General Purpose Shop Vac?

[karoc]

Doing some remodeling in my house from drywall’s, tape and floating, painting, cutting 2x material etc. Just general mess, seems like sweeping just stirs up dust. I would also want to use shop vac out in garage to pick up saw dust and maybe hook up to my router table.
First, let me say that Festool is out of my general purpose budget. With that said looking for something that can move from house to my shop. I see that HD carries Rigid shop vac and that Lowes carries another brand. Question is there shop vac that kinda stands out from the others that’s kinda in same price range? Open for suggestions

 

[Paul_The_Builder]

As long as you keep the filter clean (and correctly attached), I've always had good luck with Ridgid shop vacs.

I replaced my hoses with Cen-tec hoses from Amazon. The Cen-tec hoses are much higher quality than the junk hoses and attachments that come with the Ridgid vacs. I usually keep a 16' hose on my Ridgid in the garage. The extra length really comes in handy.

 

[DadsTools]

I started a forum thread awhile ago asking about this subject when my old ShopVac was giving me problems. The general overall consensus was to go with Ridgid brand--lots of folks liked them the best for reasonably priced units.

 

[seber]

Shop vacs are pretty simple and damn near foolproof. They all work until they burn out and I seriously doubt any of them are better than any other. A more important decision than brand is size. I keep a mini vac in the shop. When I brought it into the house for some carpentry work my wife fell in love with it and I had to get another for the shop. Since then, a neighbor put another small one out for curb pick up. They all work great and for me the very small size is ideal.

 

[acer66]

I started a forum thread awhile ago asking about this subject when my old ShopVac was giving me problems. The general overall consensus was to go with Ridgid brand--lots of folks liked them the best for reasonably priced units.

This.

 

[boom_bap]

My dad has a craftsman he bought 30 years ago or more, still works just fine. I bought a Craftsman 5 years ago and abuse it pretty hard and it has been great. I do a lot of welding and fab work, so mine has sucked up its fair share of grinding dust, drill chips, saw dust. Like the other guy said, its all about the filter. Keep it clean if you can remember. Lowes sells replacements now.

 

[boom_bap]

By the way they have drywall bags that go over your filter if you're going to be doing a lot of that.

 

[mrvm]

Ridgid shop vacs offer good performance for great value. No problems with regular construction debris or saw dust but drywall dust tends to clog filters prematurely so be prepared for that.

 

[sparky 1971]

I've had nothing but good luck out or Rigid vacs. I currentLy have a 16, two 8's, and a three gallon vac throught my garage, basement, and jobsites. My larger vacs are all old enough that I can't put bags in them, so the quality may have gone downhill since mine were made. I don't use the small unit, I bought it for my service truck, but it takes up too much room, but it does work well. It's been replaced by a M18. I also have a 12 gallon Shop-Vac that I got cheap on a black friday. It's a good machine but the switch has been a piece of **** that I've had to jiggle around since day one.

 

[billconner]

I have a Milwaukee I bought in 1982, our first whole house renovation. Working on third house and still going strong. Except hose, all stainless steel. Bought a case of bags when new, still have quite a few.

 

[isb cornbinder]

I have 3 Shop Vacs. They all work really well. I was very disappointed when Shop Vac announced that they are going out of business.
I bought my stainless steel Shop Vac at a garage sale. It cost me $10. I thought it was much to heavy, but put that off to , maybe the seller had not emptied it. When I got home and opened the Shop Vac, it was full, of ice packs and a good brand of imported beer.
Now, when I think back to the events of that day, The seller may have been waving at me to return to the garage sale. OH Well, after one Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale, my buyer's remorse went away rather quickly.

 

[Frushlorton]

Wife got me a Milwaukee M18 little vac. Does great for small jobs and cleaning up installs.

 

[Jeepster04]

I believe the craftsman came out on top (or near it?) on project farms review.

 

[dogdog]

ShopVac (plus a few filters to rotate while the others are being washed/dried) with a dust cyclone attachment if you have a lot of saw dust or dry wall dust to vacuum up. sweep first of cause will prolong your filter changes. still have to change them after a while. Knocked down tons of lath and plaster and clean up this way. in my case all my shop vac are Ridgid brand of various kind.

 

[Toolfool]

My 32 year old Craftsman vac has been used daily in a construction setting and is still sucking strong.

 

[LG63]

This Ridgid is a pretty versatile setup that used to go on sale for around $100. Easy to maneuver in the house and plenty of power for the garage. The only drawback is it uses a unique sized filter. For drywall dust the optional bags are very effective.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-...nd-Premium-Car-Cleaning-Kit-WD4070C/308058433

Edit: Link doesn't work for some reason - it's Model WD4070 with car cleaning kit

 

[BlindViper]

I have a Ridgid one that I use at work and I have the same model at home. My work one is at least 8 years old with several hundred hours of run time and I only have ever had issues with the wheels. Do yourself a favor and buy a more expensive one(quieter). Use a HEPA filter (I use the washable kind) and use the filter bags that go in the tub. This combo is great for drywall dust and I very rarely even have to "clean" the HEPA filter.

 

[stonesfan68]

By the way they have drywall bags that go over your filter if you're going to be doing a lot of that.

it is well worth the investment to get the dust bag if you plan on sucking up even a moderate amount of drywall dust. The dust bag extends the life of the filter for normal items, too.

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

My dad has a craftsman he bought 30 years ago or more, still works just fine. I bought a Craftsman 5 years ago and abuse it pretty hard and it has been great. I do a lot of welding and fab work, so mine has sucked up its fair share of grinding dust, drill chips, saw dust. Like the other guy said, its all about the filter. Keep it clean if you can remember. Lowes sells replacements now.

My Craftsman is probably 40 years old. I bang out or use compressed air to clean the filter when not satisfied with the suction. I still have the original filter, hose and fittings. Never have used it for water. If I see another up for sale. But for drywall dust I do use the low setting.
I would buy it as I’m looking for one for the lake.

 

[karoc]

Guys, thanks for all suggestions. I went ahead and purchase the 16gal plus filter liners? to collect that drywall dust. Waiting for my grandson to open box and check it out make sure all pieces are there.
Bob Builder I did check out Amazon Cen Tec hoses see they have several kits, so I be placing order with them. Hose that comes with shop vacs are always kinda stiff. Thanks again guys

 

[toyotadriver]

I have a Craftsman I've owned for years. It's been a good vacuum and has been abused and still running. It's pretty big though so not really all that maneuverable. Wanted a smaller but still taller vacuum so recently bought a Bauer from Harbor Freight since the Bauer was the only vacuum that had what I wanted (narrow and smaller diameter with an approximately 6 gallon capacity). Only complaint so far is the short cord that comes with it. I might replace it with a longer one eventually. Otherwise it's a pretty good vacuum.