Quiet shop-vac

[AndyL]

Looking for some ideas - need a small vacuum for my little desktop CNC.

Biggest factor involved here - is noise; It's at my desk, live in an apartment - so a 80-90db howler running for hours isn't going to fly...

Anyone have some thoughts as to what might work / be able to be quieted reasonably well?

 

[tarbellb]

What are you trying to clean up, metal, wood, plastic?

If you want a true shop type vac and low noise you are looking at European style "duct collectors", Festool, Flex, Nilfisk, Fein, etc... excellent vacuums, smaller footprint typically, and lower noise. More money, more features.

Budget a concern, then building a enclosed but vented box for a Rigid vac is your next best option.

Or I would look into a nice handheld like the Shark or Dyson with a hose attachment? Not sure about continuous duty tho.

 

[AndyL]

What are you trying to clean up, metal, wood, plastic?

If you want a true shop type vac and low noise you are looking at European style "duct collectors", Festool, Flex, Nilfisk, Fein, etc... excellent vacuums, smaller footprint typically, and lower noise. More money, more features.

Budget a concern, then building a enclosed but vented box for a Rigid vac is your next best option.

Or I would look into a nice handheld like the Shark or Dyson with a hose attachment? Not sure about continuous duty tho.

Cleaning up - Aluminum and wood chips flying off the CNC router mostly.

Yeah, I'm guessing I'm going to have to do a vented box for both the CNC and the vacuum to try to manage the noise of both. But figure if I start with something quieter - it's going to end up easier to end up with a livable end result.

 

[rustyjames]

I have a Fein and it's very quiet.

 

[Kscardsfan]

Better prepare yourself and your wallet for a shock. Quiet vacuums cost money. You’re probably going to have to go Euro for what you’re needing. My cheap *** Craftsman gets outright abused, but comes back for more. That said it screams and drowns out the house when I have to clean something up. But it never quits.

 

[mike93lx]

It's really too bad that the shop vac qsp's are no more. I have one and it is the quietest vac I have ever owned. When it eventually dies, I am going for one of the previously mentioned dust extractors to replace it.

Depending on your projects, maybe consider containment instead of constant cleaning, and then periodically clean up the mess.

You could go for a home vac, like a Miele, with a separator. Maybe a used Kenmore canister on Craigslist, if price is a factor.

 

[AndyL]

Better prepare yourself and your wallet for a shock. Quiet vacuums cost money.

Yeah that I expected sadly.

I'm spending the afternoon trying to get some understanding of how many CFM I need for this - Because there's a couple quieter "house" vacuums for decent prices that combined with a dust extractor might just do the trick; and they can be found for a little less $ than the shop-vac's. I was eyeballing a miele earlier today that's 62db, but also can have suction dialed back (and with it sound). So as long as it's got the CFM and duty cycle...

 

[mike93lx]

Yeah that I expected sadly.

I'm spending the afternoon trying to get some understanding of how many CFM I need for this - Because there's a couple quieter "house" vacuums for decent prices that combined with a dust extractor might just do the trick; and they can be found for a little less $ than the shop-vac's. I was eyeballing a miele earlier today that's 62db, but also can have suction dialed back (and with it sound). So as long as it's got the CFM and duty cycle...

My Miele canister has adjustable suction and is very quiet, even at full tilt. It was a grand though. At that price, I'd be looking at dust extractors for this project, but for cleaning my carpets, it is awesome. It does get warm when running for a long time

 

[AndyL]

My Miele canister has adjustable suction and is very quiet, even at full tilt. It was a grand though. At that price, I'd be looking at dust extractors for this project, but for cleaning my carpets, it is awesome. It does get warm when running for a long time

hah I noticed you mentioned it after I posted that... There's a few used ones in the area on fb marketplace for new shop-vac prices. Funny the ideas you come up looking around on fb marketplace

 

[66HertzClone]

I have an early smaller vacuum made by Wap, this company bought them out years ago. Mine is a 5 gallon unit and will **** the chrome off a trailer ball as the saying goes. It is amazingly quiet, I’ll use DB app I have on my phone and check it tonight. I have purchased new interior foam and replaced the motor in it, the motor I bought from a car wash supply company for around $50.
Look on EBay for one of these.