shop vacums - portable

[Rick L]

what brand do you use and like

my old Craftsman has about bit the dust ( yeah i know)

and one thing i never liked about it is the fact the the exhaust air come right down the side and blows half of what you wanted to clean up ends up all over the place,
I ran a bunch of cedar through the planer and the jointer this weekend and i'd have been better off with the leaf blower

i do use the wet feature although rarely- so i would look for the wet/dry type


so- what works- holds up and doesn't make a bigger mess

 

[Larry Eckart]

Fein. Quieter than most. Does what it is supposed to do.
Larry

 

[tod osier]

they all suck.

 

[Rick L]

Ted

Almost as bad as my pun

Not quite , but almost

 

[Cody Williams]

Ridgid are pretty good, if you want to spend the $ most companies are now making ones with a shaker that shakes the filter every few seconds to keep it clear, it really helps if you're vacuuming up fine dust like sheetrock dust.

 

[George Goodsell]

I've got a big old Craftsman and a smaller Shop Vac, I use the Craftsman as a blower and for planer hookup (only because of the size of the tub), but it's terrible loud. I'm really happy with the Shop Vac because it's much quieter and i can use bags in it, including for sheet rock dust. Pull the bag and use it for wet. Just my $.02

 

[Carl]

I had a ShopVac brand 6 gallon model years ago and loved it. After about 15 years of hard use it burned up.

I had a Home Depot credit, so I got a similar model Ridgid from HD (6 glln, 3.5 hp). Mistake, the Ridgid does not have near the same suction as the ShopVac. I have not been very happy with it at all.

 

[Steve Sanford]

Good morning, Rick~

I had a 16-gallon 2.25 Craftsman for about 30 years. Had to replace the switch once or twice but otherwise OK. It is now relegated to our basement (for occasional light use) because I bought a new one (20-gallon 6.5 hp) last year. I MUCH prefer the old one because of the following features:

1) The top of the old one was flat. In my shop - and especially around projects like boats, I often used it to set tools on. New one is round-topped.

2) The old filter removed with a nylon wing nut and a large washer/bushing. A dirty filter could be removed carefully without causing much dust to escape. New filters have no fasteners. Instead, the rubber (?) end snaps on and off a post. So, a cloud of dust ALWAYS escapes unless I haul the entire vac outside for a filter change. I notice the Ridgid filters seems to have the same type nowadays.

3) Both the old and the new have 4 small casters so that it "trips" over its own cord (which IS nice and long). Should have got one with larger rear wheels - but why aren't they all made with 4-inch wheels?

4) New connectors - especially hose to the wand - come apart in use frequently.

I also have a much better vac. I use my Porter-Cable (Model 7814) triggered 15-gallon vac exclusively for my orbital sander - when I'm sanding paint and 'glass etc in the shop (I try to do all heavy 'glass grinding outside). It is an excellent tool all around.

Good luck in your hunt for the Model Perfect Shop Vac!

SJS

 

[John Augustine]

I have used a big Craftsman for years. About 3 years ago I got a Dust Deputy cyclone and it has been the greatest. Used in line ahead of the shop vac almost none of the finest dusts get to the filter!! The bucket under the cyclone collects 99% of everything and changing the filter is almost a thing of the past. You can get one for as little as $50.00 .
Has been a great find for me, John

 

[Rick L]

thanks all- still open to suggestions

Steve my old Craftsman - 25 maybe 30- sounds like your newer one feature wise-

as for "Model Perfect" those are my fly reels not shop vacs

I see some very good reviews on the Feins on line - I'll try find a local dealer so I can check the noise, not cheap, but good tools generally are not

 

[Chuck J]

they all suck.

Only the good ones....

Here's my take...both from using them at home and at work...

The wheels suck...don't roll well, fall off at the damnedest times, and generally just get tangled in the cord

The small ones you can actually carry have too small of a motor (i.e. They don't suck enough to not suck)

The big ones you cannot lift when full. If you muster up enough gumption to carry it, and attempt to carry said full vacuum down a flight of stairs, it guaranteed to disconnect the top with the handle from the bottom in the first four stair steps. (Now that sucks!)

Small hoses suck...right up till they clog.

What we have at home now is a contractors vac, bigish motor, smallish container, bigish hose, no wheels...it ain't perfect, but it is the best all around general purpose shop vac I've used and didn't break the bank. Oh yeah, not that this is the most important part, but it's Shop Vac brand...but that really wasn't the object of my post.

Now if money was not an issue, Oneida has an awesome vac...it's a mini portable cyclone dust collector...now that thing sucks!