Shop vacuum recommendation request

[Ray Schafer]

I am planning to get a Ridgid shop vac to use both as a vacuum and as a dust collector for my routers. Can you tell me which one you would recommend that I buy?

Ray

[James Brandt]

Dont buy ridgid. i have a top end ridgid 4 years old needs brushes.good luck,no brushes, no new motors.
Jim

[Ray Schafer]

Ridgid has a lifetime warranty. You should be able to get it fixed for free.

[Randal Stevenson]

Look at the larger sizes. I don't remember the first size, but look for SNR (serial? noise reduction). They are quieter (lower pitch) then the ones of old.

[Brian Clevenger]

I got a Ridgid model 1950 a couple of months ago and I really like it. The first thing I did was junk the stock hose and grabbed a Mr. Nozzle 12' replacment. It has been worth every penny. There is really nothing negative I can say about the vac. It has exceeded my expectations.

[Ray Schafer]

The reason why I asked the question is that there was a post a while back which indicated that the 12 gallon actually did a better job (wrt CFM) than the large ones -- which are higher horsepower.

I am wondering if anyone has some insight, otherwise I may just go buy the 18 gallon because of the capacity.

[glenn bradley]

6.5hp model, 5gal bucket seperator, Clean Stream filter and 25' hose. I've worked this thing hard for 3 or more years, no problems. I keep a 12 gal. by the DP's and smaller BS. Clean Stream on that one too. No problems. The Lifetime Service Agreement was not available when I bought these so, we'll see when the time comes for service.

[Mark Mack]

The Lifetime Service Agreement was not available when I bought these so, we'll see when the time comes for service.


I believe that when I bought mine a few years back, they had a standard lifetime warranty, and not the LSA. I don't have my owners manual handy to know what that entailed.

Mark

[Joe Jensen]

I have a Rigid 1850, (same motor and ratings as the 1950). Strong and quiet. I use bags and a HEPA filter and I'm very happy. I replaced the crappy standard hose with the an upgraded version from Sears that is great and nearly crush proof...joe

[Douglas Brummett]

This is a valid topic and one that usually gets brushed off. I added a nice shopvac to my shop a few months ago to handle dust control and also cleanup. I already have a couple of smaller units with the 1in hose, 1g primarily wet use and a 5g turbine noise generator. I wanted something that I could use a larger filter bag in, that I could get quality filters for, and also be able to find accessories and parts for.

I actually bought both a Rigid and a Shopvac. Both were 14g 5.5HP, contractor models at about the $100 price point. Here are my observations. Now a sample of 1ea is no scientific comparison. But it allowed me to pick and choose.

Honestly the only thing I liked about the rigid was the warranty (lifetime vs. 5 years). Otherwise the Shopvac won me over on all accounts. The construction, although similar, was better fit and finish on the shopvac. The air outlet was diffused by design, the rigid requires an adapter. I could just picture dust flying all over as the exhaust from the rigid blew out at full steam. The filter bag mount to the chassis was easier and more secure on the shopvac. The shopvac had a nicer caddy for included accessories. One win for the rigid was in cable management. It had hooks to wrap the cord up on when not in use. I use a cord wrap on the shopvac. Either way you still need to manually wind the cord back up and I don't have any problem wrapping it and dropping it in the caddy on the shopvac vs wrapping it around hooks on the rigid.

Power? Both were about the same there. The rigid wasn't as quiet to my ear though. Accessory grab bag was about the same for both vacuums. The hose on the shopvac was about a foot longer and again was nicer fit and finish. No burrs and interfaced nice with the chassis.

In the end I took the bright orange beast back to the borg from whence it came. The above observations coupled with a larger pool of accessories/replacement parts for the shopvac brand sealed the fate of the rigid. I am sure either vacuum would have done fine, but head to head the shopvac was just better in my opinion.

[Ray Schafer]

Where are the Shopvacs sold? You say about the same price ... I had the impression that the SV were more expensive.

[Jerome Hanby]

I saw ShopVacs at the big blue borg a few nights ago...

[John Peterson]

For what its worth please take this into consideration:

I purchased a Ridgid shopvac for general use a few years ago. Although its worked great, the stock filter is junk. Since I would be doing cutting in MDF, I purchased the upgraded HEPA filter (about $30). Its washable and works great. Although for woodworking not so great. While cutting MDF after I had cleaned the filter, I made 10 cuts in 24" pieces of MDF. In those 10 cuts, the pleats where full and the filter started to compress (due to lack of airflow).

I purchased the Clearvue Mini Cyclone for a temporary solution. I only have a tablesaw and router for tools that create dust. So anything else is over kill now plus cost was some what of a factor. When I purchase my Planer and Jointer I will upgrade to the larger cv1400 or cv1800. I still plan to use my mini for table work ie. sanding and routing.

The mini gets hooked up by hose before the the shopvac. Its like a prefilter. The Mini can be mounted to a 5gal pail for collection (thats what I use). Now granted MDF dust is tough for any system. I was skeptical at first.

After cutting up almost 2 sheets of MDF for my router table I finally emptied the 5gal pail. The pail was about 3/4 full. I check the filter on the shop vac and the was only a light dusting on the filter.

Granted for $135 its not cheapest, but in my opion, the mini is kind of one of those things that "this is best money that Ive spent so far"

http://www.clearvuecyclones.com

[Douglas Brummett]

Where are the Shopvacs sold? You say about the same price ... I had the impression that the SV were more expensive.
I got mine at Lowe's with and used a 10% discount coupon. It may have been $109. I wasn't really splitting pennies. I just wanted the best vacuum I could get at the 100 dollar level.

You can also fin them on Amazon but may or may not get free shipping.

[Harley Reasons]

Check your local HD BORG, the 16 gallon stainless steel model is being clearanced out for $99. right now. If they only have the display left, ask to buy it at a good discount. Usually they'll go another 25% off to get rid of the display.

Looks as if the Ridgid vacs will be replaced with the Husky brand, same exact vac, same price, but with only a 3 yr. warranty.

On the smaller vacs beware of the 1-7/8" hoses. You can only get attachments for them at the HD BORG.

[Ray Schafer]

Stainless steel shopvac or ridgid?

[Matt Day]

I have had a Craftsman for about 3 and like it a lot, though I don't have any experience with other manufacturers. I've had no problems with it. I added a muffler to lower the noise and a HEPA filter, which I highly recommend. With the HEPA filter, sucking up fine dust simply spread the dust around my shop. I have to clean it when it dust builds up on the pleats otherwise it will restrict the suction, but I don't have to do this too often.
Craftsman has a lifetime warranty I think too?


$.02

[Harley Reasons]

Stainless steel shopvac or ridgid?
It is a stainless steel Ridgid wet/dry vac. I bought the last one we had today, it was the display but was all there. Got it for $79. It is the nice one, has a upright handle on it with a bag to store the attachments in. See pic