Shop Vac Recommendations????????????

[Thomas Canfield]

My old Craftsman 16 gal shop vac smoked this morning and I need to replace. What is the latest on shop vacs for general use? I am wanting to reduce the noise level and my understanding is that the newer Craftsman are about the same noise level as the older units. I want to stay witht the 16 gal +/- size rather than the smaller quieter units so that is a consideration. Looking to stay under $200 also and most of Craftsman and Ridgid are in the $100 range. I expect that there will be some sales coming up next week for Memorial Day weekend and am holding off a while.

[glenn bradley]

Ridgid has some new units that are supposed to be quieter. Quieter than what I do not know. I have a couple Ridgids; one (6.5HP rated) that I have run almost daily for 5 years. Never a problem except hearing protection is required (but it should be worn anyway so, what's the problem?).

I have a 5HP rated unit that switches on whenever my DP, small BS or scrollsaw is fired up. Both vacs have CleanStream filters and the larger unit has a Dust Deputy front ending it. Both were inexpensive and do what they are supposed to.

[Dan Friedrichs]

+1 on the CleanStream filters. Very nice.

[Johnnyy Johnson]

mine are Dayton

[John M Wilson]

I just picked up a 14 gallon Ridgid last month when the thermal overload on my old ShopVac gave up the ghost. I use it as my primary dust collection system, & also for garage clean up, etc. It is somewhat quieter than the old ShopVac, but a long way from being "quiet", even though it touts a "scroll noise reduction system". It was the right size and price ($89 with coupon) for me, YMMV. The filter is cleanable, and has performed well thus far, although I did notice a sharp decline in suction after some extensive sanding. Took the filter out & gave it a good shaking, to dislodge the very fine dust, and it was back in business. The accessory tools are well thought-out, and the bag for storage is handier than the ShopVac clip-on storage area. Handy cord wind-up area. Good Luck!

[Rod Sheridan]

Have a look at the Fein Vacuums, very quiet, you can add a 1 micron pleated filter cartridge or a HEPA cartridge.

You'll be very pleased with one of their vacs.........Regards, Rod.

[Jerome Stanek]

agree with the Fein they are also rated a 100% duty cycle. I have 2 that I use for my vacumm hold down on my CNC table

[Cary Falk]

I have a 12gallon Ridgid I got for $25 after tThanksgiving. It works great.

[Van Huskey]

I read a lot of reviews and did some research on the standard shop vacs and came to the conclusion that Rigid makes the most sense. I have a couple that have been used hard for years so it was nice to see my research lead me back to the same place.

[Bruce Page]

Quiet is a comparative term. I had a Craftsman that I gave away when I could no longer stand the screaming. I bought a Fein and have been happy ever since.
After going through 2 or 3 screamers I would have been money & hearing ahead if I had just bought the quality vac to begin with.
I expect that the Fein will out last me. :cool:

[Lee Schierer]

Have a look at the Fein Vacuums, very quiet, you can add a 1 micron pleated filter cartridge or a HEPA cartridge.

You'll be very pleased with one of their vacs.........Regards, Rod.

I saw one at a home show and was impressed by four things. One it was extremely quiet 57.8 dB(A) noise level at 3.5 feet ( You can actually carry on a conversation while it is running). Second it had tons of suction (92" inches of water column), Third the suction could be adjusted by motor speed. And Fourth, it had a plug for a sander or other tool to auto start the vacuum.

The price was noticeably higher than the cheaper brands but it is a quality built machine. It also has a 16' hose as standard.

I now have a Turbo 2 in my shop and love it.

[Rod Sheridan]

I saw one at a home show and was impressed by four things. One it was extremely quiet ( You can actually carry on a conversation while it is running). Second it had tons of suction (92" inches of water column), Third the suction could be adjusted by motor speed. And Fourth, it had a plug for a sander or other tool to auto start the vacuum.

The price was noticeably higher than the cheaper brands but it is a quality built machine. It also has a 16' hose as standard.

It also has two fans driven by the motor, one cools the motor with outside air, no dirt flowing through it, the other is in the dirty airstream.

It also means that when airflow is reduced, the motor doesn't lose cooling.......Rod.

[Van Huskey]

There is no question that there are a whole bunch of superior vacs that start about $300 and go up (way up) from there. Most of them have a lot of value added features and are better in almost every way but the price reflects this as well. Most of the advantages can be approximated with the cheaper vacs except for the sound pressure level without enclosing the standard shop vac.

[Mike Zilis]

After reading all the threads and reviews I could find on shop vacuums, I ended up purchasing the Porter-Cable 7814. Of all the vacuums in the "expensive" category, I felt it was the best bang for the buck. After nearly a year of use I have no regrets. It's very quiet compared to my previous shop-vac.

-Mike

[Van Huskey]

After reading all the threads and reviews I could find on shop vacuums, I ended up purchasing the Porter-Cable 7814. Of all the vacuums in the "expensive" category, I felt it was the best bang for the buck. After nearly a year of use I have no regrets. It's very quiet compared to my previous shop-vac.

-Mike

The 7814 gets a workout everyday in the drywall industry. Don't know how many I have seen attached to PC drywall sanders.

[Bruce Page]

There is no question that there are a whole bunch of superior vacs that start about $300 and go up (way up) from there. Most of them have a lot of value added features and are better in almost every way but the price reflects this as well. Most of the advantages can be approximated with the cheaper vacs except for the sound pressure level without enclosing the standard shop vac.

As someone who suffers from moderate Sensorineural hearing loss, keeping noise levels to a minimum is paramount for me.
I realize that everyone has different pain thresholds when it comes to spending their hard earned money but if I had taken better precautions when I was younger I wouldn’t have to say huh? nearly as often.
Most hearing loss is forever, you can’t get it back.

[Paul McGaha]

I have a 16 gallon Ridgid Shop Vac. It must be 8 to 10 years old. It's done well but when it wears out I think I will buy one of the quieter vacumes.

I use it a lot while sanding and cleaning.

The shop vac and the miter saw are I guess the loudest tools in my shop these days.

PHM

[Van Huskey]

Bruce, I am the guy that always wears ear protection and certainly when I am even near a universal motor, even the military, 15 years of competative shooting and years of woodworking and my hearing is still good enough to hear the cell phone ring tone that only teenagers are supposed to here, won quite a few beer bets over that one! I was lucky my old man wasn't carfeful about anything but ears!

Paul, if you have a router it is right there with them or worse, but they all need hearing protection to use safely.

[Thomas Canfield]

Thanks for comments so far. I am still considering choices. Shop vac use is general shop cleanup, portable router, and belt/disk sander. I have Oneida cyclone for major tools. I had picked up one of the $20 Ridgid 16 gal shop vacs last Thanksgiving thinking that it would be quieter. That was wrong and it only had a 1 1/2" hose with the 2 1/2" adapter so I gave it away and kept the old Craftsman. Maybe the more expensive Ridgid are quieter. The sad thing is there does not seem to be any noise data out there for comparison.

[John Coloccia]

Generally, I wear hearing protection in the shop when any of my tools are running, including vacs. I like my Ridgid. It's loud, but it doesn't bother me with my hearing protection on.

You can spend all sorts of money trying to make your shop perfectly clean and sanitary from eye, ear and lung damage, or you can spend a couple of hundred $$$ getting comfortable eye, ear and lung protection and call it good.

Or you can use lots of hand tools, which I like too.

Or you can just wing it. If you're going to wing it, don't dare buy a Dylos particle counter, by the way :D LOL.

Seriously. Basic shop protection is very cheap, can be very comfortable, and makes all these issues non-issues.

[John Coloccia]

I'll just add that I'm not a prude when it comes to loud noise. I don't mind it at all. I'm a musician and I LOVE it loud and obnoxious...uhm, until I found that I couldn't hear my car's "chirp chirp" sound from the alarm arming anymore, and was diagnosed with classic hearing loss from overexposure to loud noise. Hearing protection is just a no-brainer, and comfortable hearing protection is readily available.

Tinnitus is no fun either.

[Greg Peterson]

I've been very happy with the Ridgid shop vac. It has the Scroll Noise Reduction feature. Don't ask me what it means.

I've had a couple of craftsman vacs, plus a ShopVac brand unit at work, and the Ridgid SNR unit is far, far easier on the ears. It isn't anywhere near as quiet as the Fien, but then with the air scrubber and DC running, I really don't notice to much added noise.

And with the craftsmans, I HAD to wear ear muffs. I still wear ear muffs but I don't cringe when I turn it on.

[Van Huskey]

[QUOTE=Greg Peterson;1428248]

I've had a couple of craftsman vacs, plus a ShopVac brand unit at work, and the Ridgid SNR unit is far, far easier on the ears. QUOTE]


If scroll in this aspect is like HVAC units not only does it lower SPL but it lowers the frequency which makes it far less obnoxious.

[John M Wilson]

When I got mine, being the inquisitive type, I took it apart to see if the Scroll Noise Reduction was due to a scroll compressor, like a Copeland Scroll. Nothing that fancy is apparent inside. Instead, I surmise that the "scroll" that they refer to is the air path inside the machine. There does seem to be more of an effort (vs my older ShopVac) to direct the intake and exhaust paths on a more circuitous route, perhaps to deflect some of the noise paths. It's still not "quiet", but it does seem to have a lower and less obnoxious tone. My guess only...

[Greg Peterson]

I would say that the 'quality' of the noise is such that it is no where near as fatiguing as the typical shop vac. I would assume that Ridgid took into consideration that these vacs are being used as tools on job sites and as such some consideration to keeping noise at a minimum.

It has more of a wooooof sound as opposed to a bucket full of hornets on NoDoze.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Have a look at the Fein Vacuums, very quiet, you can add a 1 micron pleated filter cartridge or a HEPA cartridge.

You'll be very pleased with one of their vacs.........Regards, Rod.

+1.

Thomas - The Fein is certainly outside your target price range. As it was for me. But I still got it - the Turbo III in my case. One of my better decisions, as it turns out. Quiet. Good power. Tool-driven on-button (not at all unique today, tho). Hooked up to my ROS, but also doubles as general shop vac. In addition to the filter options noted by Rod - I actually converted to the pleated filter not for the filter per se, but to get to the disposable bag. There is nothing that quite compares to emptying a bucket of sanding dust. (insert barfing smilie here).

My ancient-ancient Crapsman shop vac is still running strong - it is dedicated to the CMS - nearly the only power tool in the shop that is loud enough to drown out the shop vac noise level. I figure - in for a penny....Strap on the hearing protection and fire them both up.

[John McClanahan]

All wet/dry vacs have a separate fan for cooling the motor. That second fan is the source of extra noise.

John

[John Downey]

Just to add a bit of complexity...:D:D:D

We have one of these at work, and I really, really like it!
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/4YE58?Pid=search
It really sucks! Probably not so quiet, compared to the whole Fein/Festool class, but I don't really expect quiet out of anything with a cord myself. I always have earplugs in my pocket, for woodworking or shooting, so I'm in the habit of using them - but that's me, your mileage may vary.

[Randal Stevenson]

I've been very happy with the Ridgid shop vac. It has the Scroll Noise Reduction feature. Don't ask me what it means.

I've had a couple of craftsman vacs, plus a ShopVac brand unit at work, and the Ridgid SNR unit is far, far easier on the ears. It isn't anywhere near as quiet as the Fien, but then with the air scrubber and DC running, I really don't notice to much added noise.

And with the craftsmans, I HAD to wear ear muffs. I still wear ear muffs but I don't cringe when I turn it on.

Ridgid's are supposed to be a different pitch (lower), then the Craftsman. The larger size (don't remember where it starts) have the SNR, which (my understanding), is effectively noise muffling foam around the motor.

I said my intent was to buy once and I bought the Fein turbo II. I have a Lowe's branded Shop vac, for wet use, and wish it was the Ridgid. There have been both posts and articles about shop vac enclosures, that help muffle the sound. I will probably do that for the Lowe's one, and that might be a temporary solution for your noisy one.

[Don Morris]

My 12gal Craftsman gave up the ghost a couple months ago and I did a search at that time. I like the Fein, and Festool type equipment, but the cost/value just didn't make sense for someone like me. I just need a shopvac for a serious hobbyist. I didn't like the noise of my Craftsman so when I went to the BORG I had the sales person put the Rigid 12 and 14gal alongside each other because there was a cost/design difference along with the 14gal having supposedly better noise reduction. Sure enough, there was a significant difference in the noise reduction. The 14gal Rigid was much less than my 12gal Craftsman and the 14gal had other features I liked (cord storage, secure top attachment). So for me, I went with the 14gal Rigid and it's been just fine. I added a Dust Deputy and couldn't be happier.

[scott vroom]

+1 on a Craftsman.

I've had a 16 gal Craftsman for 15 years....it takes a huge beating and keeps on ticking. I own a remodel business and needed to add a second vac for on-site drywall dust extraction. I purchased a Fein several years back for somewhere north of $400 incl accessories. It was a nice machine and quieter than the Craftsman but one day I unknowingly ran it with a tear in the bag filter insert and the DW dust toasted the motor after about 10 minutes. Repair cost was $275, which I chose not to pay. Instead I pulled my trusty old Craftman out of the shop and have been using it ever since for DW dust extraction with no problems. I recently purchased another Craftsman (6.75 HP, 20 gal) for the shop and it's noticably quieter than my old 16 gal.

[Van Huskey]

+1 on a Craftsman.

I've had a 16 gal Craftsman for 15 years....it takes a huge beating and keeps on ticking. I own a remodel business and needed to add a second vac for on-site drywall dust extraction. I purchased a Fein several years back for somewhere north of $400 incl accessories. It was a nice machine and quieter than the Craftsman but one day I unknowingly ran it with a tear in the bag filter insert and the DW dust toasted the motor after about 10 minutes. Repair cost was $275, which I chose not to pay. Instead I pulled my trusty old Craftman out of the shop and have been using it ever since for DW dust extraction with no problems. I recently purchased another Craftsman (6.75 HP, 20 gal) for the shop and it's noticably quieter than my old 16 gal.

I think when it comes to true "American" job site abuse the "American" type shop vacs make the most sense. I have an old Rigid that I just can't kill, I have done my best (not on purpose) and it just keeps sucking. The last house my wife and I built the Rigid "lived" on that job site and was used (abused) by me and probably ever sub that was on the site, in the back of my mind I wanted a new utility vac, safe to say it is still in my garage.

[scott vroom]

I think when it comes to true "American" job site abuse the "American" type shop vacs make the most sense. I have an old Rigid that I just can't kill, I have done my best (not on purpose) and it just keeps sucking. The last house my wife and I built the Rigid "lived" on that job site and was used (abused) by me and probably ever sub that was on the site, in the back of my mind I wanted a new utility vac, safe to say it is still in my garage.


There's truth in what you say. I mean, you don't see many BMW's at a destruction derby...lol

[Van Huskey]

There's truth in what you say. I mean, you don't see many BMW's at a destruction derby...lol

Well unless you watching Top Gear... :D

[Bill Bezilla]

I have to agree with Mike.

Porter cable is the best bang for the buck. it is pretty quiet, can be used with bags, has cleanable/ replaceable filters. I have had mine for 5+ years.

It is designed to suck drywall dust which is about as tough of an application as there is.

[Chip Lindley]

My ShopVac Commercial with stainless steel tank is much quieter than my old 70's Craftsman. That one was a Screameeeer! The ShopVac usespaper filter bags for catching find dust, or can be used without a bag for general pickup. The pleated filter is washable. It will suck up a hammer handle if I'm not careful!

[Dick Grau]

I purchased a Ridgid model R0170 (14 gal.) a few months ago, and am real satisfied. I had them run every vac they had in stock before I bought. I can actually talk to someone in the shop while the vac is running.

[Ted Baca]

I have a Porter Cable that has been good to me for 10-12 years and they have dual filtration, auto triggered switching and even though it is over your budget, is a great ww shop vac. But in the end when it comes to vacuums they all suck!:D

[Thomas Canfield]

It seems spending money "wisely" is never easy. You wish you could go to a site that had all the parameters listed such as size, dimensions, noise, cost, etc. There does not seem to be any real comparisons out ther, but it seems like some of the woodworking magazines did do some comparison within the past 3 years. The other thing is that the model numbers seem to change between suppliers for similar units. A friend has a Shop Vac brand 16 gal that was pretty quiet, but I cannot find that model. So far it is looking like a Shop Vac or Ridgid offers the quietest 16 +/- gal unit with 2 1/2" hose in the under $200 range. An additional consideration not mentioned earlier is need to park the unit under my table saw outfeed table (33 1/2" max height). I still have until Memorial Day to make the decision.

[Thomas Canfield]

Finally made the decision to purchase the Ridgid WD1450 ($99 at HD) shop vac. I had finally called the Ridgid technical support and asked what was the quietest shop vac. The WD1450 was the recommendation at 79 dBA and then the WD1851 ($159 at HD) 16 gal at 81 dBA. The noise muffler add on (about $13) should also give a 5 to 10% noise reduction, but I put that off for later possibly. I will say that the WD1450 is a LOT quieter than the old Craftsman. You can tolerate the noise, and the really good thing is that there is no noticeable noise outside the shop to bother the neighbors during the normal quiet hours. It does fit well under my outfeed table, but the strange shape of the container may be a bit more difficult to empty.

[Joe Jensen]

I have two vacs. One is a WAP, (now Alto), the is the Mercedes of vacs, but very expensive. I also have a Newer Rigid 1850 which is WAY quieter than the 1980s Sears shop vac it replaced. It's not auto start, but it is a workhorse and not super noisy...joe

[Van Huskey]

The noise muffler add on (about $13) should also give a 5 to 10% noise reduction,


Not sure what the specs are but I have seen real world 6-7dB reduction with this muffler. Since sound pressure level is not a linear scale 6dB is a 4 fold reduction in SPL. We don't perceive that much difference but it is certainly a big difference, people have packed the muffler with steel wool and got a couple of extra dB reduction but a total is 9dB is getting close to what most humans perceive as a doubling of volume or in this case a halving. Though it would be a Fein it will make a huge difference.

[Curt Harms]

Have a look at the Fein Vacuums, very quiet, you can add a 1 micron pleated filter cartridge or a HEPA cartridge.

You'll be very pleased with one of their vacs.........Regards, Rod.

I have the Fein Turbo2. I use bags made for Genie(?) vacs--12 or 14 gallon. Fein bags are spendy but they do hold quite a bit. I also use Fein's cartridge filter. If I were doing it again, I've heard that the CleanStream "red stripe" cartridge filters fit Fein vacs. I haven't had the need to try one yet.

[Dar Lounsbury]

Fein. Quiet and powerful.

Dar