Smallest ShopVac with 2 1/2 inch port?

[Michael P Smith]

Hey all,

I'm planning on building a set of rolling work tables for my garage, inspired by the ones seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7JHaW6GW10&list=PLOiM7JGIXW3DXMtAgohdiVKwp5FphVMQ-&index=16&t=95s

I (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7JHaW6GW10&list=PLOiM7JGIXW3DXMtAgohdiVKwp5FphVMQ-&index=16&t=95s)'d like to integrate some dust collection into one of the tables, and I'd like to use something like the Dustopper: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Dustopper-High-Efficiency-Dust-Separator-12-in-dia-with-2-5-in-hose-36-in-long-HD12/302643445

The Dustopper hooks to the shopvac with a 2 1/2" hose. A quick look at Home Depot showed me many of the smaller shop vacs use the smaller hoses. I'm not sure if adapting the dustopper to a smaller hose would hurt it's efficiency.

Is there any smaller size vacs you know of that use the 2 1/2" hose and wont take up too much space under the mobile table?

Thanks!

[Jim Becker]

The small Rigid vac I have for general cleanup uses a typical 2.5" hose...I don't know if they sell the same model anymore, however.

[Gary Ragatz]

I have a 14-gallon Ridgid that I bought last year. It has a 2-1/2" hose. The footprint is about 18"x18" and it's about 27" high. I think you could remove the handle on the top and make it 1-2" shorter.

[Randy Reitz]

I've been thinking about trying one of the small ShopVac with a 3 gallon metal base and just using plumbing fixtures on the bottom to attach to the 2 1/2" top outlet of the Dustopper or Dust Deputy. You wouldn't need much capacity as most of the dust would fall in the bucket below and you could make the whole assembly much more compact than my current mess of hoses. You would still have to block the current 1 1/4" vacuum inlet and I don't know if you would need to enlarge the blower outlet to make it work efficiently.

[Michael P Smith]

I MAY have found a solution...

This vac https://www.lowes.com/pd/Shop-Vac-5-Gallon-6-HP-Shop-Vacuum/1000351423 mentions in the description it is able to accept 1.25, 1.5, and 2.5 inch hoses. Of course Shop Vacs own site doesn't mention that. Might be worth me swinging by Lowes to take a look.

Thanks!

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Michael, that vacuum is only 65CFM, which is pretty low.


I use a Festool vac with an Oneida Dust deputy. The hose from the DD fits my Festool vac.

The Festool vacs are rectangular, they're not very high, and they're a real HEPA vacuum.

Nilfisk and Fein are also very good............Rod.

[Derek Meyer]

I have a Shop-Vac wall mount unit paired with a Dust Deputy and it does a great job of collecting and separating dust. Almost nothing gets through to the vacuum - it all ends up in the Dust Deputy's bin. With a 25 foot hose it's great for shop cleanup, though it's not big enough for a stationary tool like a table saw or planer.

[Michael P Smith]

Hi Michael, that vacuum is only 65CFM, which is pretty low.


I use a Festool vac with an Oneida Dust deputy. The hose from the DD fits my Festool vac.

The Festool vacs are rectangular, they're not very high, and they're a real HEPA vacuum.

Nilfisk and Fein are also very good............Rod.

Thank for the insight, but unfortunately anything Festool is way out of my meager budget.

You think that listed shop vac would be insufficient for one tool at a time? I must admit I'm not super knowledgeable on this stuff. I just want to step up for "sweep up sawdust off the floor after I'm done."

I'm only one man working on hobby stuff out of my garage. The plan was to run the hose to whatever tool I'm using at the time.

Thanks!

[John Goodin]

I used to have this one and the suction was very good for a little vac. The specs say 97 CFM. The hose that comes with it is only 1 7/8" but I seem to remember it having a 2.5 inch port. If interested in finding out let me know since I gave it to a buddy of mine. In hindsight I wish I would have kept it.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-Stor-N-Go-5-Gal-5-0-Peak-HP-Wet-Dry-Vac-WD5500/100377372

[Jim Becker]

Michael, a shop vac type unit doesn't move enough air to service typical stationary tools. Vacs work differently than dust collectors. They are optimized for high pressure (suction) but low air volume. Dust collectors work on the principle of moving large volumes of air at lower pressure. It's the moving volume of air that moves the dust and chips. Using a shop vac is better than using nothing, but it's not going to clear the air nor is it going to evacuate much dust/chips from tools larger than hand-held electrics where a vac is actually a better fit due to the small collection ports, etc.

[Michael P Smith]

Michael, a shop vac type unit doesn't move enough air to service typical stationary tools. Vacs work differently than dust collectors. They are optimized for high pressure (suction) but low air volume. Dust collectors work on the principle of moving large volumes of air at lower pressure. It's the moving volume of air that moves the dust and chips. Using a shop vac is better than using nothing, but it's not going to clear the air nor is it going to evacuate much dust/chips from tools larger than hand-held electrics where a vac is actually a better fit due to the small collection ports, etc.

Thanks for the info. Looks like I have a lot more research to do before plunking down any money. My current main tools are a Dewalt 7941RS Table saw, an old 10" Ryobi CMS, and a Kobalt Router with Table. I'd like to add a small drill press and small band saw sometime if I can catch a good deal on one. As I start to get more into the hobby, I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos, and it seems like a lot of "home/garage" shop guys do a shopvac with some sort of dust separator in lieu of a serious dust collector.

Like I said before, I'm looking to upgrade from "Sweep all the sawdust up the floor of the garage" :)

Thanks again for all your help and insight. This site is truly a treasure trove of info for the beginner.

[Chris Schoenthal]

I've been looking at this (https://www.lowes.com/pd/Shop-Vac-6-Gallon-3-5-HP-Shop-Vacuum/1000351357) Shop-Vac made unit at Lowes. It's a small 6 gallon that has a 2.5" inlet and it's only $50.
The amazing spec on this is that they rate it at 145 cfm. It also has the ability to use a cartridge filter and filter bag.

[Jim Becker]

You can start out with a decent shop vac if you need to (and keep in mind that you'll absolutely want hearing protection) and add a woodworking dust collector when you are able. Bench-top type tools often have the small ports and you can at least hook up the shop vac to them with a normal small hose. The CMS is a hard tool to collect from even with the largest dust collector. If you can at least catch some of the stuff, it will be less to sweep up. ;) Just keep in mind that the primary reason/need for good dust collection isn't about keeping the floor clean. It's about keeping the fine dust out of your lungs. A decent particle mask will help you with that, too.

[Douglas McCann]

Most shop vacs come with the smaller diameter hose but will also accept 2.5". I just got a 2.5" hose and attachments for my shop vac with newly acquired Dustopper. Works good.