Ridgid Shop Vac Surprise

[Bob Winkler]

The other week I was at HD and made a Ridgid WD1450 Shop Vac purchase. My surprise is that for less than $100, this vaccuum is better in many ways than my Fein Mini-Turbo. It's very quiet, powerful, and has a large capacity. Plus, it has a 20' cord and all the accesories. And a Hepa filter and small micron bags are availabe for it. Apparently, shop vacs have come a long way.

I keep a old Craftsman shop vac in the garage which is a screamer. My Fein works ok, but I dislike the small hose and capacity so I limit it to small jobs. For my big tools, I use a Jet DC, but I'm using this Ridgid vac more and more for general cleanup because of it's convenience and performance.

I'm really happy that I saved a couple of hundred bucks and tried this Ridgid Vac. BTW, this is the first Ridgid tool I own, and have no affiliation. Just thought I'd share my opinion for others to check out.

Bob

[Mike Henderson]

I have a Ridgid vac, also, and like it. I use it connected to my sander to collect dust. Couple of things I wish they'd add are variable speed and turn-on when a tool plugged into it turned on. I bought a couple of extra things that give me those two features but I'd be nice to have them built in.

And just a comment - the Ridgid vacs come in different noise levels. At HD, they have a display that tells you how noisy each one is. The quieter ones used to be a bit more expensive.

Mike

[david brum]

My sentiments exactly. They are using "scrolling technology" which really reduces the noise. The suction is spectacular.

The other great thing about the nicer Ridgid vacs is that you can use both bags and pleated filters at the same time. I use a Clean Steam HEPA filter, although I think there is a Ridgid HEPA filter now available. With the bag as a pre filter, the HEPA filter almost never gets dirty. I reuse the bag by cutting off one end and clamping it after I empty it.

[Charlie Barnes]

I just bought the same model about a month ago and am very impressed as well. The fact that my old Craftsman finally died was a blessing in disguise. The Rigid is really quiet and powerful. I plan to add a Dust Deputy in the coming weeks as well.

[Bruce Wrenn]

If it's covered by the LSA, be sure and do the paperwork!

[scott vroom]

Yeah, but it's not green, not German, and not absurdly overpriced :)

I also own a Rigid, it really sucks....far surperior to my old Fein, which burned up after 2 years.

I'm predicting a 35 post thread on this one.

[glenn bradley]

I have a couple of Ridgids with Clean Stream filters and Dust Deputy pre-seperators. I am fooling around with designs to eliminate the large bin as with the seperator I only get about a cup or so of material in the bin versus emptying the DD bucket a dozen times or more.

[Kurt Cady]

I have a couple of Ridgids with Clean Stream filters and Dust Deputy pre-seperators. I am fooling around with designs to eliminate the large bin as with the seperator I only get about a cup or so of material in the bin versus emptying the DD bucket a dozen times or more.

How do you hook up the DD to the Ridgid? My only complaint with my two Ridgid vaca is that their hoses are a weird size. 1 7/8" I believe.

[John McClanahan]

Would you folks recommend this model over the other models?

John

[Mike Henderson]

How do you hook up the DD to the Ridgid? My only complaint with my two Ridgid vaca is that their hoses are a weird size. 1 7/8" I believe.
I'm not sure that's true. I had a Shop Vac (brand) wet-or-dry vac and the hose was interchangeable with the Ridgid. I also bought a Festool hose to connect my sander and Domino to the Ridgid and the end that goes into the vac was the right size for the Ridgid. This leads me to believe that the Ridgid has a standard size hose.

Mike

[P.S. I gave the ShopVac away - it was such a screamer that my wife complained every time I turned it on.]

[Kurt Cady]

I'm positive mine are 1 7/8". Measured them this afternoon. I've searched other vacs at HD and most were also 1 7/8"

[Mike Henderson]

I'm positive mine are 1 7/8". Measured them this afternoon. I've searched other vacs at HD and most were also 1 7/8"
I just went and measured mine. The largest outside size of the hose is 2 1/2". The opening into the vac is about 2 1/4", and the inside diameter of the hose is about 2 1/8".

They, of course, claim that the hose is 2 1/2" in their specs.

Mike

[Andrew Joiner]

I have a couple of Ridgids with Clean Stream filters and Dust Deputy pre-seperators. I am fooling around with designs to eliminate the large bin as with the seperator I only get about a cup or so of material in the bin versus emptying the DD bucket a dozen times or more.
Great idea Glenn . Please show us a pic when you can.

[scott vroom]

I prefer old iron....here's a vintage Fein that I picked up on CL.

[mreza Salav]

I think they come with life time warranty too (at least when I bought mine 5-6 years ago); at the very least it must have a life-time-service agreement (LSA) if you register it.

[Thomas Canfield]

Ridgid makes several levels of shop vacs, and they are definitely not all equal. A couple of years ago I picked up a 16 gallon unit cheap after Thanksgiving and it was so loud that I gave it away. After calling Ridgid tech service and asking about sound levels and other factors, I bought the 14 gallon unit which was much quiter. I also use a Dust Deputy so a couple of gallons difference in tank was not a consideration compared to the lower noise level.

[Dick Mahany]

I bought the Ridgid 1851 ( somewhat apprehensively ) to replace a 25 yr old shop vac. Read Mike's comments on another thread way back about the quietness. I have to say that this vac is the strongest, quietest and versatile shop vac that I have ever used. I use the big orange/black ribbed aftermarket hose with 2.5" connections and it has passed my expectations by a mile. I use an internal filter bag in conjunction with the pleated HEPA cartridge when hooked up to my ROS and couldn't be happier.

I have a DC system connected to my bigger machines for serious volume consumption, but the Ridgid vac serves its intended needs perfectly. Whooda thunk HD would carry such a great tool in local stock ??

i also think Scott is on the mark about at least a 35 post on this one:)

[Rick Thom]

I went through this same exercise a few years ago and this is what I ended up with. A bit top-heavy but I need to conserve floor space in a small shop. The 'chair' can be added or removed in less than 1 minute, and no modifications to the shop vac were required. I prefer not to modify the vac because I use it as a wet/dry and in non-shop applications too. For wet/dry I just plug the hose directly into the vac which bypasses the DD. The DD has a pretty high capture rate.. maybe high 90's so emptying the shop vac and cleaning the filter is a rate experience. The combination is pretty efficient air-flow-wise as demonstrated by capturing the vast majority of fine dust from my Ridgid combination belt/spindle sander.

[Richard Jones]

So, do the standard 2.5" hoses fit this unit or not? I'm confused..............

I'm in the market for a new vac, this looks good.

[george wilson]

Dick,just above,says he uses the 2 1/2" hose on his Ridgid 1852. I use the standard 2.5" on my Fein,too. The opening accidentally fits the standard 2.5" hose when you take off their small hose. I really like my Fein. Had it at home and 3 others at work for years with no trouble. I'm going to check out the Ridgids,though,if they are also quiet and powerful. Beats the price of the Fein,though I love the automatic turn on of the Fein when power tools are plugged in. I could just use another vac so I don't have to drag the Fein around the shop.

[Bob Winkler]

So, do the standard 2.5" hoses fit this unit or not? I'm confused..............

I'm in the market for a new vac, this looks good.

My new Ridgid that I started this thread with uses a standard 2.5" hose. All the attachments fit my other machines )sander, table saw port, etc) and other hose attachments. I just think its a great machine for the money.

Bob

[Dick Mahany]

So, do the standard 2.5" hoses fit this unit or not? I'm confused..............

I'm in the market for a new vac, this looks good.


I just measured the male hose connector that plugs into to vac inlet. It measures about 2 1/4" and takes the same standard hose that my ancient ShopVac had.

[Bob Winkler]

Like Dick said- the male end is 2 1/4" and the female end is 2 1/2". I think that's the "standard" of shop vac hose because of fits everything I own.

Bob

[Kurt Cady]

Damn, I'm the odd one out. It is seriously annoying having an odd sized hose. Love the vacs. Guess I'll look for the orange aftermarket hose.

[Richard Jones]

OK, I ordered one. Thanks for all the help in spending my $$$.............. :)

[Ben Hatcher]

I used the blower from my old screamer vac and built this for my dust deputy. The sides of the box surrounding the motor and blower are lined with homosote. It is no louder than my palm sander.
248893

[Ole Anderson]

The Ridgid lifetime warranty would be nice. Other than the noise, it seems that the bearings give out on all my shop vacs way before they should. I use my small shop vac with my 6" belt sander, both are plugged into a black/red button on-off switch so they come on at the same time. End of October it gets used to suck water out of all the lines on my Spa.

[Jacob Muldowney]

Well after reading this I picked one up today. The switch was wearing out on my 12 Shop-Vac branded unit. Thanks for the heads up!

[Jamie Lynch]

I just looked at the WD1450 online price and there is a bonus online special with two free bags.

[John McClanahan]

Jamie, where do you see the bonus? I don't find find the free bags on the HD web site.

John

[Jim Neeley]

I prefer old iron....here's a vintage Fein that I picked up on CL.


I think that might just qualify as "the biggest sucker of them all"!! :D

[Jamie Lynch]

John,
i just searched wd1450 and it was there.... And then I took a better look and realized its the wd1272, oops.

[Mike OMelia]

Thanks for the heads up and model number. I've been wanting a more portable vac

[Brett Robson]

It looks like RIDGID has three different hose sizes, depending on model.

[Jim Leslie]

I went looking for some replacement parts for an old Ridgid (hose, brush etc) and found a Ridgid WD1280 12US gallon with detachable head for use as a blower. It was $69.00 [sale price] which was about the same price of the replacement parts I had picked out.
It is a *great* shop vac and would like to add a DD to it as well.

[Richard Jones]

I just bought the 1450 from HD and it has standard size hoses, etc. all my old Craftsman stuff fits it. And boy howdy is it so much mo' quieter than the Craftsman!!!!!!!! And, it sucks more as well........ok, more powerful.

[John Donofrio]

Good info. I may pick one of these up this weekend. I've been looking to upgrade my old Craftsman for a while. It is EXTREMELY loud.

[Paul Comi]

I had a perfectly good 12 gallon shop vac but when I saw my painters rigid 10 gallon that has a removeable motor that quickly converts into a very capable leafblower and found out he got it for about $60 on sale at Home Depot I had to get one. I love it. I periodically blow out the shop with it and take it in jobs to use indoors as a vacuum and outdoors to blow the fine dust away.

[Paul Cahill]

I got a Rigid to replace my very old Craftsman a couple of years ago and I am very pleased. The combination of bag and hepa secondary filter results in no measurable increase in particles using my Dylos. It is not whisper quite, but not bad, and has great suction. It was about $150 if I recall correctly. I added a Bosch secondary hose for connecting to the track saw and biscuit cutter. I went ahead and built a cart with an overhead arm, a mini cyclone, and room for miscellaneous tools. I had to make sure it fit under my DC ducting, but that is the beauty of making things yourself - you make it fit. Variable speed would be nice for those rare occasions when I want a little less vacuum, but I accomplish that with a sliding port on one of the hose attachments that simply draws in a side stream of air.

250849

[John Donofrio]

Went ahead and picked one up. Wow, I'm impressed. Until I get real dust collection, this is going to work MUCH better than my old one. Never realized what I was missing using a shop vac as dust collection. Again, thanks for posting about this.

[Rob Ring]

Glad I saw this thread. I've been itching to pull the trigger on a dust deputy / Fein Turbo II as an upgrade to my two old shop vacs. Just took the Fein out of my Amazon cart. Next stop - Home Depot. Hmm, what to do with the extra $200?

[Greg R Bradley]

Glad I saw this thread. I've been itching to pull the trigger on a dust deputy / Fein Turbo II as an upgrade to my two old shop vacs. Just took the Fein out of my Amazon cart. Next stop - Home Depot. Hmm, what to do with the extra $200?
Save it for when you figure out that you should have bought the Fein. Seriously, the Ridgid is a darn good shop vac for $100 but it is so far from being a replacement for a Fein that it isn't funny. It really depends on what you want. The Ridgid will fail at the motor bearings. All of ours including 2 of the 1450s fail in about 6-8 weeks and we know what their warranty is worth. When they finally come back in two months and fail again in a day, you will take them apart and realize that they really can't work very long. They are simply hoping that most people don't use them very much and they last "long enough". We are using them in an industrial environment and won't pay normal Fein prices but the local tool dealer has a 20-35% off sale twice a year and that is enough to accumulate Feins at a reasonable price. That beats buying 20+ Ridgid, Shop Vac, and Craftsman units per year. The Feins are triple the price on sale but seem to outlast the junk by 10x.

You need to figure out what works for your environment. Yes, a new $100 Ridgid is way better than the typical shop vac of 15 years ago in terms of noise but I think the motors are way worse and always seem to be the point of failure. When you look at the bearings inside, you understand that they were never designed to last in commercial use.