Quiet shop vac

[Steven Bolton]

Is there a quiet shop vac on the market that isn't super expensive?

Thanks

Steve Bolton

[Greg Peterson]

No.

Now then, I did pick up the 14 gallon Rigid shop vac with the scroll noise reduction design. I don't know that the sound pressure levels it produces are much significantly lower than that of other shop vacs. Compared to my Sears shop vac, it isn't really all that much quieter, BUT the noise is far less bothersome. The Rigid doesn't produce a high pitched, annoying sound. I don't mind using it at all. The Sears wouldn't even get plugged in until I had my ear muffs on.

[Kevin Groenke]

We have a couple ShopVac QSP's (quiet super power) I think they're 6.5hp 18 gallon. They're bearable, but we only use them occasionally, we have a Fein TurboII hooked up the frequently used RO sander.

-kg

[J. Z. Guest]

I have a Hitachi that I bought at Amazon 7-8 years ago. It is very quiet and very powerful. Apparently, it isn't imported any more. You may be able to find one online from overseas.

Ridgid advertises on several of their vacs that they're quiet, but it seems to be bogus.

It seems the only domestic option these days is Fein.

Bosch makes a shop vac now, I haven't looked into it.

[Brian Kent]

This muffler box is in my future. I want to build this for the vac and then make the height right for a tool stand.

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/workshop/workshoparticle.aspx?id=29740

[Phil Thien]

Many of the quiet vacs seem to move significantly less CFM than the noisier ones.

I have the Ridgid w/ SNR and find it to be a good compromise. I wanted quieter than my old Craftsman, but more CFM than a Fein.

[Joe Jensen]

I too have the Rigid quiet design. The one I bought is one step down from the Steel container version. It replaced an old sears and it's substantially quieter...joe

[Mark Carlson]

Festool and Fein vacs are pretty quiet but expensive. Your best bet is a sound proof box. FWW #195 has an article called Silence Your Shop Vac. They were able to get a Rigid shop vac rated at 83db down to 58db.

~mark

[Don Abele]

Steve, I used to have a Craftsman 5 gallon shop vac which measured 123 dB. I replaced it with a Ridgid 13 gallon which is 91 dB...a significant decrease. I added the muffler they sell and it went down to 84 dB. Not quiet by any standard, but a pretty substantial difference over what I started with.

Be well,

Doc

[Tom Veatch]

My experience matches that of Joe Jensen and Don Abele. Old Craftsman replaced/supplemented by a Rigid with a very significant decrease in noise and no apparent loss of functionality.

[Joe Scharle]

Fein is quieter than Festool and both are a lot quieter than a $100 vac

[Ben Cadotte]

Is there a quiet shop vac on the market that isn't super expensive?

Thanks

Steve Bolton

I have a 6 year old 16 gal craftsman vac. Just bought a 14 gal Shop Vac brand for the wife and the house, that said it was quieter than past models. I would say its 1/2 the noise of the Craftsman. Really suprised me how much quieter it was. Think it was $90 at the blue borg.

[Todd Hyman]

Festool and Fein vacs are pretty quiet but expensive. Your best bet is a sound proof box. FWW #195 has an article called Silence Your Shop Vac. They were able to get a Rigid shop vac rated at 83db down to 58db.

~mark

I wonder if this could affect air circulation around the shop vac or starve it?

[Grant Morris]

Thanks to Todd for that tidbit. Here is a link to a video on the Tanton website that demonstrates how to quiet your shop vac. What a huge difference it made!

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/workshop/workshoparticle.aspx?id=29740

[Joe Jensen]

Thanks to Todd for that tidbit. Here is a link to a video on the Tanton website that demonstrates how to quiet your shop vac. What a huge difference it made!

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/workshop/workshoparticle.aspx?id=29740


Much noise reduction, but how would the motor cool itself. I have to think that a cheap Craftsman/Rigid would burn up much sooner with limited cooling air. Wonder if there is a way give the motor access to cool air through a muffler...joe

[Don Abele]

...how would the motor cool itself...

I was thinking the same thing when I saw that video. If I run my Ridgid for any lengthy amount of time, the motor gets hot. More so when the filter starts to get plugged. I'd be more concerned with decreasing motor life than the noise reduction you get. Even at $100, they aren't cheap enough for me to consider them disposable.

Be well,

Doc

[J. Z. Guest]

Much noise reduction, but how would the motor cool itself. I have to think that a cheap Craftsman/Rigid would burn up much sooner with limited cooling air. Wonder if there is a way give the motor access to cool air through a muffler...joe

Any shop vac is going to have a decreased lifespan if the source of cooling air is limited, or if the cooling air is already heated because it is being recycled continuously finside a small box. That extra enclosure essentially becomes an oven. Designing vents into the box will help, but probably not that much.

We don't test shop vacs in boxes at UL, as they're not designed to be used like this. I bet we even require wording in the instructions that say to make sure it gets good ventilation. (I don't work in the shop vac category, but this is pretty standard stuff)

You're better off just finding a quieter vac and paying a bit more instead of all this messing around. It will not be cheap, but it will be worth it in the end.

[Joe Jensen]

You're better off just finding a quieter vac and paying a bit more instead of all this messing around. It will not be cheap, but it will be worth it in the end.

Good point, by the time you consider the cost of the vac, box, sound insulation, and casters, you could just have paid the incremental for a 56db Fein...joe

[Bob Knodel]

We picked up a contractors model 6.5 hp Shop Vac from Lowes (the one with the metal canister) when our Craftsman died. I paid around $170.00. What a difference in decibles!!!!! You can actually speak at a normal level when the Shop Vac is on and hear what the other person is telling you. I did notice a little difference in cfm but it hasn't been too bad. I own a body shop and a auto detailing shop and we use a lot of Shop Vacs. My detailers havent complained about the loss in cfm. They were all extatic about the cut in db though!!!!! We use these things for getting out dog hair (and what not) in vehicles and don't have many problems. If you are using it to pick up saw dust, etc., you should be happy with the results.

Bob

[Peter Quadarella]

That's the big Ridgid - I have the same one without the metal outside. It is a good bit quieter than the older shopvacs, but still a good bit louder than the Feins and Festools.

[Alan Schaffter]

Any enclosure you build for a shop vac will need to be vented, either for an exhaust hose or in the case of my shopvac for the motor housing vents. That air needs to go somewhere or you are inhibiting the flow through and efficiency of the vac. If you watch the entire FWW video, cabinet has an air/sound baffle and vents out the back.

A vac soundproof cabinet is in my shop's future.

[Bill Bezilla]

the porter cable Drywall vacuum is an afforable quiet option that also performs quite well. not sure why thiuis vac does not have a boigger following among woodworkers as it is well suited for the application.

$229 at amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004TRAS?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=nextag-tools-tier3-20&linkCode=asn

[J. Z. Guest]

Any enclosure you build for a shop vac will need to be vented, either for an exhaust hose or in the case of my shopvac for the motor housing vents. That air needs to go somewhere or you are inhibiting the flow through and efficiency of the vac.

A vac soundproof cabinet is in my shop's future.

The air that cools the motor is different from the air that sucks up dust and goes out the exhaust port. The vacuum motor shaft has a fan on it just for cooling the motor windings. The actual output of the vac motor turns another, larger fan or blower to do the vacuum work.

The motors are universal types that arc at the brush-commutator area. It would not be good to design a vac such that fine sawdust would be flying through the motor itself.

If you put a vac in an enclosure of any kind, expect a decreased lifespan. The heating difference on the motor windings will be pronounced.

Some of the tests we do at UL are done in enclosures to simulate this type of abuse by the consumer. For tools, this is considered an overload condition and the result is always that the tool overheats and burns out. (usually a one-shot thermal protector in the motor windings opens)

The crafty fellows in the woodworking magazines don't seem to take this into account. Tools with universal motors are hugely depending on a fresh, room-temperature supply of cooling air. If the air is heated then recycled, it just builds up and up. That vac enclosure becomes an oven with the motor as the heat source. Even if you vent that enclosure, it is not the same as having the tool completely open.

Do this at your own risk, and be ready for a big, fat "I told you so!" when your tool burns out or has a shortened lifespan. ;)

[Phil Thien]

The air that cools the motor is different from the air that sucks up dust and goes out the exhaust port. The vacuum motor shaft has a fan on it just for cooling the motor windings. The actual output of the vac motor turns another, larger fan or blower to do the vacuum work.

The motors are universal types that arc at the brush-commutator area. It would not be good to design a vac such that fine sawdust would be flying through the motor itself.
;)

Then what is the point of Fein advertising their motor having "bypass cooling?" I had thought that the typical entry-level vac (Shop-Vac, Ridgid, Craftsman, etc.) did, indeed, used the filtered exhaust air to cool the windings.

[Bruce Page]

The Fein is expensive but it is also very quiet, well made, a good performer, and should outlive the Craftsman/ShopVac’s by a long margin. I love my T-III and don’t regret for a second the money I paid for it.

[james gerus]

I built and am useing the FWW Vac box very very quiet and a 2X17 inch exit hole does dot inhibit motor cooling. Jim