Shop vac recommendations?

[blakestree]

Howdy,

I'm looking for recommendations for a good shop vac, brand or model. I don't need the biggest, best thing out there. I really just need it to suck leaves out of my sailboat, right now. But, I would like one that is dependable and performs well.

Thanks!

[Rene Melten]

I've have had a 6 gallon Ridgid Shop Vac for 10 yrs. Other than replacing the cord it's preformed very well. It's a wet and dry type.

[Cardinal]

I have two shop vacs.

The small two gallon one because it is portable (easy to clean cars with--we don't have a boat). The small one is a Craftsman which I bought on sale and it came with a bunch of attachments.

The Shop Vac 10 gallon one I again bought on sale and it came with a wide floor squeege (sp?) attachment, a narrow attachement, and a 4" X 6" rug attachemnt. A 10 gallon one for vacuuming up big spills (like when the cellar floods or cleaning the 28' X 36' garage floor. MOST big shop vacs are wet/dry and you HAVE TO REMOVE THE FILTER WHEN VACUUMING UP LIQUIDS or you'll ruin the filter (and filters are EXPENSIVE).

If I were you, I'd watch the Sears, Target, Walmart, KMart, box store, ads to pick up what's on sale.

[Paul1979]

Originally Posted by Cardinal

...you HAVE TO REMOVE THE FILTER WHEN VACUUMING UP LIQUIDS or you'll ruin the filter (and filters are EXPENSIVE)...

+1 on expensive filters. I've got the same 10 gallon Craftsman and would recommend it to anyone. I also got it on sale.

When I replaced the original filter (after sucking up liquids and ruining it.... ) I got one that is meant for liquids. It was a couple bucks more than the standard filter.

[Twisted_Metal]

My 10 gallon Craftsman sucks.....
Just like it's supposed to.

[frankz]

Without a doubt the best vac I've had was an old Craftsman 20 gal.......it would suck the face off a brick.This one was stolen and replaced with a Shop Vac brand---BIG MISTAKE,it had about half the suction of the Craftsman and after a year the motor burst into flame while in use.My current Rigid 20 gal. isn't as good as the old Craftsman but does OK........but it's noisy as heck.

[Rene Melten]

Woops, sorry mine's a 6 HP 16 Gal.

[blakestree]

Thanks for the input, guys. I really appreciate it.

[Kamikaze]

Got a Craftsman also and if you look very carefully, they are from the same manufacturer as Rigid. They share the same accessories and parts on the higher duty models but the Craftsman models have more plastic molded parts and have a less industrial look to them.

K & N actually sell filters for these shop vacs too! But IMO, they allow more airflow but capture less of the superfine dust particles...

[blakestree]

I was just looking at the Craftsmans. It looks like they just have 9, then 12 gallon models, now. I'll probably go with the 12 since it has a 2 1/2" hose.

[Woody73]

How come Dyson hasn't jumped on the bandwagon with an industrial shop vac???

[77nomad]

Should have got one on black Friday. Half price.

[kawboy]

Not a huge fan of craftsman tools. Years ago they used to make good tools but not anymore. I wiil say that their shop vacs a good though.

[5spd540]

I got a craftsman one that hangs on the wall I think it has a 16 gal tank and it works better than any others I have had

[blakestree]

Originally Posted by Woody73

How come Dyson hasn't jumped on the bandwagon with an industrial shop vac???

Hahahaha, I wondered that, as well! We have a Dyson Ball for the house. Although, if they did come out with one, it would probably be $600...