Shopvacs

[J. Schwiebert]

What is the best wet or dry shop vac for the money?

 

[560farm]

I'm not sure John, we have two of the craftsman large 6.5hp rated wet/dry vacs and have gotten along fine with them. They are at least ten yrs old, mostly get used for dry tractor/combine cleaning cabs and stuff. I have used it to suck up water of the concrete basement before.

Brad

 

[kcm.MN]

Depends on your needs and what it'll be primarily used for.

Personally, I like having two vacs (both wet/dry)with one set up all the time for wet and the other for dry. Recently ordered a small one off of Amazon for sucking up those blame Asian ladybeetles. Works well as it is small and easy to carry around, but not something for the shop.

If you're looking for something that will suck up loads of very fine sawdust (think sanding), cool ash, etc, then get one with the best filters around. If normal sawdust (think tablesaw) or chips from a router, jointer or planer, then hose diameter matters.

How long will the tool be in use for? If running for long periods of time, might wanna look into a dust collector.

When looking at reviews, take note of dislikes, especially with hose being too stiff. Some hose materials also create much more static than others, so if sucking up fine, dry sawdust, look for low-static hose.

 

[Scott 730]

Craftsman or Rigid.

 

[jeffcat]

Most of the box stores carry Ridgid, SHOP VAC, and other good brands. You can even get a metal one if you want. Watch for size, power, capacity, ruggedness, quality, etc. Look it over really good. The inside filter gets removed so you can suck up water. DON'T leave it on!!!! The other thing is that filter is for the blower motor and NOT to be used for sucking trash. That is why they sell nice big vacuum cleaner bags for those machines. Please believe me. They work fantastic if you put a bag in them and change it when about half full. Would you run you carpet cleaner without a bag? Same story.

 

[marloweg]

one with a BIG hose nothing smaller then 2 inch.my Ridged is 2.5 and it is great

 

[Steve@Advance]

We've had a couple of Craftsman at the shop for years. They have outlived several power cords and hose sets, and still running strong. They get the hardest use imaginable, usually picking up metal chips and coolant. A lot of coolant!

Have tried a couple of Rigids from HD. I was not impressed. Weak vacuum, and very difficult to dump as the accessory tray is mounted to the drum. Has to be unloaded every time to dump it!
Craftsman Shop Vac

 

[hd6gtom]

Only ones that lasted at the car dealership were Dewalt commercial duty. They ran several hours every day. Got them at True Value.

 

[JD Seller]

I have had good luck with Craftsman and Shop Vac brands.

I have a Shop Vac one that was sold by JD 15 years ago or so. It is 15 gallons and has a large bottom side port drain. This is really handy for liquids. (like top picture)

I have a smaller Craftsman five gallon one that is 30 years old. That thing has sucked more grain than any other I have. I use it to clean out the seed boxes on the planters and drills.

The ones that get used the most are two small one gallon carry around ones.(like bottom picture) They work great for cars, around the house and equipment cabs.

 

[David G]

I have a Rigid, been a good vacuum.

 

[D beatty]

I have a Craftsman wet-dry vac that I have had for over 25 years and still going strong. The only thing I might find it hard to find a filter for it.

 

[Russ from MN]

Probably Craftsman, when on sale. I had a bearing go out on a Shopvac, bought a new Craftsman, just as much suction and quieter.

 

[JD Dave]

Grainger Dayton have been excellent. I use their bag in the vac and with the good filter on the motor no problems. I've never replaced a motor in these models.

 

[DENNIS MIN]

J schwiebert,

Rigid. We had to run vacuums at work for weeks at a time. The only brand that stayed running were rigid. All others fried their bearings.

D.

 

[Texasmark1]

Mine is a Rigid from HD. Does the job and filters are available there.

 

[Scott 730]

(quoted from post at 08:44:47 11/26/17) I have a Craftsman wet-dry vac that I have had for over 25 years and still going strong. The only thing I might find it hard to find a filter for it.

Rigid filters from Home Depot are the same. Rigid and Craftsman are the same vac.

 

[J. Schwiebert]

Thanks for all the replys. This is for a gift. WE have a Craftsman and have been well satisfied. I just did not know if I wanted to go with another one considering the condition of Sears. Wife picked the Rigid. Thanks again. J.

 

[2510Paul]

Value wise I have had good luck with the Craftsman 16 gallon 6.x HP with the large filter with the red stripe. The filter size is pretty important in my mind otherwise they just fill up too fast with the fine dirt. The red stripe filter is pictured in one of the posts below.

Paul

 

[DR. EVIL]

I bought a Craftsman way back in the 1970's. The hose was the first thing to fail, glorified dryer vent hose. Filters were hard to find, always sold out at Sears, I always bought a spare. Motor started squealing after about a year. Motor finally locked up. Bronze self-aligning bushing siezed up. Luckily I found a sealed ball bearing in my remote control race car spare parts that I was able to replace it with. I forget what actually was it's last failure but I replaced it with a SHOP-VAC brand, bigger, better, trouble-free. The big Shop-Vac has lasted way longer than the Craftsman did. I won a free smaller Shop-Vac vacuum as a prize in some contest with 1-1/4" hose and attachments for cleaning car/truck interiors. I use it more than the big one now.

 

[Leroy]

Had a 5 gal til went bad. Wife got me a 15 gallon and it just sets.Only worked to pick out the old blown in insluation in walls when remodeling. Have 2 of the 2 gallon sears now that I use in house as well handy size, just wish hose was 2' longer. But now Sears does not carry bags for anymore. Found the bags at local sweeper shop. Had to order them as did not carry but as soon as I showed him the sweeper he knew what bags to get with no problem.

 

[showcrop]

I was just thinking yesterday how happy I am with my Shop Vac brand. My son gave it to me for Xmas probably six years ago. I have used it a LOT, for vacuuming auto body filler dust, general clean up, and extracting ground wasps from their nests. I think that it has more hours on it than it must have been designed for. I have both sizes hoses and change them depending on what I am doing.