I used this vac to clean my fireplace just now- new for me, since i normally sweep it clean with a handbroom and dustpan. i attached pics showing how the vac came out of the box, and a pic of the intro instruction page. a few things to note. this title says wet dry vac...however, the instruction manual clearly says, "It should not be used to pick up liquids." so...NOT a wet vac, at least according to it's manual, pg. 6. The instructions show that one screw driver is required as a tool for set-up. however, you only need the screw driver to tighten the nozzle to the extension wand, or to disassemble/ add batteries to the nozzle/wand flashlight portion (will talk about that later). it took me all of 30 seconds to snap together the hose and two nozzles to the bucket, and snap in the four casters. The filter was already assembled and attached to the lid when i got it. The construction of the vac is sturdy, well-made, and fully metal in the "belly" where it counts, with the non-metal portions being the filter on the underside of the lid, the hose and the area where the hose snaps into the side of the metal bucket, the tray the entire bucket sets on, that you snap the casters into, and that yellow handle and casing on top. the capacity is 5 gal, but you could realistically have maybe 3 gal. ash pickup tops, without getting too close to the filter. The nice thing is, the entire bottom portion of the inside is metal, so any slightly hot ashes should be held safely, provided they are not hot enough to spark the filter at the top of the inner lid. The warning on pg. 2 of the instruction manual also clearly says, "This vacuum is intended to pick up COLD ash..." (caps in the instruction manual). I really like that the instruction manual is very detailed, and well-written in English (and Spanish and French). The company is Emerson Electric, and their workshop appears to be in St. Louis. I don't know where the item is made, however. As a vacuum itself, it's not exceptionally powerful (sounds like a regular hair dryer), and my normal vacuum has much more suction. However, it easily picked up light ash from the fireplace. i could smell some amt. of the ash in the air after vacuuming, but i guess that is to be expected with something as fine as ash. this isn't a Dyson, but as far as i know, Dyson does not make metal canisters to hold dust, so this does have use. One interesting feature, is a flashlight at the section where the handle meets the extension nozzle- i've attached a pic of the single bulb. This was useful for the fireplace, where it's dark, so you can better see what you're doing. it came with the battery installed, and worked when i tried the switch. overall, i would recommend this item, esp. for outdoor metal fire pit cleanup, or the inner section of your big grill, where it's hard to reach. for the inside fireplace, though, i think i'll stick to my handbroom and dustpan, cuz it's easy enough by hand, and i found it a hassle to dump the ashes (lift off lid, pick up canister, dump)- ash fluffs all over. gotta dump outside, not in the garage.