Happy new year guys!! About to start a kitchen renovation and decided that this would be an exellent time to get a good big shop vac that I could later use in the shop. What brands are you guys using, size, how do you like them?
Shop vacs
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LithuanianMan
Member
I have a Craftsman 16-Gallon Wet/Dry vac i got on sale from Sears for about $85. It works great, it is extremely powerful. I almost sucked in a pair or swimming trunks once! Another plus is that it has a detachable blower that is also very handy. It is actually works a lot better than my gas blower. The 16-gallon tank size is PLENTY, trust me it holds a lot of sh!t.
JeremyManning
Well-known member
I have a rigid from home depot which I used to build my house has cleaned up a lot of drywall dust and still works great I have had it for about 3 years
neverenoughtools
Well-known member
I have a rigid 8 gal. & a shop vac. Brand around 10 gal. Both have great suction 
turbo6justin
Well-known member
Crapsman 5hp 12 gal here. I use it to clean up mostly saw dust, metal dust, vehicles, mostly small stuff. My advice is unless you plan to use it for wet often that gallon capacity is less important than sucking power. I routinely find myself needing to knock out the filter with a gallon or less of actual stuff in the bucket. Plus if it gets much stuff in the bucket it just gets plane heavy and I tend to empty it too. With that said $15 bucks almost new if not new from a church rummage and the Craftsman ***** as good as any other I have used. Bigger hose size is also nice if using it to clean up a variety of bigger stuff, 2x4 ends, small chunks of wood, leaves, etc.
Vettman
Well-known member
I can vouch for this vacuum! It generates a lot of suction and has huge capacity. A few months ago I scored a Rigid wall mounted vacuum from Home Depot (closeout priced @ $20.00) It's mounted on the other end of the garage and used primarily for vacuuming out cars as it has a long hose and holder. It works OK and it's not as bulky, but is nothing like the suction of the Craftsman.
Ign
Well-known member
You can get it at least $20 cheaper when they put it on sale w/out the blower. Good value for the money, like mine.
ddawg16
Well-known member
Best Shop Vac? "Search"....as in....
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=83987&highlight=shop+vac
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=82230&highlight=shop+vac
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81816&highlight=shop+vac
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=64327&highlight=shop+vac
And that is just going back a couple of months.....
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=83987&highlight=shop+vac
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=82230&highlight=shop+vac
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81816&highlight=shop+vac
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=64327&highlight=shop+vac
And that is just going back a couple of months.....
matty d
Well-known member
Looked around at reviews etc. and finally settled on a Rigid. Cant go wrong. After reading reviews Shop Vac has some complaints. Rigid has a new small shop vaccum that looks like a tool box. thats pretty cool. I have a 5hp portable one. No complaints. Plenty of accessories to buy too...
Ign
Well-known member
Had the same thought...........tried to do that too, but "vac" came up w zero results. Too short for search engine?
djd99
Well-known member
Buy something of decent size and a name brand, like Craftsman, Rigid or Shop-Vac. Make sure it has the larger hose (2" ?) vs. the smaller hose if you're using it for home improvement work.
Spend 5 minutes trying to **** broken drywall with a small shop vac and you'll under stand why.
The small ones are great for car interiors or the carpeted step in the house but worthless in the home improvement area.
Spend 5 minutes trying to **** broken drywall with a small shop vac and you'll under stand why.
The small ones are great for car interiors or the carpeted step in the house but worthless in the home improvement area.
Steevo
Well-known member
I have a big Rigid 16gal. "5.5HP" unit that has been reliable for over ten years, through many remodeling projects, gutter cleanings, car vacuumings, etc., and is still going strong. The filter clogs quickly when dealing with fine dust like sheetrock, but you just take it out an tap the crud off of it, blow it off and put it back in. I have only replaced the filter twice since I have had it.
I recently came across a super deal on a milwaukee shop vac that has awesome suction, but only a 1.5" hose. It is great at getting dirt/sand/etc out of car rugs, and anything that doesn't require a bigger hose.
I recently came across a super deal on a milwaukee shop vac that has awesome suction, but only a 1.5" hose. It is great at getting dirt/sand/etc out of car rugs, and anything that doesn't require a bigger hose.
ronstory
Active member
I recommend good old Shopvac, but make sure you get the "quiet series". My contractor had a Rigid and after using them side by side, he replace his with one like mine. Also, get one with the "most HP" and a 2" pipe. I typrically shoot for the smallest capacity (gallons) that will still give me max HP.
Tdbo
Well-known member
Craftsman or Ridgid (both Emerson Electric.) Buy where you can get best deal. Have four of them and they are great. Can't beat them for the $.
D.J.
Well-known member
I just got a 5gal 2hp quiet for Christmas and have had quite a few Shop.Vac brands in the past and really like them all. Apearently I am very hard on them because I only get 3 or 4 years of use out of them before they shoot craps. But I've been smart enough to keep all the accessories off of all the previous ones I've went through and may agree that using a good filter in them extends the lifetime of the units. We use Shop Vac brand at work and are satisfied with them there.
fulbuyer
New member
I recently bought a new Rigid to replace a really old shop vac. I looked at Rigid and Craftsman, in the end the Rigid was slightly cheaper and it also is covered with a lifetime warranty. Sears had an extended plan you could buy, but to me the warranty was the tipping point.
T.Hadley
Well-known member
Hands down Shopvac brand, had one for the last 10 years, and there customer service is second to none.
I had the on off switch go bad on mine, so I e-mailed them to inquire about getting a replacement, the reply back from them was that the switch was not available by its self, so they were sending me a complete motor assembly with switch at no charge..
I had the on off switch go bad on mine, so I e-mailed them to inquire about getting a replacement, the reply back from them was that the switch was not available by its self, so they were sending me a complete motor assembly with switch at no charge..
Kevin54
MEMBER EMERITUS
Yep!! And steer away from it. I bought a 20 gal. a couple of weeks ago from Lowes. $159.00 IIRC. It does NOT have the power of the 16.5 gal. Craftsman which my painter had and I used on a couple of occasions. With the same style of tips (flat wide) the Craftsman would lock itself down to a piece of plywood but the ShopVac will not. The Craftsman has some real sucking power to it.
Charles (in GA)
Well-known member
Whatever you get if it has a pleated filter in it (Sears, Rigid, etc) get the Gore Cleanstream filter (the more expensive water resistant version) and you will never buy another filter for a shop vac again. Shake it out, then rinse it out with the garden hose. NEVER use any kind of tool or anything to scrape out the pleats, damages the fabric, and its not necessary. looks like new after a simple hose rinsing outside.
Charles
Charles
padronanniversary
Well-known member
I've had the shop vac ones, lowes, HD, and finnaly bit the bullet and bought a more expensive shop vac. I bought a MiTM (branded John Deere). Let me tell you, its like night and day. The hoses are way better (more flexible, and thicker), the way it opens uses latches, not the cheap plastic tabs that hold things on these days, casters are a magnitude better, the suction way better, and the kicker, its quiet !!!
Even the output port is directed away and down, not straight out. Alot more engineering, as well as construction.
Before I was buying those HD and lowes specials for $20 every year since the filters would need to be replaced once a year, and it was cheaper just buying a new unit
Even the output port is directed away and down, not straight out. Alot more engineering, as well as construction.
Before I was buying those HD and lowes specials for $20 every year since the filters would need to be replaced once a year, and it was cheaper just buying a new unit
I have a small 5 gallon Shop Vac in the garage, and a larger (16 gallon?) Rigid in the shop. I can't stand the Shop Vac unit. The locking setup the use for the lid is the worst I've ever seen. I've always moved the units by grabbing the top handle, and carrying the new location. With the Shop Vac, about 1/2 the time the lid pops right off, letting the canister and contents fall. Invariably, this leads to a big mess on the floor, and more than a little cussing on my part.
This style of Shop Vac:
****, and horrible lid retention system will leave you frustrated and cursing.
padronanniversary
Well-known member
I have a small 5 gallon Shop Vac in the garage, and a larger (16 gallon?) Rigid in the shop. I can't stand the Shop Vac unit. The locking setup the use for the lid is the worst I've ever seen. I've always moved the units by grabbing the top handle, and carrying the new location. With the Shop Vac, about 1/2 the time the lid pops right off, letting the canister and contents fall. Invariably, this leads to a big mess on the floor, and more than a little cussing on my part.
This style of Shop Vac:
****, and horrible lid retention system will leave you frustrated and cursing.
That was the last lowes brand shop vac I had. It was horrible. The leg that holds the caster broke within a few weeks, the switch went out, and like you said the retention latch just ***** ! picking it up, the lid will release from you and drop the contents all over. Glad I am not the only one
bczygan
Well-known member
The Rigid 16 gal one WD1637 goes for $99 but is a Black Friday item at Thanksgiving for like $30. People buy lots and resell for $60.
bill9860
Well-known member
Craftsman 16 gal 5hp. Must be over 15 years old now. Still works great. ***** up everything in sight to this day. In fact it bailed me out (literally)of a serious problem when my sump pump failed in 2009 and the installation of the new one was not quite complete when the skies opened up. Had just enough capacity to let the plumber finish. Do you know how heavy 16 gal of water is?
Red Green
Well-known member
Do you know how heavy 16 gal of water is?
about 122 lbs
I have a couple Craftsmans that I bought from estate auctions. I have been very happy with them. The filters are expensive.
Same here, it has never let me down with any job it has been tasked with, good value if you can find it on sale too.
Charles (in GA)
Well-known member
See my post above, you will never have to buy another filter for it, They are about twice the price of one Sears filter.
http://www.cleanstream.com/
Charles
Falcon67
Well-known member
131.2 lbs. Water is 8.2 lb/gallon IIRC.Do you know how heavy 16 gal of water is?
They all ****! Which is what you want anyway. I looked at the Lowes ShopVac line because my old one blew up after many years. I bought one on sale for $30. **** IMHO. I threw it away. Filters aren't much good if the cludge design used to hold them in place doesn't work. I bought a Craftsman 12 gallon unit and really like it. It ***** up chunks of busted sheetrock easily. The filter is washable, so I keep two around - one to use while one is drying. The filter is sealed well and held in by a threaded "wingnut", so it never falls off. Yes they cost a little more but over the last two years I haven't had to replace a filter. They both look just fine and still work.
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rickycobra
Well-known member
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- Sep 9, 2010
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craftsmen still holding up after 11 years of use.
csp
Well-known member
Craftsman and Ridgid both come out of the same factory. Shop-Vac is terrible IMO. I have one that is labeled as more HP than a Ridgid that I have, but doesn't have near the suction. One motor on the shop-vac brand has been replaced under warranty and the replacement sounds/smells like it's on its way out too.
ultimatesooner
Well-known member
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- Dec 10, 2009
- Messages
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I have one of these I picked up on HD clearance for $100 - 20% harbor freight coupon about a year and a half ago. The storage drawers are awesome and it has more power than any shop vac I have ever used. I have 3 other shop vac branded vacs sitting on shelves in the garage I need to get rid of because they haven't been used since I got this beast
The Rigid 16 gal one WD1637 goes for $99 but is a Black Friday item at Thanksgiving for like $30. People buy lots and resell for $60.
This is the ticket - I got one of these on black Friday - you can't beat this deal - keep your eyes peeled - they run these sales every year and sometimes more than just black Friday.