Shop Vac Suggestions

I need to replace my shop vac and though I can find a lot of good review for various models, most focus on the ability to pick up larger items (nails and such) and to quickly suck up water. As a woodworker who make smaller sized projects, my main concerns are noise and the ability to pickup sawdust. I don't have a lot of money to spend, but does anyone have a good suggestion for an inexpensive vac that would work well for my needs?

Thanks, Richard

Reply to
Richard
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Sorry, not inexpensive (read *expensive), but you can't beat Fein. 2.25" hose and the quietest vacuum on the market. Next best is Porter Cable.

The less expensive ones tend to be *much* louder.

~Mark.

Reply to
Mark Ohlund

Good timing! I just picked one up at Home Depot .. a Ridgid 12 gallon

5HP shop vac for $69.67.

Now, the reason that this is such a good deal is that Ridgid has a $40 Rebate for any Ridgid shop vac costing "more than $69". Talk about cutting it close!

Anyway, it's a good shop vac and for $30 after the rebate, it's hard to go wrong. Here's a link to the rebate coupon I found.

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rebate is good for purchases made to 6/28.

I hope this helps.

Jack

Richard wrote:

Reply to
mywebaccts (at) PLUGcomcast.ne

| > Thanks, | > Richard | >

| | Sorry, not inexpensive (read *expensive), but you can't beat Fein. 2.25" | hose and the quietest vacuum on the market. Next best is Porter Cable. | | The less expensive ones tend to be *much* louder. | | ~Mark.

More specifically the Fein Turbo II vacuum. Mine is a week or so old. I love it. Next week I'm going to hook it up to my sander. Plug the sander into the Fein and when you turn on the sander, the vacuum comes on. When you turn off the sander the vacuum continues to pull all the dust out of the hose before it shuts off. The vacuum hose is 16' long and the power cord is almost as long. A HEPA filter and attachments are extras.

It ain't cheap, but it is a great tool. And it is quiet!!!

John Flatley Jacksonville, FL

"At my age, tomorrow is yesterday before you even knew it was today." stolen from Dennis the Menace.

Reply to
John Flatley

Swingman has a ShopVac branded one and it seemed quiet compared to my Craftsman.

Reply to
Leon

I "studied" the market out there recently since my 5Gal old Shop Vac died. I can't buy brushes for the motor. I looked at Craftsman, ShopVac, Ridgid (HD) and no name brands at Sears, WalMart etc.

The best deal is a 12Gal 5HP "Dirt Hawg" at Costco. Its selling for $

89.00 and is virtually identical to the 12G/5HP RIGID vac which is selling for $ 124.00 at HD. Reading the info on the box, it seems to me its made by the same place as the SHop Vacs ("made in Canada..head office St.Louis MO")and is over $ 30.00 cheaper. It works well and I'm happy with it and the saving of $ 30.00 Has an easily cleanable/reuseable filter..no bags required.

Reply to
Rudy

Actually, as the other poster stated, the Rigid is selling for about $30, if you count the $40 gift card that you get as an actual rebate. If you shop at HD at all, you're sure to spend the $40 quickly. I have one and it works great, although a little loud, but for $30 I might get another.

Reply to
JonH

The prices I posted are in Canada

Reply to
Rudy

Depending on the vintage of your Shop-Vac that "died", you may be able to get a free motor replacement. One of the brushes in my 3-year-old

12-gal/5 hp unit wore out, causing intermittant operation and then total failure. I found the same problem that you did: replacement brushes just aren't available. I noticed that the owners manual said that the unit had a 4-year warranty. I called Shop-Vac (got the number from their web-site), told them of my problem and the age and model number of my Shop-Vac and they sent me a new "power unit" (motor and top housing). They didn't ask for a copy of the purchase receipt. Works fine now. It'll probably go for another 3 years or so.

Bob

Reply to
Bob in NC

Too late, Bob. I gave it the boot and got the new big one after I contacted their head office to ask about the brushes. It was a freebie anyway and I never liked it-no dedicated exhaust port, just blew out thru a vent area under the handle near the switch..odd

Reply to
Rudy

My local HD has two Ridgid models that each have products at the $69 and $99 price points. One has a gray body and the other has a orange body. Other than different colors and body shapes, the orange model is advertised to be the "quiet" model. How quiet is quiet? Does the exhaust filter make much of a difference?

I have an old (and tired) Craftsman shop vac that I use to vacuum big pieces from the floor and a Fein II that attaches to the vac port on some of my power tools (routers, sanders, etc.) to vacuum dust and small debris. The Craftsman sounds like a jet plane taking off (I have to wear earmuffs!). The Fein puts out a moderate hum. Where is the orange Ridgid w/ the exhaust port likely to fit in?

Reply to
Jim Giblin

I also picked up one of the $69.97 vacs at the Borg, and I like it. I have a little bigger Shopvac "quite" model in my shop that I also like. I added an "exhaust filter" to my ridgid to help with noise. My shopvac is already pretty quite, and they achieved that by exhausting around the perimeter, so you can't use it as a blower. I also passed on the Ridgid vac that had the detachable blower. Usually tools that do more than one job do them all poorly. BTW, the vac I just bought replaced a 30 year old metal "power-vac" that just was past it's prime. The motor was tired, and the tank was rusted out.

Reply to
toolmiser

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