shop vac recommendation?

[Mike]

Is there a brand and model people like or a brand and model to stay away from?

Mike

[Ed Pawlowski]

We've used both Shop Vac brand and Rigid with good results. Whatever is on sale at the time would be my choice.

[Vic Smith]

Try to find the decibel rating. My Shop-Vac is too damn loud. You'll pay more for a quieter one, but it may be worth it. Google.

[Hecho en China]

Shop vacuum replacement filter prices might be a concern.

[DerbyDad03]

Last year I bought a Rigid 16 Gal with a removal blower. The motor pops off the top and becomes a hand held blower. Sweet!

The vac performs well, the filters are reasonably priced and the unit has a rack to hold all accessories. It also has hooks to store the cord neatly, something my old Craftsman didn't.

I didn't think I'd use the blower that much since I have a gas powered blower, but the rigid blower is light and powerful enough for quick cleanup jobs after mowing or to blow off the picnic table, deck, stoop, etc. Much quieter than the gas blower too.

No complaints

[dadiOH]

If you are going to use it for general vacuuming, I'd say get whatever one that has the features you want.

If you are going to get one for saw/sand dust collection, I'd say don't get one at all, get a dust collector.

[DerbyDad03]

Or add a homemade cyclone unit to separate out the debris and keep the filter cleaner.

DAGS for youtube dust separator or try this link:

Many options from the simplest to some pretty elaborate set ups.

[notbob]

BINGO!! We have a winner.

Yes. Buy whichever vac is still around. Or, at least a vac that can use parts of another brand that still exists.

I bought a cheapo vac a couple yrs back. That brand no longer exists. Where can I find parts? IOW, I'm faced with buying a new vac or finding parts from another brand that will fit. The vac I bought still works fine, but I'd love to get new filters. The original is becoming a tad worn. And, how much longer will that hose last? Get my drift? ;)

nb

[DerbyDad03]

Not necessarily.

Option 3: Make the other parts fit.

I ran into a similar issue with an old Craftsman W/D vac a few years ago. M y local Sears didn't carry my filters in-store and I needed one that weeken d. They had a few filters from another model on their clearance rack, but t hey were bigger than the ones for my model (more surface area is a good thi ng, right?) However, they were really cheap, like all 3 for less than the p rice of 1 of mine.

I bought all three, then went home and cut off the plastic threaded rod tha t the original filter screwed onto and screwed in a long piece of 1/4" thre aded rod that I had in the shop. A few more minor modifications and the new filters fit just right. I used 2.5 of the 3 filters before my vac died so I definitely got my money (and efforts) worth out of the modification.

If filter availability (or pricing) is your only issue, a little bit of tim e in the shop might be a money saver in the long run.

[HerHusband]

Hi Mike,

I used Shop-Vac brand for years. When my last one burned out I replaced it with a Rigid WD1450 Vacuum. It's a lot quieter than my old Shop-Vac brands, though "quiet" is a relative term. They're still crazy loud. The WD1450 has good suction and has performed very well for me.

Regardless of which brand/model you buy, I highly recommend adding fine filter bags inside the shop vac. Before I started using the filter bags the pleated filters would clog up very quickly and reduce the suction. You can clean them a bit by taking them out and tapping the dust off, but they still don't work like new. Replacement filters can get expensive. The fine filter bags also make it possible to vacuum fine sawdust, drywall dust, or even cold ash from a woodstove. Without the bag fine dust like that blows right through the filter and back out the other side. I always use the filter bags and haven't changed or cleaned the pleated filter in years.

For larger machines that produce a lot of dust and chips (planers, tablesaws, bandsaws, etc.) a dust collector performs much better and has a larger capacity.

If you're able, it's nice to have both.

Good luck,

Anthony Watson

[micky]

Shop Vac is made in America iirc and has great customer service.

The smallest model won't accept soot filters, which are useful for cleaning oil furnaces and iirc fireplaces. Though I think it's easier to clean a fireplace by wetting the ash and sweepting it into a bag If I could get into my oil furnace, I would do that there.

[John G]

Years ago I had a model from Sears. The suction was good, but I did not li ke the vacuum itself and wound up giving it away. It had a large hose whic h was good for debris, but it was a very stiff plastic hose that was diffic ult to work with. Also it was a plastic tank with a very wide wheelbase wh ich made it feel bulky.

I have always liked the slim metal Shop-Vac models with a nice flexible hos e. The have two large wheels and a handle for tilting and pulling.

Right now I have a Buckethead from Home Depot. It is small and easy to car ry around. I bought a Ridgid accessory kit for car cleaning that had a nic e long flexible hose and accessories that work well with the Buckethead. On ly downside for me is that the Buckethead is top heavy, so it has a tendenc y to tip over when pulled.

John Grabowski

[micky]

By America I mean the USA.

And Shop Vac is sold without its trademark color by Pep Boys and Sears, same maker, same design, maybe different "brand". And maybe by others.

Ridgid is sold by Home Depot. Anyone else?

[micky]

If you all think that story is good, let me tell you about when I was on Apollo 11.

[DerbyDad03]

No argument, but there are other options besides "tapping". My process invo lves taking the filter outside and throwing it up as high as I can, letting it come down on a hard surface, like the street in front of my house. That really shakes a lot of dust loose. After I've done that a couple of times, I take my canister vac and vacuum between each pleat. Sometimes, with real ly fine dust, I'll scrape the bottom of the pleat with a screwdriver while vacuuming. No, it's not as good as new, but it's sure works in a pinch.

My canister is the commercial version of the Eureka Mighty Mite made by Eur eka's/Sanitaire's parent company, Electrolux:

It's great for doing the cars, stairs, ceilings and other areas where an up right - even with it's hose attachments - just doesn't work as well.

[Col. Edmund J. Burke]

Is there a brand and model people like or a brand and model to stay away from?

Mike

I like the portable model with the vibrator attachments.

[notbob]

So DD, why is you can make a weird part fit yer shop vac, but cannot make yer articles wrap, like above?

nb

[DerbyDad03]

Blame my corp servers for blocking newsreaders leading me to use GG.

My typing wraps in the input box in my browser (Chrome) but I guess it doesn't post that way.

BTW...I haven't heard that complaint from others. Do you all see it that way?

I'll also respond via IE and see if there is any difference.

[dadiOH]

Debris was never a problem for me, the problem was dust. Specifically, sanding dust from my drum sander. Shop-Vac style pleated filters clog up almost instantly, paper bag filters work OK but they fill up in a hurry - a BIG hurry - and are on the far side of cheap.

[DerbyDad03]

Posting via GG with IE. This is a test of the wrap feature so I'll just ramble (text just wrapped in the input box) on like I always do and see how this (wrapped again) appears when it hits the newreaders of the fine members of this (wrapped again) group.

Comments?