Ed and Sandra
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2006
- Messages
- 47
Yesterday our old faithful, much used 3 hp 10 gal Shop Vac that was 8 years old expired. Somehow “expired” doesn’t do justice to the event – it was more like death with pyrotechnics! The motor suddenly slowed, there was a strange sound from it, a brief burst of flame and an immense amount of nasty smelling smoke filled the garage. That was a lot of fun.
The purpose of this post really isn’t to dwell on the demise of the old unit, but to ask a question about the new one. Being in the midst of a project requiring a vacuum there wasn’t time for research of best available for cost. Instead it was off to the nearby Lowe’s for a quick purchase. We settled on another Shop Vac with this one having 5.5 hp and 14 gallon capacity. It came with a 2 ½ inch hose set (now we’re finally getting to the point of this post). That size hose seemed like it would be very unwieldy trying to vacuum the nooks and crannies of the XLR. Ed thought he remembered from long, long ago in his thermo / fluid dynamics classes at university that the same force exerted through a smaller opening would result in a faster flow, which he reasoned would mean greater suction if we used a 1 1/4 inch hose and that would be a plus for doing carpet in the car while also making the hose more manageable. Consequently, we bought a separate Shop Vac 1 1/4 hose that used the same size coupling to the tank as the 2 ½ inch one.
Some quick experimentation suggests that indeed the smaller hose is exerting greater suction. For those that really know about such things, would this be the case or is it just our imaginations?
By the way, from limited use thus far we will say we do like the new Shop Vac and think we did OK with our hasty choice. Hope this one lasts eight years.
Best regards,
Ed and Sandra
The purpose of this post really isn’t to dwell on the demise of the old unit, but to ask a question about the new one. Being in the midst of a project requiring a vacuum there wasn’t time for research of best available for cost. Instead it was off to the nearby Lowe’s for a quick purchase. We settled on another Shop Vac with this one having 5.5 hp and 14 gallon capacity. It came with a 2 ½ inch hose set (now we’re finally getting to the point of this post). That size hose seemed like it would be very unwieldy trying to vacuum the nooks and crannies of the XLR. Ed thought he remembered from long, long ago in his thermo / fluid dynamics classes at university that the same force exerted through a smaller opening would result in a faster flow, which he reasoned would mean greater suction if we used a 1 1/4 inch hose and that would be a plus for doing carpet in the car while also making the hose more manageable. Consequently, we bought a separate Shop Vac 1 1/4 hose that used the same size coupling to the tank as the 2 ½ inch one.
Some quick experimentation suggests that indeed the smaller hose is exerting greater suction. For those that really know about such things, would this be the case or is it just our imaginations?
By the way, from limited use thus far we will say we do like the new Shop Vac and think we did OK with our hasty choice. Hope this one lasts eight years.
Best regards,
Ed and Sandra