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Shop Vac: 5.5hp or 6.5?

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Beowulf

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Jul 4, 2011
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Ok, I always want to buy whatever seems to have the most post, withing a price range. However, when I looked at the shop vacs, they just seem huge. I am looking at the Craftsman XPS line. When I put the 16 gallon unit on the floor, I could not believe how big it was. So now I'm looking at the 12gallon unit. It's size still seems a little big, but does not seem like an R2 unit dragging behind me.

Sadly this capacity difference also drops a motor size. Unfortunately, I cannot find the CFM specs on the XPS units. Looking at Home depot, the 5hp to 6hp units have about 38cfm difference. Holding that true, am I going to notice a huge difference between 130cfm and 168cfm?

I just wish they had some that was only 5gallons or less and had their most powerful motors?

Thoughts on going with the 5.5 instead of the 6.5 needed. I'd especially like to hear from someone that went with a Rigid 12g/5hp instead of the Rigid 14g/6hp.
 
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tcianci

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I just typed a wordy reply to your post and then somehow blew it away!

First of all, the HP numbers are total specsmanship and are the result of some hocus pocus number bending giving the spec and it's peak HP not running HP. a 120V 20 amp circuit has 2400 Watts available so that's about 3 HP tops and allowing for start up draw, you're looking at about a realistic 2HP available from a wall outlet.

Istead of looking at HP, look at the amperage rating of the motor. All things being equal, the motor that draws the most amps will be the more powerful motor.
As you mentioned, it would be nice to have a small but powerful machine. For my business we're using a couple of Ridgid 9 gallon 3.5 (peak) Hp units. They're a great balance of filter size to can size and will fit in a pickup bed with a tonneau on it without laying it down. Considering that I bought them as a "special purchase" at the Depot for either 19 or 29 bucks (can't remember, all I'm sure of is that they were dirt cheap) they have proved to be great machines that aren't so spendy that you would either have to repair them or toss a machine with some value left in it when it needed service.

Also be aware that tell shop vacs tend to be a PITA then you're tugging them along by the hose and the wheel hits something and they tip over on you. Short machines are better.
 
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scab

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Sep 20, 2012
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I ripped the wheels off mine, drilled a few holes in the bottom of the canister, and bolted it onto some wood with casters from NT. It's fairly large but it rolls around so much better with this setup. A good example of planned obsolesence is building metal wheels that plug into plastic canister appendages and then trying to roll them all over the place....
 
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B

Beowulf

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Thank you for the info. I will look at the amp draws on these. In the end, I think smaller will win over pure power.
 
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Kevin54

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I have a 6.5 horse / 20 gal. Shop-Vac and I don't think it's overly huge. It's worked for everything I need it to do. I keep it parked back under my bench.
 
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MN4x4

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Minnesnowta
I have a 16 gallon shop vac that is quite light. It pulls fine around the shop, but can't get over it's own cord let alone an air or water hose.

I built a 'shelf' for it to sit on that I mounted about 5 feet off the floor. It nestles into a base that holds it in place, with an arm on the top to keep it from tipping. Most of time if I'm vacuuming sawdust or cleaning out a vehicle or whatever I just pull a hose around. When I need it to roll with me, I just move the arm and it lifts right off the shelf.

I'm very happy with it, especially since it was a 'quick creation' made in a few hours out of scrap lumber.
 
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antinym

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Jan 19, 2010
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I had a floor one 16 gallon, it was always in the way. Got a wall mount, and a long hose and that worked much better for me. Smaller tank, but I still only have to empty it every 2-4 months. I saw the need for a 16 gallon tank, but I'm sure some people do.
 
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krdiesel03

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Farmington NM
I have the new craftsman 5.5HP wall mount, good suction, quite, and the hose will reach all of the garage. Keep a eye out, it will go in sale for 89
 
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porschedude996TT

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These HP figures always crack me up. If you have a 15 amp receptacle, at 120 volts, then the maximum wattage right at the edge of a breaker trip would be 1,800 watts (15 amps x 120 volts = 1,800 watts).

A 20 amp receptacle would be 2,400 watts (20 amps x 120 volts = 2,400 watts)

One (1) Horse Power = 746 watts

5.5 HP = 4,103 watts

6.5 HP = 4,849 watts

So unless these have an internal wattage multiplier (Dilithium crystals), (Mr. Fusion Home Energy Reactor), (Perpetual Motion Generator) you can’t get more energy out of a power receptacle than described above.

5.5 HP or 4,103 watts would require 34.2 amps at 120 volts.

6.5 or 4,849 watts would require 40.4 amps at 120 volts.

5.5 HP or 4,103 watts would require 17.1 amps at 240 volts.

6.5 or 4,849 watts would require 20.2 amps at 240 volts.
 
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Beowulf

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Just found out the 5.5 XPS is a 11.8 amp so 1.9hp.

For comparison the home depot 6.5hp is a 12amp.

I wonder what the amp draw is on the 6.5 XPS?
 
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capww8

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Sep 6, 2013
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Don't forget to clear the filter, frequently.

I was amazed how much of a difference it made in my Rigid (I think I have the 9 gallon 8.2 amp model) after only a couple weeks of picking up miscellaneous garage debris and saw dust.
 
6

6768rogues

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I agree about the horsepower being peak not continuous running HP. If you can build a 5 continuous running HP motor that will plug into a standard wall outlet you can get a Nobel Prize.
 
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NorthernVA

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Apr 25, 2013
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This is a timely thread for me. I just purchased a craftsman wall mounted 5.5 unit. It is not as strong as I wanted especially when using the 21' hose. However, for car detailing, I was more concerned with ease of use. I have a stronger shop vac in my basement for bigger jobs. I saw some other wall mounted units on amazon, but they all had mixed reviews, so I rolled the dice with mine. All and all I am pleased. The remote switch for the hose is awesome.

CBF28899-4D7E-4543-925C-FCF6CFFC2052-20127-000012AD1DA20304_zps2d1f36d2.jpg
 
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