Shop vacs...

[chrislehr]

I almost got a Cman, and the lack of warr and people here talked me out of it. So I went RIGID shopping... found a few I liked...

but today, I went on CL and the LATEST ad was one of these...

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...3&productId=100638360&N=10000003+90042+524502

For $80. Ran to ATM while emailing, was at his house 3 minutes after posted and snagged a GREAT deal.

 

[Merkava_4]

I've got a Ridgid, not sure what the part number is, but it's the one with the shiny chrome tank. I've got a 12ft. hose hooked up to it and still get pretty good suction. My 2 cents.

 

[Vinko]

I just discovered Power-Flite -- Commercial wet/dry vacs. Made in the USA, apparently.

I have an older Pullum and a new Ridgid 14 gal. at work. A 12 gallon Ridgid at home.

 

[swduncan]

I've owned a Shop-Vac, and a Rigid. Now I own a Fein, and I will never, ever go back to one of the cheesy screamers.

Expensive, but quiet (you can hold a conversation while it's on), excellent accessories, and excellent power. The auto-on outlet for my sander rocks as well.

I still have the rigid, and I use it for one thing: sucking up water.

 

[bry@n]

I have that same Ridgid and really like it. It suits my needs well.

 

[Coach James]

I hear lots of good things about Ridgid vacs. I have two C-man ones. One is ~ three years old and the other is maybe 7 years old. The older one is used by my employees at our gym so it gets beat up pretty good but still works fine.

Coach

 

[RRmech]

My Ridgid vac gets a lot of use.....NO problems so far.

Steve

 

[KCarGuy]

I have a large Ridgid Shop Vac that also turns into a leaf blower...dries my cars fast!
I also have a small portable Shop-Vac that also works great, My wife always steals that one for use around the house.
I used to own a cheap piece of carp that would always fall over as I moved it (I had to put a Weight inside). Gave that one away.
My son and Daughter bought the Ridgid 6-7 years ago for Fathers Day. Dont ya love Fathers Days?

 

[hobie1dog]

Anyone know of a site that tests them for noise ratings?

I always heard that the grand daddy of all vacs was the Festool with it's internal bag system that doesn't blow dust all over your shop.

 

[petty4243]

as far as I am concerned, they all ****, or at least i hope they do... lol

I just have a small older shop vac.... does not get used much, so never really worried about getting anything better

 

[bry@n]

I know the OP's model has a muffler on it and is pretty quiet or at least quieter than most I have been around.

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

My current vac of choice, is my old single speed Fein. Really quite, and a bypass style vac, that Ryobi used to be the only other one that made (that was local anyway). For those that don't know, a bypass style vac, doesn't cool the motor, via the air that flows through the hose. That way, when you work with fines (sawdust, drywall, etc), there is no chance that the dust is going to go be blown out by the motor. As mentioned above, it is QUIET.

I have an old Lowe's (gift card purchase), shop vac, that is set up for wet now. I would MUCH prefer the Ridgid to that or the Craftsman my father has. The larger Ridgids, have SNR (serial noise reduction), and are lower pitch. We also have a Ridgid at work, that ***** up hot ash and carbon, and has been going strong for years. (replaced the hose with the orange one)

There are other high end vacs, that might be beneficial, variable speed Fein, Festool, and higher priced, all depends on how you use it.

 

[fotoflojoe]

I've got an older model Ridgid 16 gallon shop vac - bought it about 8 years ago. At times, it's been abused it like a rented mule, but has always worked extremely well. I'd buy another one in a heatbeat.

 

[Herb]

I have an old Craftsman that I inherited from my father when he wanted a new smaller one. It has survived a flooded basement at his house- funny seeing a shop vac floating like a giant fishing bobber- has been disassembled several times so we could oil the bearings- that really quiets it down when it starts screaming, and being kicked, knocked over, dropped, etc. I think its a 30 gallon, and he purchased it new in 1975. The only thing is it seems to plug up filters very quickly, and the plastic connection for the vac hose is crumbling apart.

 

[ultgar]

Anyone know of a site that tests them for noise ratings?

I always heard that the grand daddy of all vacs was the Festool with it's internal bag system that doesn't blow dust all over your shop.

I've tested the Festool, Alto/Wap and Fein for noise and suction levels (Miele too)....here's some data on the Alto/Wap line...see http://www.ultimategarage.com/shopvacs.html . Its important to note what frequency of the noise levels....peaks in the 1000hz range will be more annoying than those in the 125-300hz range. This 10yr old Wap SQ10 has a 61db peak at 2500hz as measured 1 meter away from the machine.

Wap used to make the vacuums for Stihl, Fein and Festool (rebranded Wap Turbo models)....now Fein sources them out of Italy and Festool gets their's from Kranzle. Wap still makes the Attix series sold under the Alto name.

Steve D

 

[Bolster]

I own a Ridgid and I can't make it die. I've left it in the rain, run it wet, it just keeps running. Noisy sucker though.

 

[Monte]

What about those rebadged "Starmix" units ??

 

[Major Ramifications]

Welcome back, Ultgar! I haven't heard from you in a while.
I was also going to mention the Wap line, as I first looked into these when Ultgar mentioned them years ago. Unfortunately, I still cannot afford a Wap.

The last time I checked, both the Craftsman and Ridgid lines were made by Emerson Electric. They are very similar. I have a slight preference for the Blue "Commercial" Shop Vac line at Lowes.
Both Craftsman and Shop Vac offer internal bags, which are nice.

No matter which wet/dry vac you get, I can't stress enough how much I love the CleanStream filters by W.L. Gore (the GoreTex people). You can **** up anything, and you just wash them out and re-use them. I pick up fireplace ash and drywall dust with none of it getting past the filter.

 

[ricleh]

I have a Fein that was made by Wap that I bought about 15 years ago. I also have a Milwaukee stainless steel model with a 3 stage bypass motor. Both are excellent wet/dry shop vacs. The Milwaukee is more powerful bu the Fein is quieter. They are not cheap though. The Fein was about $600 and the Milwaukee with all attachment I got for it was over $1000. I've never had a problem with either one.

 

[ultgar]

Welcome back, Ultgar! I haven't heard from you in a while.
I was also going to mention the Wap line, as I first looked into these when Ultgar mentioned them years ago. Unfortunately, I still cannot afford a Wap.

The Alto/Wap Attix 8 (gallon) has the same 1000w (type M) motor they which has been used for the last 10 years...around $380 including shipping anywhere in the lower US. I also have 2 of the larger Attix 12 (gallon) RDF units for around $600 including freight. Both are very quiet industrial grade machines with great suction.

Festool's CT vacuums are great for dedicated tool dust extraction (Festool does not give you any accessories with there models). SD