I need a Good Shop Vacuum ???

[Flute Maker]

Recently i had my main large shop vac go out..I contacted Shopvac and they sent a replacement motor and then a week or so later my smaller shopvac went out. This time they wont even acknowledge my email. Needless to say I wont buy another Shopvac....(On another note I have an older ...25 yrs old...Shopvac and it i still running strong.
Anyhow I need a brandname and best place to buy a shop vacuum cleaner. I am going to buy a small one (I think) I think this time to use in house vacuuming dryer ,under fridge and this type stuff. Any help is appreciated! I might buy a regular size one.

 

[Jim Hancock]

I bought a Fein Turbo a few years ago and am quite happy with it. Not the cheapest on the market, bit it is quality all the way, and much less noisy than other brands.

 

[Chuck N]

I have a Festool CT36. Like the Fein products it is expensive but does a terrific job and is quiet.

 

[kirkpj01]

+1 Fein Turbo. I got mine as a Christmas Gift... a lot less noisy than the ones at the big box stores.

 

[redknife]

I went through this last year - needed to replace my utility vacuum. I decided to buy the ridgid 16 gal wet/dry with noise reduction from the depot which had a lot of favorable reviews and cost a lot less than the Fein. I now wish I would have bought the fein because I have found that the ridgid is pretty loud and doesn't track well when I pull on the hose. I'm always walking back to untwist something. It works so it's not worth me revisiting right now but I thought I'd share my experience with current Depot model as you decide.

 

[Bas]

Ridgid WD1450. Much quieter than any of the other Ridgid models. Get the bags to go with it. The filter works great, but has to be cleaned if you do a lot of sanding. A bag ensures consistent suction.

 

[kanna]

Get a Fein Turbo II with autostart--- super quiet, it'll automatically start and run tools while acting as a dust collector. I've run Festool Domino's; 3 hp routers, smaller bandsaws, sanders, etc through the vacuum autostart and it's plenty powerful. And it doesn't break down. Ever. New ones are pricey, but less than the Festool's. I bought one on Craigslist for about half of retail at Amazon. I have two of them, and they do 90% of my dust collection and do it so quietly I can forget to turn them off. Look on Craigslist!

 

[Roy G]

Klingspor in their clearance items has a Fein Turbo II for 299. Marked down from 399.95. I don't have one, but this may be a good deal.

Roy G

 

[JackLeg]

​I bought my last one at Lowe's when they put them on sale. It's a Shop Vac brand and does a good job.

 

[Canuck]

Klingspor in their clearance items has a Fein Turbo II for 299. Marked down from 399.95. I don't have one, but this may be a good deal.

Roy G

This is a really good buy!

I have been using a Turbo II for about 4 years now and it has performed very well. Very quiet and plenty of draw. Really nice long, flexible hose and rolls real well on 6 swivel casters.


Wayne

 

[teeball]

Another vote for Fein turbo. :thumbs_up

 

[Runk]

I have a couple of older Fein Turbo IIs models. Got them as the models design was changing. I like to outfit them to take a bag. They do a nice job and are relatively quiet. I like them. The issue that I have is attachments since the Fein attachments are expensive and old ones off of old vacuums don't seem to fit the hose diameter. Had to make an adapter and then I can get most to work. I also bought an after market hose that is attaches to most old attachments from other vacuums. I still like the Turbo units.

 

[Gofor]

Ridgid WD1450. Much quieter than any of the other Ridgid models. Get the bags to go with it. The filter works great, but has to be cleaned if you do a lot of sanding. A bag ensures consistent suction.

+1 for this model Rigid. Mine is over 5 yrs old and still going strong. I made a small Thein separator and put it on top of a 25 gal oil drum, which greatly increases capacity and time between filter cleanings, especially when using the thickness planer. The SNR (scroll noise reduction) does make it much quieter than the Shop Vacs I have tried. I have not tried the bags, but am still quite happy with it. (My only problem is that they have closed all the Home Depots close by, with the nearest one being over 70 miles away in Raleigh).

Go

 

[Rbohno]

Wood magazine did a review a short time ago and they rated the Craftsman XSP the best when comparing the big box brands. I bought the 16 gallon on sale for $99 and love it but I am a novice here so have zero experience with the high end equipment so can't speak to comparison with those.

 

[Rick M]

I've burned up two Shop-Vacs with minimal use. Charlies seems to like those $99 Craftsman vacs, he's got a bunch of them. If I get another it will probably be the Craftsman although I like the idea of quiet so I might look into that Ridgid.

 

[jnforness]

I came across an interesting fact back in 2008. The blue color shop vacs that they sell at Harbor Freight, are the exact ones that they sell at Lowe's. I ended up with one of each at my warehouse and I noticed the similarities. So I went looking at the markings, and numbers on them, and sure enough, they were exactly the same!! Lowe's has different stickers and add more to the price! Not sure if it holds true today, but certainly worth looking into if you're buying one from Lowe's.

 

[Michael S.]

I just bought one of the Fein Turbo II vacuums... They have 4 more if any of you are interested.

Mike

 

[Flute Maker]

Fein Turbo II from where?

 

[Michael S.]

Sorry... earlier in the thread it was advertised that Klingspor had Turbo II dust collectors marked down for clearance at $299... Since I was in the market for a new vacuum, I visited their website and the clearance section listed a quantity of 5 available. I bought one, so there are 4 more still available at that price. Given the reviews by folks who actually own the vacuum, I jumped on it!!

 

[Flute Maker]

No problem Mike . Wonder why Fein is discontinuing this model?

Thanks for the info!