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Shop vacs

Another one here for a ridgid vac ... mine is a 16 gallon, plenty of suction. Used the crap out of it when doing the floors in my house !
 
I’m a drywaller, that’s a trade that’s tough on shop vacs. I can offer a bit of advice.
Go large. Small tools of any type are generally for guys with office jobs, and housewives.
Always use a bag. I know they have a cannister filter. Doesn’t matter. Use a bag. Generally there are two types available, “normal” and fine particle. I use fine particle “drywall dust” bags.
Personally I use Shop-vac brand, 6.5 gallon size. That’s the type sold locally, and I generally get two years of all day, every day use.
I plumbed it into a home brew central vac system in my shop. I have a sandblasting cabinet there. On greEdBay I bought a little dust cyclone. It attaches to the top of a five gallon plastic pail and acts as a pre filter for the vacuum. Works super slick. I use it, followed by the shop vac with a fine particle bag. If you have a shop vac plumbed in, buy one, follow the directions carefully, and you’ll thank me.
 
The Ridgid two in one is the best performer for the money but the motors don't last forever. The detachable blower is convenient. The price is descent and they make plenty of attachments. Do yourself a favor and buy a second hose and a coupler. Mine has four hoses and every time it dies I buy another and throw on the old hoses and attachments. Frequently clean or replace the paper filter, foam inlet filter and use of a foam filter for wet pick up will greatly improve it's service life. Also don't leave water in it or the motor will rust. Fein and Festool are the best for commercial use but the price is steep. I do like the anti static hoses, cloth bags, heppa filtration, auto on outlet etc. It's all relevant to what your specific needs are. You get what you pay for and quality is remembered long after price is forgotten. I am a painter and have used and killed them all. I use the Ridgid for the big stuff and a Miele home vac with a cloth bag for the second go on fine finish work. I still tach cloth everything afterwards as an added precaution. Planned obsolescence has lowered the quality on just about everything. The manufacturers don't want to sell you anything that will last forever so they can repeatedly rape your wallet.
 
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I've had my craftsman 4HP, 9 gal, wet/dry for 10+ years now.
Other than a filter cleaning every now and then, it works great.
 
The motor is the big thing
I like the bypass motor not the flow through motor
bearings last longer
 
I'll vote for Rigid. I've had a couple of Shop-Vacs brand and they haven't held up with my employees. Employees tend to be harsh on things they don't own. I bought a Rigid out of desperation expecting the same results and have been very happy. Only thing I do is keep a bunch of filters (the blue ones) around. Every time we empty it, we change the filter. We then wash the dirty filters, let them dry, and good as new. You really need to keep the filter as clean as possible to keep the flow/suction high.

Stainless or plastic would be your only decision. I do like the stainless one we have, but the guys tend to dent it all the time. That leads to the seal between the top and bottom to leak reducing suction. I think the plastic would be better up until it takes a hit hard enough to break the plastic.
 
I am a drywaller also, rigid works the best for us, using a bag filter instead of a regular filter is the way to go for fine particles like drywall dust, no plugging up and banging the dust out of the filter. it cuts down on airbourne dust in peoples house's, and if you've ever done drywall you know what a mess it can be. (we do alot of remodeling) we use the smaller ones so they fit in our trucks with the rest of the tools 4.5 hp 5 gallon. and i have a large one in the shop with a regular filter for regular dirt. they work for us on a commercial level with no problems.
 
Weelll, my yellow/black Shop Vac is over 10yrs old,1-1/4” hose. You’re getting into a minefield these days- washers,dryers, fridges,etc. are all crap anymore!
 
As a contractor I have been thru several shop vacs over the years. Shop vac brand suck. Switches fail, motors burn up. I bought a rigid from home depot, that thing is a trooper. It just keeps going.
 
oldbee said:
Weelll, my yellow/black Shop Vac is over 10yrs old,1-1/4” hose. You’re getting into a minefield these days- washers,dryers, fridges,etc. are all crap anymore!
Click to expand...
Bought all American 17 years ago (Frigidaire), everything is still going strong. You'd be surprised how much is already being built here again.
 
jason79 said:
As a contractor I have been thru several shop vacs over the years. Shop vac brand suck. Switches fail, motors burn up. I bought a rigid from home depot, that thing is a trooper. It just keeps going.
Click to expand...
From what I've seen and what members have said I'll likely buy a Rigid. Thanks
 
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