Shop Vac feedback

[farmerbw]

While completing our last project my 2-3 year old Lowes shop vac bit the dust! :roll: It developed a "burning" smell and started making non-normal noises. I've still got to dig through my receipts to see exactly when I got it since it supposedly has a 3 year warranty, but in the interim I've been looking at what's available now. I searched and found a 2 year old thread that had some pretty good feedback and reviews but was hoping to get something more current.

The dying/dead one is the 14 Gallon/5.5 HP Lowes model and it's the only one I've ever had and other than it's short life I guess I've been fairly pleased with it mainly cause I don't have anything to compare it to. It seems a little loud to me so if there are quieter options I'd be open to considering them. I'd like to stay with something similar i.e replaceable/cleanable filters and filter bags.

So, what does everyone have/recommend and what do you or don't you like about it? To narrow it down I'd like to stay in the $100 or lower range, so Fein or Festool are outta my budget! :gar-La;

Thanks for any input,
Brian.

 

[RayH]

Good luck on your replacement. I'm not sure quiet is an available option. I have found that the HEPA bags on my 8 year old Craftsman sure help with keeping the dust down.:icon_chee

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

For $100 you can get something that will suck pretty decently, but it will be noisy and make you deaf like my Shopvac brand. The quiet ones- Fein, and Festool are REALLY expensive. Also, I find it a pain how my efficiency goes down rapidly as the filter clogs, especially with fine dust like MDF or drywall. And cleaning- another pain.

(He's not going to bring it up again, is he? Please say he isn't? Oh, please no!) :rolf:

Yup- the ideal shopvac system- a standard Shopvac, Craftsman, etc. with a CleanStream HEPA filter, mounted in a sound-deadening, cabinet that is ventilated for cooling, and . . . . . . connected to a mini-cyclone either homemade or one from ClearVue or Oneida! Once I find that darn 'Round-Tuit' I will connect mine that way for use with my ROS, biscuit jointer, and routers.

I picked up a ClearVue mini on sale earlier in the year but have not installed it yet! :embaresse:embaresse

 

[LeftyTom]

For around $100, the Ridgid 16 gal/6.5HP and Craftsman 20gal ($130, unless you catch it on sale) get high marks. I do not know about the Ridgid, but the Craftsman comes with a bag.

 

[farmerbw]

Tom you mentioned the Rigid, which was one of the ones I'd looked at, and then Alan commented about the clearvue which reminded me that they made the conversion kit for it. So I went and looked at it and saw it was about $250 shipped :eusa_doh: and I'd still have to drop around $100 for the Rigid vac so that made it a non-starter for the time being.

Alan, what are the actual dimensions on the mini? I would probably consider that as a more feasible option over the conversion since it's about $100 cheaper than the conversion. I'm assuming that the mini can only be used with shop vacs? So if I ever upgrade to a real DC I couldn't use them together and would instead have to do a separator or bigger cyclone.

Thanks for the input.

Brian.

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

Tom you mentioned the Rigid, which was one of the ones I'd looked at, and then Alan commented about the clearvue which reminded me that they made the conversion kit for it. So I went and looked at it and saw it was about $250 shipped :eusa_doh: and I'd still have to drop around $100 for the Rigid vac so that made it a non-starter for the time being.

Alan, what are the actual dimensions on the mini? I would probably consider that as a more feasible option over the conversion since it's about $100 cheaper than the conversion. I'm assuming that the mini can only be used with shop vacs? So if I ever upgrade to a real DC I couldn't use them together and would instead have to do a separator or bigger cyclone.

Thanks for the input.

Brian.

I'm surprised that CV made a model-specific unit! Only mounts to a Rigid?? The unit pictured in my post stands 16 3/4" high, diam. 8 1/2 and has 2 1/4" shopvac sized hose inlet and outlet. You furnish your own bin- I'll likely use an old drywall mud bucket. The height increases when it is mounted. Yup, it is designed to work with a shopvac and not with a DC. But look at the bad dust producers that only work with a shopvac anyway- ROS, biscuit jointer, routers, etc.

Then again you could go overkill- a CV mini on a Festool:

And you could make your own mini, or your own Dyson using soda bottles:

 

[farmerbw]

Alan, yup it only works on Rigid models WD1665 and WD1670. I think it's because they're the detachable blower models.

Duh, I was thinking the Mini went in the bin not on top of it!!! :slap:

Here's the conversion. They've now got a disclaimer on the site, seems Rigid/HD asked them not to use their trademark or something along those lines.

Brian.

 

[McRabbet]

I have a ShopVac 16 gallon unit that I bought 18 months ago -- and I am using a ClearVue Mini CV06 Cyclone on a 5-gallon dry-wall compound bucket with it. The ShoVac is a little noisy (probably 80 dB), so I always use hearing protection with it. I have a good HEPA filter on it and the CV06 really does a great job of removing the majority of dust and all chips. There is only a patina of very fine dust in the ShopVac and I've never had to empty it since I put the mini CV in use last Fall.

 

[farmerbw]

Rob, do you still use the paper filter/bag as well as the HEPA filter in the Shop Vac?

Brian.

 

[McRabbet]

Rob, do you still use the paper filter/bag as well as the HEPA filter in the Shop Vac?

Brian.

Before I began using the CV to extract most of the dust en route to the ShopVac, I used Drywall filter bags and the stock filter cartridge in the ShopVac. The drywall filters run about $16/pair and I'd fill one every month or less, so it stated to get expensive because I do lots of sanding and running my mitersaw -- but it did filter very well. I now have the HEPA filter cartridge in the ShopVac and and connect the CV06 to my router table, my stationary belt sander, my mitersaw and my random orbit sanders. It works well.

 

[James Davis]

The Ridgid models with Scroll Noise Reduction are extremely quiet compared to comparable Shop Vac Models. They are as powerful but a lot quieter. H-D offers all the usual types of filters and bags for them and if you check out the threads that have built the separators for their vacs I think you can get what you are looking for without breaking your budget too bad. I know that the Thien separator is not as sexy as the Clear Vue unit, but for my money the separator is the way to go.

James Davis

 

[Gofor]

I have been using the Ridgid 14 Gal with the SNR (scroll noise reduction) for a couple years now and am very pleased with it. MUCH quieter than Shop Vac, and have never seen any evidence of it blowing out dust. It is my DC for all my power tools, and blower to clean off the riding mower after use, and blow out the shop occasionally.

Go

 

[LeftyTom]

:rotflm: That looks like a washing machine!

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

The Ridgid models with Scroll Noise Reduction are extremely quiet compared to comparable Shop Vac Models. They are as powerful but a lot quieter. H-D offers all the usual types of filters and bags for them and if you check out the threads that have built the separators for their vacs I think you can get what you are looking for without breaking your budget too bad. I know that the Thien separator is not as sexy as the Clear Vue unit, but for my money the separator is the way to go.

James Davis

:eusa_sile

 

[Travis Porter]

:rotflm: That looks like a washing machine!

Or a stomach pump.

 

[PeteQuad]

I use a Ridgid 1850 (I think, the large one) with a Cleanstream filter and the clearvue mini CV06 and am happy with the setup. The muffler seems to make a little difference. That new CV looks interesting.

 

[Glennbear]

My Shop-Vac expired today and I picked up this one on sale at Sears for $99. It has a detachable blower and a muffler on the exhaust so my ears are not getting beat up so badly. There are filter bags and HEPA cartridges available for it. :wsmile:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00917066000P?vName=Tools

 

[farmerbw]

Thanks everyone for the feedback and suggestions they have been very helpful and I was weighing my decision on which model to try this time.

However, it turned out that I was able to locate my receipt for my dead one, seems I really didn't need it though, and it was still in it's warranty period. So I submitted a service inquiry/request from the shop vac website and low and behold I got this email response a couple of hours later.:thumbs_up :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

"Shop Vac Corporation now takes care of all warranty and repair issues directly from our main plant and Service Dept.

A no charge order #xxxxxx has been entered for your new replacement power unit #8130697 on Model 90LN550A. This order should arrive in 7 to 10 business days by FED EX. We do not have a breakdown of our power units, when something becomes defective we replace the complete power unit. Do not dispose of anything until you have received this order and replaced the defective one.

You may need a star screw driver #T25 to remove the screws from the bottom of the lidcage. Take the entire top off of the tank and flip it upside down. Remove the screws and take off the lidcage. Remove the defective power unit and replace it with the new one. Replace the lidcage and the screws. You may then dispose of the defective power unit. "

Talk about service, I was expecting a response telling me to take/ship it somewhere at my expense and wait several days/weeks/months for it to be checked out to determine if it was in fact covered by warranty.......etc.

While it may not have been the best shop vac available then or now, I was happy with it's performance til it died and getting it repaired for free will save me tool money that can be spent on something else!! :icon_thum

Brian.

 

[DavidF]

I was just abaout to start a thread just like this one! my 12 year old shop vac just quit this weekend so on the lookout for a new one. The Rigid sounds quite good, might take a peak at that. Can't be bothered with all the addons though, just want it to clean up the shop and connect to the odd sanding tool.