it works thats all you want . Fantastic idea 👍👍👍
How are you able to watch your live view on your phone if you are using 2 hands to hold your PVC?
Two ways - my wife holds the phone and acts as my guide. I have also used a clamp to attach the phone to the pole so I can see it. The assistant method works the best.
i have a Craftsman 3.5 motor shop vac. will this be powerful enough to have that many pole’s attached?