Ridgid Shopvac

[Coach James]

Anyone have an opinion on Ridgid shop vacs? I am on my second Craftsman but have been waiting 10 weeks for a couple replacement parts and am fed up with Sears. Any opinions on the Shop Vacs at Lowes?

Thanks

Coach

 

[tcianci]

I just bought a 9 gallon Ridgid vac from Depot, they were 19.99 on special. The same unit with a wet surface squeegee was 59 bucks. It works really well.

 

[mikeyp]

Ridgid is sold at depot Shop Vac is sold at lowes , I work for lowes and have been told both are produced by same suppliers, many of the parts interchange. This being said either seem to work well. I have a Sho Vac i bought almost 6 yrs ago when I started with the company and seems to have held up well. The quality has declined since then but still a pretty decent unit , we have few returns.
Hope that helps

 

[babzog]

Anyone have an opinion on Ridgid shop vacs? I am on my second Craftsman but have been waiting 10 weeks for a couple replacement parts and am fed up with Sears. Any opinions on the Shop Vacs at Lowes?

Thanks

Coach

They were rated the best of the shop vacs when I picked up mine last year. I got the 6HP model for $99 on sale (reg $150). Great vac, very quiet, ***** bigtime (first time I can say that and have it be a positive attribute! )... I can't speak highly enough about it.

 

[Iron-Iceberg]

Way quiet compared to the Craftsman.

 

[devo]

I have one, it's the 14 Gal Pro Vac from Home Depot. I like it. It's quiet (for a shop vac) and pretty powerful for the price.

The hose was a POS, though. It was as flexible in the cold as a 2x4. I got the 10 universal hose that HD sells, it's much better.

I use it for general floor cleaning, and sucking up lots of metal grindings/chips.

 

[boiler7904]

I've had the same unit as devo going on 4 years. Works great for general cleanup and as dust collection for power tools when using a 1 1/4" hose and is pretty quiet for a vac that big.

CleanStream filters are way better than the Ridgid replacements they sell at HD. Would buy it again in a heartbeat.

 

[Shocker]

I have had my big Rigid vac for about 10 years. Great unit.

 

[djd99]

They were rated the best of the shop vacs when I picked up mine last year. I got the 6HP model for $99 on sale (reg $150). Great vac, very quiet, ***** bigtime (first time I can say that and have it be a positive attribute! )... I can't speak highly enough about it.

I picked one up too, so far it's one of the best vacuums I have, My Shop vac doesn't have the power that the rigid does and it's the same hp....If I had to choose I like the rigid.

 

[FastEddieG]

I love my Ridgid Shopvac. I too went through several others, including craftsman. I decided to buy a 12 gallon a few years ago (orwhatever the smallest version to include the lifetime warranty). It has a HEPA filter, and when I vacuum sawdust, or drywall dust, it stays in the vac and doesn't blow out like the others.

-Ed

 

[akdiesel]

I have one of the large Rigid shop vacs going on 6 years. It is noisy and I had to replace the power switch due to getting hot and making the switch hard to shut off.
Other than that a good vac and lots of attatchments.
I clean it out about every 6 months and use it for everything from picking up metal cuttings to cleaning the grass chunks from the mower.

 

[ddawg16]

I have a Ridgid....good vac....better than the Craftsman....
Make sure you get one with the 2 1/2" hose...otherwise, you will be spending all your time unplugging the hose....this is not a ridgid issue.....just pure physics....

The blower attachment is also good...basically, you can attach the hose to the exhaust and use it to blow stuff off....your wife will like it...she can blow dust off plants without destroying them...

 

[chadman]

I have a Ridgid, love it. Good suction, hasn't let me down yet. Had it for 4 yrs. or so.

 

[chevelle67]

Have had numerous brands of shop vacs and my ridgid is the best yet

 

[gesoffen]

I've had a Ridgid since 2000 that has been dead reliable, which is impressive considering I haven't been to kind to it. I've run it for a couple of hours straight when doing wood work projects, I've clogged the hell out of the filter with drywall dust, saw dust, etc. and no problems besides the expected drop in suction.

Loud as hell though so I usually run it with ear muffs on if I'm going to use it for more than a few minutes.

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

Ridgid is sold at depot Shop Vac is sold at lowes , I work for lowes and have been told both are produced by same suppliers, many of the parts interchange. This being said either seem to work well. I have a Sho Vac i bought almost 6 yrs ago when I started with the company and seems to have held up well. The quality has declined since then but still a pretty decent unit , we have few returns.
Hope that helps

Maybe you can get who is the specific supplier. My understanding is Shop vac (the company) supplies (makes) Lowe's, while Emerson, supplies (makes) the Ridgid.

We went through a couple over the years at work. One old metal shop vac one (old style) and one Craftsman. When it started cutting out, I picked up a Ridgid. Ridgid does make some now, with the SNR, to make it quieter. Otherwise it is in a different tone/pitch then the Lowe's shop vac's or our old Craftsman. I believe I bought ours in 95 and we replaced the hose twice (the second time we bought the orange crushproof style, MUCH better). I picked up another Ridgid, when Home Depot brought in the Husky brand as people were saying (store employee's, customers, web) that they thought the Ridgid brand was being dropped (for a cheaper line).
I have a Lowe's (used up a gift card) and a Fein. I will replace the Lowe's with a Ridgid eventually, but not the Fein.

 

[scottybaccus]

Bought mine 6 years ago. It has eaten everything from sawdust and metal shavings to flood water and engine oil, styrofoam peanuts and fiberglass insulation to cat litter and piles of rust.

I use it as a blower from time to time. Never needed any service beyond blowing out the filter once in a while.

 

[Vinko]

I've got a Ridgid 12 gal and 14 gal. The 14 gal seems a lot better than 12 for picking up metal shavings, saw dust, larger objects (like nails and bolts), etc. The motor isn't much more powerful.

I've got a Pullman-Holt from 1977 and it's built pretty damn tuff and the motor is only 1 hp vs. the Ridgid 5 or 6 hp.

 

[stewart]

Hello

This thread is quite timely. I just bought a Rigid, 3 of the 4 wheels did not caster (swivel) in their bases. I spent about an hour working on it with files and reamers to no avail. I returned it. Vacuuming is annoying enough without having to drag the thing around. I don't know what to buy now either.

stewart

 

[BPJOOP93]

Had mine for ten years now with no major problems. great value as far as i'm concerned.

 

[kfainf]

I believe the Ridgid units are well made and when I have to replace mine I will probably go with one. I really don't see replacing mine any time soon however. I have a Shop Vac 2.5 HP 20 gallon unit I bought new in 1988. It has never given me any trouble for twenty + years now. I don't use it daily, but it does get used a lot. I always use the pleated filter cartridges with it, and it still does the job. I am sure the more powerful ones available now will out perform it, but I can't complain at all.

 

[Matt M PA]

I had a bigger roll-around Rigid that I gave to my Dad when I got the smaller toolbox shaped Rigid. I prefer this to the bigger ones for car work and such. Easy to take to the job with all tools on board.

I had a few ShopVac brand vacs and they seemed to die young.

 

[Displaced Hokie]

I've had a Rigid for @ 5yrs and it's worked great. I also have used it as a blower several times with good results. This reminds me to get a new filter...

 

[ironroad 9c1]

I like my craftsman, one of the newer item that isn't junky.

 

[thundercow]

I love rigid...we use one in the epoxy installation business. I think it was like 120$ at HomeD. It has held up under commercial use cleaning concrete dust after grinding. After 2 years it still kicks ****. It's on the truck now, so at home I have a very sorry 5-gallon shopVac that's a hang-up; that one has no suction.

 

[metal1313]

ive got three different shop vacuums. a tiny little husky one that is so small its only good for little things. it does a good job at cleaning the cars, and i use it to clean up after doing small jobs inside. then i have an 8 gallon craftsman that is ok when you first start to use it but soon as there is anything in it theres no power. o and the hose fell apart. and my fav is my giant metal ridgid. it gets used mostly hooked to saws for dust control but its great

 

[Costner]

I have a good size Ridgid and it works as advertised. I bought it during one of their Black Friday sales a couple years back and considering what I paid for it (some idiotic price like $29) it has more than paid for itself.

The only thing I think it is missing is one of those mufflers since it is a tad loud. I might try to add one and see if it helps at all, but otherwise it has plenty of suction and a nice locking hose so you can pull it around without the hose falling off. I've used it for both dry material and wet... works like a champ.

 

[snorky18]

I have a good size Ridgid and it works as advertised. I bought it during one of their Black Friday sales a couple years back and considering what I paid for it (some idiotic price like $29) it has more than paid for itself.

12 gallon Ridgid, 10 amp (or so) motor has been on sale at home depot for $29 for at least the last 3 years in a row on black friday. Just make sure you get there early before the contractors who buy 3+ at a time clean them alll out.

Ours takes a hepa filter, has operated flawlessly for years, run for hours on end at times, and the only thing we have yet to wear out was the rubber strip on the wet squeege, a new one was maybe $10.

 

[ZRX61]

Vary of Ridgid products since Home Despot said they wouldn't honor any warranty about 3 years ago..

 

[hcs1947]

We have 2 of the 12 gal. Shop Vacs from Lowes at work, and I also have one at home. The motor has burned out in two of them, but Lowes has replaced them with no questions asked. They were the $29 sale specials too, and the replacements were priced much higher not being on sale at the time, but they still gave me new replacements. The warranty is three years I believe. They have adequate power for our use, both wet and dry. If I were buying new though, I would probably go with the Ridgid just due to the great reviews they get. I have seen several contractors using them, like for instance the pool company that installed our salt system last fall used a small Ridgid to blow out the lines instead of an air tank or compressor. One difference I think is that the Shop Vac has the option of using a bag inside but I'm not sure the Ridgid does, if that makes any difference to you. At work we use one with a bag for dry only, and the other one without a bag for wet work.

 

[Coach James]

Thanks for all the opinions. I still haven't bought one. The nearest HD is 30+ miles away and I haven't been able to get over there yet. The Sears here is again ordering the one remaining part I need. It was first ordered August 11th! This will be the third time they have ordered it. If it comes in, I'm going to return all the parts to Sears and still get a Ridgid.

Coach

 

[Number21]

I used to have an older one that always worked great, but home depot stoped selling the filters for it, but last year's "black friday" sale got me a bigger one for $25. Slightly more than the cost of a filter. The new one even came with a blower output my old one didn't have. I wish I would have bought four of them. Now the same thing is near $100. I will be keeping a close eye on them this year on the upcoming black friday...

But the best part was the guy at Home Depot said they were using the "Husky" brand vac in the back where they cut wood, which I think is a cheapened version of the Ridgid. He said they went through two of them and then switched to the Ridgid, which has worked great for them. I assume they use it quite a bit, it's good when the store trusts their own product. They really **** if you know what I mean.

PS - mine is strong enough to pick up my cat, I don't recommend trying to vacuum yours with a Ridgid vac. LOL

 

[Spaggs]

Last week I got one from the Home Depot. I got the biggest one they had. Very impressed with the suction power and the thing is quiet, too. With an extra filter, I think it was about $180.

Bottom line: I like it!

Spaggs

 

[varunner]

I've had both Ridgid and ShopVac. Ridgid is the best, no doubt.

 

[coppermouse]

They are good but the filters are too expensive

 

[snorky18]

They are good but the filters are too expensive

IIRC the filters are $10, $20, and $30 (for the Hepa).

I vaguely remember the model numbers being something like VF4000, VF5000, and VF6000.

It comes with one of the $20 filters, and we bought a $30 HEPA filter to be dang sure we weren't blowing drywall dust all over the house. We clean our filters whenever the suction seems lower than normal, but we've never had to replace either of them since you can clean them, which means unless you manage to destroy a filter somehow (toilet overflow anyone?), you don't have to buy new filters ever.

For general use (garage/shop), I like the $20 filter. The HEPA is nice, and catches everything, but it clogs easier than the more porous ones.

BTW, I learned this the hard way... if you're picking up a lot of water, it's better to empty the vac BEFORE it fills up all the way. Performance falls apart once the filter is saturated.

 

[Pappa Ugg]

Mine *****... but in a good way.

 

[Number21]

We clean our filters whenever the suction seems lower than normal, but we've never had to replace either of them since you can clean them, which means unless you manage to destroy a filter somehow (toilet overflow anyone?), you don't have to buy new filters ever.

I agree. I never changed the filter on my old Ridgid in many years of use. Finally it got too disgusting and I decided to replace it, found out HD stopped selling that size filter after I threw the old one away. But then I got a whole new vac with a filter for $25.

I'm going to get an extra long hose for my shop for both the intake and output of my Ridgid. I'll put the output through the wall so I can use the cheapest filter and still just vent any extra dust outside...

 

[brownbagg]

when you reply to a post like this, are you suppose to say nice things or just come out and tell the truth. It seems like whenever anybody tells the truth, people get mad. "Oh thats a pretty color" oR" no, you got a good deal" "you did not pay too much"

well my ridgid shop vac was the worst piece of #$^% I ever had, I took pleasure running it over with the riding lawn mower, I just wish it was made better so I could get more weekend enjoyment with the mower. I would of took it back to HD but it wasnt worth the gas. Oh the bucket did come in handy when I change the oil in my car. a bucket with wheels.

 

[Number21]

when you reply to a post like this, are you suppose to say nice things or just come out and tell the truth. It seems like whenever anybody tells the truth, people get mad. "Oh thats a pretty color" oR" no, you got a good deal" "you did not pay too much"

well my ridgid shop vac was the worst piece of #$^% I ever had, I took pleasure running it over with the riding lawn mower, I just wish it was made better so I could get more weekend enjoyment with the mower. I would of took it back to HD but it wasnt worth the gas. Oh the bucket did come in handy when I change the oil in my car. a bucket with wheels.

Well, every manufacturer makes a lemon now and then. I'm sure there's somone out there driving a ferrari that hates it. You didn't explain why it was such a "piece of #$^%" though.