Shop Vac parts

[Dave]

I have a Shop Vac wet/dry vac. The shutoff switch that shuts off the motor when the water level goes high has broken. I called shopvac and they will not sell me the switch, they will sell a new head unit for $120 which is more than I paid for the whole vacuum. Does anyone know where I can get the switch? If not, does anyone have any ideas on how to fabricate one? If I cannot repair it, I will not buy another shop vac, does anyone know if any other brands will sell parts? Thank you very much, Dave

[Tony]

My ancient (steel tank) shop vac never had a high water switch. I figured that is what the floating ball is for.

[Joe]

Modify a float switch from a sump pump. Should be readily available...call customer service at the several manufacturers for more information.

Joe

[Dave]

Thanks. I was thinking about that. I actually have an old sump pump with a blown motor that I was going to try to remove the float from. I have to find it first. I will let you know how it goes.

[Dave]

The older vacs had a ball that blocked the vacuum and made a noise change. The newer ones have a switch that turns off the motor.

[aemeijers]

Garage sale season is starting. Most weekends, I see 2 or 3 shop vacs sell for anywhere between 5 and 20 dollars. Goodwill and Salvation Army are other good sources. They usually lose/break the hoses or accessories, and when they find out they can get a new vac for the price of the replacement parts, they go that way. ShopVac company is very good about making the internal stuff backward-compatible. I was pleasantly surprised that the new plastic one I bought used the same filters and such as the 30+ year old tin one I bought at a garage sale at least 15 years ago, which I killed by sucking dirt and drywall dust through it. If I can find another one at a sale this summer, I will buy it for basement use (using parts from the old one if needed) and keep the pretty plastic one pristine, to use on the car and upstairs carpets. Don't forget that ShopVac makes a lot of the house brands, so don't worry too much about the brand on the outside. Pop the lid and see if it looks like yours.

[mm]

Yeah, the only one I could find that wasn't a shop-vac was a Ridgid and HD, and if they don't know how to spell Rigid, how good can they be.

I was very happy with customer service at Shop-Vac, which is located in Pennsylvania, and manufactured there I believe. So if they won't seell the switch separately, I'm going to figure there's a good reason. :)

[LSMFT]

Did you ever notice that shop vacs make lots of noise and suck very little?

[mm]

Yes, they are like that when they are full. It's shameful.

At least when they're not full they suck very well.