Shop vac

[Randy Alkins]

Has anyone who uses a shop vac with a dirt deputy in the system incorporated some sort of muffler into the works? I am thinking of building one out of PVC pipe with a large reducer at each end to put on the shop vac. Inside the pipe not sure but would think some kind of cage with foam wrapped around it. Any other ideas to silence the shop vac?

[John M Wilson]

I use a Rigid shop vac with a Dust Deputy. Originally thought I would pick up the optional muffler for the shop vac, but I noticed that most of the noise is coming from the exterior of the motor of the shop vac -- not out of the discharge pipe. To make sure, I hooked up a hose to the exhaust port, & ran it outside. The change in noise was negligible. It seems to me that the only way to get substantial noise reduction on the shop vac would be to build some sort of "sound hood" containing insulation to place over the motor, and then I would worry about the secondary effects of cutting off cooling air supply.

Of course, this is just my observations on my setup, and yours may vary considerably. My shop vac does not make as much noise as most of the other power tools I am using that are making the dust that it is collecting, so I am usually wearing hearing protection anyway.

Hope this helps...

[Randy Alkins]

Thanks John, I was not sure where the noise actually came from so not sure how to compete with it. May build a sound barrier for it.