Ridgid vac?

[Carl Crout]

Am looking for a vac. Needs to be quiet. Also needs to work with my Dewalt ROS and Bosch router both which have 1.5" hoses.

Does Ridgid make a QUIET vac that will work with this size hose?
I don't want to be lugging a 2.5" hose around while sanding and routing. The only vac's with SNR that I could find had 2.5" hoses.:(

Thanks

[Paul Douglass]

I think Rigid has a reducer as an optional piece for their vacs. It may attach so you can use that size hose. I just purchased a Rigid vac about two weeks ago. I really like the vac. Much quieter than my Craftsman was.

[Jim O'Dell]

But still pretty loud. I have 2 Ridgids, one in the house, one in the shop. Both are hard to talk over. I'm tempted to say that it is as loud as my cyclone, but then I exhaust that outside so it is quieter than most. Jim.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Mine is loud as hell.

Don't use it to vacuum water - and then leave the water in overnight. The thing needs to be emptied out and dried out ya gotta dry it and run it dry to get the moisture out of the bearings.

I made the mistake of leaving water in mine over night and when I turned it on it howled like who done it.

[Ken Garlock]

Hi Carl

I just bought the 14Gal. 6Hp Ridgid to replace my 6 year old Craftsman 5.5 Hp.

I ran a quick comparison using my El-Cheapo Rat Shack audio meter. Each vacuum was tested in my 2 car garage with the provided flex hose and one section of rigid extension pipe.

The Craftsman came in around 89 to 91 Db.

The Ridgid was 79 to 81 Db.

Normal conversation is in the 60 to 70 Db. range.

An audio decibel is computed thusly: DB = 20*log(S1/S2). Doing some reverse algebra, a change of 10 Db. is equal to a change of 3.16 times louder or quieter. A change of 20 Db. is a factor of 10 louder or quieter.

My impression is that I can vacuum my shop all day with the Ridgid and not worry about it. The Craftsman is noisy and I would often wear my ear muffs. The Ridgid claims to have a Scroll Noise reduction feature,SNR.

No it is not a Fein at 60+ Db, but the Ridgid is only $99, and not $300++. Get the Ridgid and buy yourself a nice plane with the difference.

[Carl Crout]

What size hose does that vac have?

If it's large do they sell a 1.5" hose?

[Ken Garlock]

What size hose does that vac have?

If it's large do they sell a 1.5" hose?

Carl, it is the standard 2 1/2 inch hose. When I needed to hook it up to my DeWalt 621 router, I bought an 8 ft. length of 1 1/2 inch hose and the needed couplings. I got the couplings at Sears, and test fitted them in the tool department. I needed an adapter and separate coupling from the router to the 1 1/2" hose. At the other end, a coupling from the 1 1/2 to the 2 1/2 " hose. It sound like it is a real mess, but not really once you have it assembled. You can just unhook one end from the router and the other from the big hose and put it in the drawer with the router.

Hope this helps....

[Ken Werner]

Carl, you might want to look at the PC 7812:

http://www.amazon.com/Porter-Cable-7812-Gallon-Horsepower-Tool-Start/dp/B00004TRAS/ref=pd_bbs


I have one and it is pretty quiet, and does catch dust from tools well. It is not good at picking up lots of debris from a floor though. The old Craftsman Shop Vac did a better job at that, but the screaming gets to me.

If you want a quiet, quality vac that will get rid of fine dust from power tool use, and with a tool triggered start, this product is good. Sells for low $200s.

Ken

[Carl Crout]

Where did you get the 1.5" hose from (for the Ridgid vac?).

Is the PC quieter than the Fein? What size hose does it have?

[Matt Meiser]

I've got a big older Ridgid vac and it is quite loud. We also have one of the wall mount vacs in the garage for vacuuming cars and use in the house. It is quieter, but still pretty loud compared to my Festool. The wall mounted vac is nice from the point of view of portability.

[Jim Mattheiss]

I have the Ridgid vac. I've found if I put a second hose on the output from the vac, the noise is greatly reduced. Don't know what it does to air volume being moved. I'm tempted to build a manifold and see how that works long term.

On the input side I cut hose off a Bissel Carpet cleaner someone put out at the curb. It's 10 feet long, 1-1/2 diameter and very pliable.

I haven't used it too much, but it fits the "Nub" on the PC ROS and the "Adapter" .

It might work out for you...

Jim

[Phil Erup]

On the input side I cut hose off a Bissel Carpet cleaner someone put out at the curb. It's 10 feet long, 1-1/2 diameter and very pliable.

I haven't used it too much, but it fits the "Nub" on the PC ROS and the "Adapter" .

It might work out for you...

Jim

I just drove all over town looking for one. None of the curbs had one.:D

I have the large orange Rigid and the small Fein. To my damaged hearing they are about the same in noise.

[Phil Thien]

Have the Ridgid 1450. It uses SNR (Scroll Noise Reduction) and is very quiet. I use a Porter Cable hose for my smaller tools. This is a 1" or so hose with an adapter on one end that fits the Ridgid 2.5" port.

[Geoff Grant]

I have a Rigid Vac - the "max 5HP" model. It is much quieter than my old Craftsman but I'm still more comfortable with hearing protection. The thing I don't like is the somewhat poor sealing between the top and the tank. I tried augmenting with backer rod but it still doesn't seal too well. On the upside, HEPA filters are about 30 bucks at HD.

Geoff

[Gary Sostrin]

I have the ridgid 1850 and it is very quiet to me. I got it to replace my old craftsman screamer. One of the only tools that still worked and was happy to throw out minus the hose and accessories.
Gary

[Vic Damone]

I've had the Ridgid 1450 for two months now and while it's still a noisy machine it's simply not irritatingly loud, I would easily trust Mr. Garlocks measurements.

I'm a firm believer in 'you get what you pay for' but I think this is one area you can save a little. The build quality is your basic plastic shopvac nothing like the high end vacs but I believe they suck the same air and this one may suck a little more. I used the carcass of my dead Craftsman to make a cyclone and it is connected to the Ridgid. They both pull around the work area by the hose and the filter in the Ridgid stays clean.

I'm using some medical inhalation hose that I found at a garage sale on my portable power tools, it's very light weight. The Festool and Fein hoses are nice but heavy by comparison.

Vic

[Paul Douglass]

I've had the Ridgid 1450 for two months now and while it's still a noisy machine it's simply not irritatingly loud, I would easily trust Mr. Garlocks measurements.

I'm a firm believer in 'you get what you pay for' but I think this is one area you can save a little. The build quality is your basic plastic shopvac nothing like the high end vacs but I believe they suck the same air and this one may suck a little more. I used the carcass of my dead Craftsman to make a cyclone and it is connected to the Ridgid. They both pull around the work area by the hose and the filter in the Ridgid stays clean.

I'm using some medical inhalation hose that I found at a garage sale on my portable power tools, it's very light weight. The Festool and Fein hoses are nice but heavy by comparison.

Vic

You got any pictures of this set up? I still have the old craftsman and am trying to think of something to do with it. Can't just throw it out!