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Thread: Looking for a new Shop Vac

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
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    Looking for a new Shop Vac

    To All

    I'm looking for a new shop vac to replace my failing Rigid, which is probably almost 20 years old. It's finally failing. It was a screamer, and I had to wear ear muffs to use it, but it was very reliable and versatile. I'm going to miss that vac,it was great for blowing out the gutters.


    I have a Fein Turbo II for the woodworking tools, so I'm not looking for a high efficiency vac, just a good, overall general purpose, shop vac. It has to suck up water though, and hopefully not be so loud I wouldn't use it in the morning on the weekends, like my current vac.

    Thank's folks.

    PS
    Anyone ever turn an old canister vac into a separator for a DC system? I'd hate to just toss that canister. It's pretty rugged plastic.
    Last edited by Mike Cutler; 05-28-2017 at 9:02 AM.
    "The first thing you need to know, will likely be the last thing you learn." (Unknown)

  2. #2
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    I bought a Sears 12 gallon 5.5 hp (ha) a few years ago. Not too loud and so powerful it will propel itself across a hard floor with the exhaust. Very satisfied.

    http://www.sears.com/craftsman-xsp-1...FcpGXgodusQNEw

    NOW you tell me...

  3. #3
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    Mar 2015
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    Birmingham, MI
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    Mike,

    If you are going to use a separator (dust deputy/Thein) with your vac then you might consider the smallest canister size (since most of the debris will go in the separator bin) so the cart will not be too big. I bought the smallest Rigid with the largest motor (6HP peak). You could use something like that with your old canister for the separator collection drum (I have seen several people do just as you describe). I bought my Rigid on eBay from a woman that clears out open box/ light use machines. My Rigid was open box $99 machine and I paid $50.

    Hope that helps,

    Carl

  4. #4
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    Apr 2013
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    I would get whatever brand will fit the same size hose so you can at least keep that for a spare. BTW, Ridgid used to sell (maybe still does) a muffler that you can attach to the outlet side to reduce the noise. I bought one maybe two years ago at the Depot, and jerry-rigged it to fit my Craftsman. It helps some.

  5. #5
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    Dec 2012
    Location
    Concord, NC
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    I recently went with this one from Shop Vac. Nice added feature, it has a built in pump to pump out the canister when vacuuming up water. Came in very handy last week during a basement flood, beats the heck out of lugging a 14 gallon canister full of water outside to dump it.

    https://www.lowes.com/pd/Shop-Vac-14...cuum/999998030

  6. #6
    Ridgid make some good vacs and some of them are fairly quiet - not silent but not a screamer, either.

    I had a ShopVac earlier and it was a screamer. Go rid of it because it was so loud.

    Mike
    Last edited by Mike Henderson; 05-29-2017 at 10:14 AM.
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
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    Berwick, Nova Scotia, Canada
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    Ridgid all the way for me. I have the 6.5 hp and the 6 hp SNR from Home Depot. I ind them much better than my others, which includes Shop Vac, Mastervac and King. I am in Canada. Recently, my 6.5 died. I called Ridgid. They asked for 4 pics, which I emailed to them. Two weeks later I had a brand new one and tossed the old out. Great service, very good and quiet machine, awesome lifetime warranty.
    Mike

  8. #8
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    Every ShopVac brand I ever owned turned into a screamer as soon as the bearings went out.
    NOW you tell me...

  9. #9
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    Jan 2008
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    I can only compare the ShopVac and Fein. Although the large Fein is slightly quieter, the 6.5 hp ShopVac will out-suck it by a significant margin. I do use it to empty the remaining 3 to 4 gallons of water from the bottom of my in-ground spa. It works great. The ShopVac has myriad filter options from simple foam sleeve to HEPA grade. I think it has the same hose size as Rigid, as I use a number of Rigid attachments. The Fein has a built-in sensed-outlet. I use an external sensor-switch with the Shop-Vac.

  10. #10
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    Feb 2003
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    Thank you for the responses folks.

    Ole
    That Sears Craftsman looks interesting. I'll be checking it out.

    George
    It pumps itself out??? That is specifically one of the uses of my Rigid, and I agree that getting a tub full of water up the stairs and out of the basement is a pain.

    Mike/Mike
    It's hard to argue against the Rigid line. Mine has seen some pretty heavy use through the years and has been solid.

    Wayne
    I'll look at at the Shop Vac's. We have the little 1 gallon models at work, but I'm not really too familiar with their larger vac's.

    Carl
    I wasn't gong to use a separator with my vac. I was thinking about using the canister/tub from my current vac ,when I replace it, as a separator bin with my dust collector. It's good sized, heavy, plastic tub, on a rolling base. If I could just make a Thein separator, or mount a small cyclone separator to it, it would be a benefit too me. I hate throwing stuff into the landfill, or incinerator that can be re-purposed.
    If I do something with it, i'll be sure to post.

    Thanks for all the responses folks. I took my rigid apart yesterday and the bearings in the motor are definitely going out. They're an integrated part of the blower assembly, and I would have to replace the blower, which isn't available, just to replace the bearings. I sprayed some lithium grease into them, which will keep them quiet for a short time, but eventually, sometime soon, they'll seize.
    "The first thing you need to know, will likely be the last thing you learn." (Unknown)

  11. #11
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    Both of the small shop vacs I have for utility use are Rigid. (one I bought and one that was my fathers...identical to my own) They are "not quiet", but they were also inexpensive. So I'll use hearing protection when I use them for more than a few seconds.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  12. #12
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    Dec 2012
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    Concord, NC
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Cutler View Post

    George
    It pumps itself out??? That is specifically one of the uses of my Rigid, and I agree that getting a tub full of water up the stairs and out of the basement is a pain.
    Yep, it does. Connect a garden hose to it and start vacuuming up the water. Once the water in the canister hits a certain level, the motor will shut off. All you need to do then is pull the suction hose out of the water and hold the power switch in the on position for 10-15 seconds at which point it will start pumping out the canister. Very helpful feature, that vac now lives in my basement just for emergencies.

  13. #13
    I have two Rigids. The older one has a quasi HEPA filter on it unless I use it to pick up water. I use it when away from the shop but it used to be my vac for the shop pulling through a dust deputy. It works fine but I needed something for away from shop use so I bought a new one, slightly more powerfull - 8.something amps versus 10amps. The new one has a smaller dust compartment because that doesn't matter with the dust deputy. But for sucking water, I would want a larger compartment - don't want water into the motor.

    I'd like to have a Fein but if either of my Rigids fail, I would get another Rigid. The price is just too much lower and the Rigids work fine.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
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    We have finally settled on Ridgid 1450 for use in a heavy industrial shop where they see some serious abuse. They either fail almost immediately where HD will warranty them, or they last several months. Even though we use old Feins in the nicer places, we haven't been brave enough to see if a Fein would last enough longer to be worth the extra money.
    The Ridgid 1450 is reasonable sound level and a great deal for the price.

  15. #15
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    Good choice. I did a lot of reading before finally buying a Rigid. Great vac. My old Craftsman hoses and extentions fit giving me extra reach , but does not connect to the Rigid.

    When I bought it the sales person said I could pump water nonstop without anything else.

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