Shop Vac - switch problems

[Roger Chandler]

I have two shop vacs...both of which have stopped working. My oldest is about 12 years old, and last year the off side of the switch stopped working, but it still runs but has to be unplugged to stop it. My newest, I purchased from Lowes nearly two years ago. It is a 16 gal, 6.25 hp [] stainless steel/industrial unit. The thing just quit when I turned it on. I’m fairly certain it is the switch again, but shop vac won’t sell switches for these things, so one has to purchase the entire powerhead with motor.

There must be a safe and better work-around than getting an entirely new powerhead. Any solutions from knowledgeable shop-vac owners here? Appreciation sent in advance!

[Zachary Hoyt]

I have had to remove and clean out the switch on the vac here, it's an early 2000's Craftsman 16 gallon. It gets fine dust in the switch and then it starts to act up. I don't know what kind of switches the vacs you have use, but most switches can be taken apart in some way and cleaned out, even if it's a bit of a logic puzzle to figure them out.
Zach

[Bill Dufour]

My Clarke commerical vac uses a simple toggle switch mounted in the cast Aluminum top.
Bil l

[David Kreuzberg]

Shop Vac switches (at least the ones I've replaced) are an off-the-shelf item from any good hardware store. Pull the switch and take it with you to the store. Look online for a schematic if you need to learn how to remove the switch.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Often the current and voltage ratings of switches are written right on the side of the switch so you can get a replacement with like specs.

[Jeff Bartley]

Roger,
I had that same issue several years ago while in the middle of a project. I took it apart, bypassed the switch so it would run when plugged in, and then plugged it into a power strip. Not elegant or really the proper fix but it works!
Hope this helps!

[John K Jordan]

I have had to remove and clean out the switch on the vac here, it's an early 2000's Craftsman 16 gallon. It gets fine dust in the switch and then it starts to act up. I don't know what kind of switches the vacs you have use, but most switches can be taken apart in some way and cleaned out, even if it's a bit of a logic puzzle to figure them out.
Zach

Same here, not on a shop vac, but on several lathes and other equipment. The easy thing to do is replace the switch but I'm cheap and sometimes a suitable replacement is hard to find. In almost every case, except where the internal contacts are bent or burned, the switch can be pried apart, cleaned out, constacts cleaned and smeared with a bit of dielectric grease, and the switch reassembled. Sometimes you have to pry up metal tabs on the back to get the switch apart, sometimes drill out rivets, sometimes press on plastic catches. Be careful when opening, sometimes the internal parts will fly out and get lost - without experience it may be difficult to get them back exactly where they need to be.

For one drill press the switch was destroyed inside and I could not find an exact replacement so I found another switch of the same electrical rating and just made a new switch plate to fit the machine.

JKJ

[Mike Cutler]

Roger

Remove the switches, and look for the manufacturers make and model number. They're very common.
If nothing else, just google toggle switches and find the one that matches, or as David stated, see if you have a hardware store stocked well enough to have them.
Post a photo(s) of the switch of you're having trouble and Im sure someone here can help you find it.

[Bill Orbine]

My Clarke commerical vac uses a simple toggle switch mounted in the cast Aluminum top.
Bil l

Your Clarke a model 600A? That's a good vac. I picked one up at a rummage sale with several attachments for 15 bucks. Happy Happy Happy.

On the other hand.... I've had bad luck with the the shop vacs from Lowe's. Burnt switches and cooked motor windings in less than two years. I fare better with the Rigids from Home Depot.

[Gene Takae]

Be careful when opening, sometimes the internal parts will fly out and get lost - without experience it may be difficult to get them back exactly where they need to be.JKJ

Yup, Had that happen more than once! Lotta fun trying to put things back together.

[Nick Decker]

Yup, Had that happen more than once! Lotta fun trying to put things back together.

This part of construction is overseen by the "HaHa Gotcha Engineer." His job is to booby trap the item with a spring that serves no purpose other than having everything fly apart in your face if you try to take it apart.

He is a close relative of the "Can't Get to It Engineer" in the automotive industry, who supervises placing components so that they can't be reached without a special tool.

[John K Jordan]

This part of construction is overseen by the "HaHa Gotcha Engineer."

I think Jet hired one that could even guess what I'd do - take a lathe switch apart to clean while standing in a pile of shavings. Ok, that was dumb. The tiny little detent ball jumped straight for the shavings and the spring followed. Fortunately, Mr Magnet tracked them down. These days I try to remember the advice of a watchmaker I knew. He always worked over a tray with a layer of soft leather in the bottom. Cleaning the dust out fixed things. Sealing the outside of the switch fixed things for good.

He is a close relative of the "Can't Get to It Engineer" in the automotive industry, who supervises placing components so that they can't be reached without a special tool.

One mechanic told me why it was almost impossible to get to some bolts in a transverse engine - he said they are assembled before the engine is installed.

JKJ

[Bill Dufour]

Your Clarke a model 600A? That's a good vac. I picked one up at a rummage sale with several attachments for 15 bucks. Happy Happy Happy.

On the other hand.... I've had bad luck with the the shop vacs from Lowe's. Burnt switches and cooked motor windings in less than two years. I fare better with the Rigids from Home Depot.

Looks like mine. It had no filter so I attached a piece of plywood with a big hole and used screws with big washers to hold the filter in place. I figure suction pulls it down and seals it the screws are just to keep it in place when the power is off.
Bill D

[Lee Schierer]

I have two shop vacs...both of which have stopped working. My oldest is about 12 years old, and last year the off side of the switch stopped working, but it still runs but has to be unplugged to stop it.

There must be a safe and better work-around than getting an entirely new powerhead. Any solutions from knowledgeable shop-vac owners here? Appreciation sent in advance!

It is called a switched outlet. I have several in my shop. My table mounted router is operated that way. When I want to change bits I simply unplug the cord. I never use the power switch on the router.

[Lewis Justis]

My shopvac had the on/off pushbuttons. When the on switch stopped working, I took it apart and the contacts were burned. I went to Radio Shack and bought a rocker switch with the same voltage and current rating. I made a plate out of a piece of formica for the new switch and fit it into the oval shaped switch recess in the motor housing. Several years later, it is still going strong.