Shop-Vac 2.5" hose?

[AntonLargiader]

Over the holidays I got a Shop-Vac with the so-called 6 peak HP motor (no idea what that really means but it was one of the bigger motors). It has the regular 1.5" hose and a few attachments.

I will need to do a lot of floor vacuuming in the near future and was looking for a good floor brush head. The biggest ones are for 2.5" hose, and I can get a 2.5" accessory pack for $35 or so.

Is this a good idea or is the 2.5" hose too difficult to use? Seems it would flow a lot of air and with one of the larger motors this should perform well.

 

[cannondalejoe]

I have two different shop vacs ( larger is marked 6.5 HP for what's that worth ) that both have 2-1/2 inch hoses and about 90% of the time I reduce them back down to 1-1/4 accessories to increase the suction velocity. I find using the larger 2-1/2 accessories there just isn't enough suction. For instance, I will be cleaning my shop floor and just pushing around dirt particles instead of sucking them up. Putting the 1-1/4 reducer and accessories back on solves the problem.

The 2-1/2 hose is definitely a lot harder to clog up that the smaller size.

 

[larry_g]

As cannon said I have both and find that for most dirt jobs I use the smaller hose. When picking up leaves and sawdust in the shop then I use the larger hose. So it depends a bit on the job at hand Light fluffy stuff or heavy dirt/metal shavings.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[kctyphoon]

I'd imagine you'd loose suction/velocity going from small to large, and if nothing else increase your chance of clogging... I have a big vac with the big 2.5" hose.. it's very annoying, I'd prefer a smaller hose. Adapters always fall off it reducing just the wands too..

That said, you don't need to jump to 2.5" cause there is no other choice. 1 7/8" is also a standard shop vac hose size and accessory size.

 

[EOC_Jason]

Depends on what you are sucking up... If it's larger chunky stuff the larger diameter hose really helps prevent clogs... If it's just fine particles then the smaller hoses work just as well.

Mine has the 2.5" hose and for lack of not knowing the actual attachment name, I use the vacuum tip that you often see at car-washes, probably about 4-5" wide... It actually reduces down to the 1.5" hose size but uses an adapter. As someone else said you get better velocity than having it wide open at 2.5"

 

[BillK]

AL,
I have a 2 1/2 inch hose on the one at my shop and I had to actually cut a few extra slots in the floor attachment to keep the vacuum from sucking it to the floor and making it hard to use. If you are worried about loosing suction that is not an issue. My vac is an ancient 5 HP Shop Vac It does fine vacuuming up metal chips and all of the other filth that a machine shop generates.

 

[AntonLargiader]

This afternoon I was cleaning up some stuff and was reminded again how easily the reducer at the vac clogs. And curls from the lathe, or wood splinters, and the hose clogs. I will be happy to do without that. It doesn't clog for want of velocity, it clogs because there's an edge in the reducer that things hang up on.

1.875 isn't that much larger than 1.5. I think I will try the 2.5" kit if the floor head has bristles. Otherwise I will build a floor vacuum head. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[derosa]

I have 6hp ridgid and couldn't imagine potting a smaller hose on it, when the filter isn't clogged with sawdust or plaster dust it ***** up the random nail, screw or children's toy just fine and the hose is harder to clog. Actually both my 5 & 6 HP vacs came 2.5"

 

[EOC_Jason]

I got one of those fine filter bags for my shop-vac... Traps all the sawdust and fine sheetrock... Never looses suction, main filter stays clean... For only having to change the bag out once a year or two *maybe* it's a good buy.

 

[Indexmill]

I got one of those fine filter bags for my shop-vac... Traps all the sawdust and fine sheetrock... Never looses suction, main filter stays clean... For only having to change the bag out once a year or two *maybe* it's a good buy.

Hi,

Part number and source on that fine filter bag, please?

 

[AntonLargiader]

Edit: I have the 12 gallon stainless shop-vac, and the filter is marked 51151-00 but the shopvacstore.com shows a different part number (90662) for the 10-14 gallon filter bag. So just look it up on the shopvacstore.com website.

 

[David0858]

I have a Ridgid with a 1 7/8" hose. You wouldn't think it would be much bigger than the 1 1/2" but it is. I'm hoping it won't clog as bad as the 1 1/2" did and after using this it's about as big as I want to deal with, I think the 2 1/2" hose would be too big.

 

[Danglerb]

I've been pretty happy with the Mr Nozzle hose for vacuuming the car, its like 12' long, 1/7/8, lets me move the hose instead of the vac.

 

[EOC_Jason]

Hi,

Part number and source on that fine filter bag, please?

It's on the shop-vac website. You can find them anywhere like Lowes, Walmart, Amazon, etc... They make different sizes based on the gallon size of your vacuum.

There are two versions of the bags, a white "Regular" bag, and a yellow "High-Efficiency"... Get the yellow one! It's only like ~$10 for a 2pk, and like I said they will last a long time. People say the white ones tear easy, I think they are just a single layer. The yellow has two layers. You can remove the bag (carefully) if you need to **** up any wet stuff & re-install afterwards.

 

[AntonLargiader]

I tried an older Shop-Vac 2.5" hose that I had lying around with my 6 HP vac. All I can say is WOW what a beast!! Totally immune from clogging, and PLENTY of suction. The biggest problem is that the hose is very flexible in the accordion sort of way, and when you block the end the hose bunches up and the Shop-Vac tips itself over. It's that strong. So I need a stiffer 2.5" hose if I'm going to keep doing this.

Still haven't gotten a vacuum brush.