Lowes Rant or Shop vac question

[RegeSullivan]

Not sure if this is more of a rant or question... One of the vacs in my shop $hit the bed so checking black Friday sales I find a Shop Vac brand 6HP at Lowes for $39.98, https://www.lowes.com/pd/Shop-Vac-12-Gallon-6-Peak-HP-Shop-Vacuum/50159065 ordered 2 of them for store pickup but was unable to get delivery date on their site. So I called and was told they are back ordered and no estimate for delivery. I asked if there was anything they could do or for an equivalent deal on a similar vac. No way and in addition, the two I ordered may never arrive depending on their supplier...

Found a deal at Home Depot, 5HP Ridgid vac, https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-16-Gal-5-0-Peak-HP-Wet-Dry-Vac-WD1641/304795144 just under $40.00 but turns out it is back ordered to... So I called, most to vent a little and I was immediately offered a better vac for $4 less, free shipping to my house along with what sounded like a sincere apology. Nice experience all in all.

Anyway, my question HP ratings aside do you think there is much difference in a 5HP (10 amp) vac vs a 6HP (12 amp) vac?

 

[EOC_Jason]

IMO the Rigids seem to be better built than the shop vacs... Also the Ridgid is a slightly larger diameter hose, though IMO unless you are just vacuuming out your car, a model with the 2.5" hose is the way to go...

 

[ishiboo]

Take a look at actual CFMs. The Ridgid I looked at had a decent amount more CFMs for the same "horsepower" rating... I've been more pleased with it than any of my Shop Vacs.

 

[carl_694]

I've owned both. Will never buy a "Shop-Vac" again. Garbage.

 

[Dirtydan69]

Shop vac tha5 I used to own, gave it away, had plastic latches that held the lid on. Never once did i5 stay latched while in the back of my van. Great vacuum. ****** latches. Every t8me I went to pull it out of the van it would come apart and the. I had to crawl in and dig out the base and typically a pile of dirt. Rigid always stays latched.

 

[CKS1955]

...I find a Shop Vac brand 6HP at Lowes for $39.98, https://www.lowes.com/pd/Shop-Vac-12-Gallon-6-Peak-HP-Shop-Vacuum/50159065 ordered 2 of them for store pickup but was unable to get delivery date on their site. So I called and was told they are back ordered and no estimate for delivery...

Gosh darn it, I just ordered one about an hour ago, the order is being processed and the authorization for the charge went through. I guess I may have to call. In my humble opinion all the wet dry vacs in this price range are pretty similar.

Jay

 

[Negen]

I do not understand how these ratings can be made so cheap. 1450 Watts seems pretty high for under 40$ I hear good things about rigid. Also there might be clearing out some models I am not sure if USA will follow Europe with vacuum wattage regulations but if motor manufacturers want just one global motor then they might be. My nilfisk is 9.4 amp motor. But I needed good filtration and is the only reason I bought it over USA models which are significantly lower prices with equally as good of suction with slightly or significantly less filtration depending on brands and models and type of bag used. Noise is the only other thing I see affect prices. Either way you probably did good.

Sent from my G8141 using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Bretny]

Theres prob little to no difference. I have had a lowes brand shopvac and now a ridgid. My lowes lived through 2 major house remodels and still lives today. Ridgid is newer so i dont use it to shop vac water or piles of dirt off the cellar floor.
They both **** and blow and do whats asked of them. However the lowes shopvac switch dosnt work any more so its a plug in to turn on. Not really a big deal to me.

 

[slow]

I've owned both. Will never buy a "Shop-Vac" again. Garbage.

Agreed. I purchased the shop vac wall mount unit, it was very low performance. I returned it and bought the Ridgid wall mount, and it is awesome.

 

[EOC_Jason]

When you read "peak", it's kind of the same BS rating like they gave air compressors back in the 90's the "6HP Peak" rating... Guess it's going to take a massive class action lawsuit to get them to rate them properly...

 

[fsae0607]

I had a Lowes Shop-Vac. It was okay. But as was mentioned, the top/bottom latches sucked. They always came loose.

Also had an issue with the on/off switch not staying in the on position unless you pressed it just right. I let my contractor use it on my last big project and he [happily for me] killed it vacuuming up construction debris.

I bought a Rigid vac last year and love it. Seems much more robust.

 

[acer66]

Yeah, I got a craftmans shop vac and it seems be not as sturdy as the rigids, the most positive thing I can say about is that seems quite a bit more quite than the older rigid I have.

 

[fourjeepin]

Ridgid, even if you have to pay more for it.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

I have the first version of the Craftsman wall mount wet/dry vac. It works fine, but if it ever dies, I'm getting a Bissell Garage Pro.

Tommy