Burgerkong
Well-known member
WIP, I didn't want to pay the $15 plus tax for a marginally quieter muffler from Ridgid - a $15 piece of round plastic tube with a piece of foam at the opening. Took the idea from a bunch of students doing a project on quieting down their Porter Cable Euro vac. What's weird is that even though Ridgid explicitly says that my vacuum features scroll noise reduction, it is nowhere as quiet as the bigger 14-16 gallon models. 
Plan is to get a 1-1/2" ABS coupler which has an outer diameter of exactly 2-1/4" which will fit in any Ridgid vacuum blower/exhaust port. I will add a couple inches of 1-1/2" pipe to the coupler (in order to clear the vacuum body), then add a 1-1/2" to 2" expander (to slow down airflow and reduce some noise). I attached a myriad of compact 45 and 90 degree elbows, then finally another expander, this time a 2" to 3" in order to create a double wall muffler. The outer pipe, as alluded to, will be 3". A smaller 2" pipe will directly connect to the 2" portion of the expander and run inside the larger 3" pipe. This smaller pipe will have numerous holes drilled into it so that sound waves and air can interact with the layer of mineral wool/fiberglass in between the two concentric pipes. This 'chamber' will be roughly 10" in length (so it isn't longer than the vacuum). A 3" cap will be attached to the end, with a 2" hole drilled in the center so that the smaller pipe can poke out and exhaust air. The protruding part allows for a hose to slide on, thus the original blowing function is preserved.
Sounds complicated? Great! I have no idea if this works at all, and it'll probably end up costing more than the Ridgid muffler, but hey, why the hell not? Onwards to the pictures!
Vacuum in question.
I am missing the 1-1/2" coupler in this picture (only have the expander, you can see how it's angled upwards because it is contacting the vac body), forgot to buy it! I will get it tomorrow, as well as all the necessary pipes.
Prior to modifications
I realize this is pretty ambitious, so I present to you the $3 version that does half of what the OEM muffler does (redirect and lessen airflow, though my version does the former mainly).
Plan is to get a 1-1/2" ABS coupler which has an outer diameter of exactly 2-1/4" which will fit in any Ridgid vacuum blower/exhaust port. I will add a couple inches of 1-1/2" pipe to the coupler (in order to clear the vacuum body), then add a 1-1/2" to 2" expander (to slow down airflow and reduce some noise). I attached a myriad of compact 45 and 90 degree elbows, then finally another expander, this time a 2" to 3" in order to create a double wall muffler. The outer pipe, as alluded to, will be 3". A smaller 2" pipe will directly connect to the 2" portion of the expander and run inside the larger 3" pipe. This smaller pipe will have numerous holes drilled into it so that sound waves and air can interact with the layer of mineral wool/fiberglass in between the two concentric pipes. This 'chamber' will be roughly 10" in length (so it isn't longer than the vacuum). A 3" cap will be attached to the end, with a 2" hole drilled in the center so that the smaller pipe can poke out and exhaust air. The protruding part allows for a hose to slide on, thus the original blowing function is preserved.
Sounds complicated? Great! I have no idea if this works at all, and it'll probably end up costing more than the Ridgid muffler, but hey, why the hell not? Onwards to the pictures!
Vacuum in question.
I am missing the 1-1/2" coupler in this picture (only have the expander, you can see how it's angled upwards because it is contacting the vac body), forgot to buy it! I will get it tomorrow, as well as all the necessary pipes.
Prior to modifications
I realize this is pretty ambitious, so I present to you the $3 version that does half of what the OEM muffler does (redirect and lessen airflow, though my version does the former mainly).
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I got pissed when I through the $15 piece of plastic on and it did nothing.
get you down. I like this thread and in this case, it's not the destination but the journey. You are learning something and ultimately will have taught others what you learned, and maybe you will come up with a better mousetrap!
