Shop vacuum recommendations

[Steve Sawyer]

Two of you have mentioned the Ridgid 12-gallon model, but I can't find anything that size - 6, 14, 16 gallon but no 12.

Anyone have a model number?

[Wayne Cannon]

After using Shop-Vac and Fein in my shop and trying the large Festool, I prefer my big 18 gal Shop-Vac. It's among the noisiest, but nothing I've tried has the moxie of the big Shop-Vac. I also have a large Fein Turbo III fixed to my miter saw. The Fein is nice and quiet with respectable suction, but I wouldn't pay that much again. I have ear protectors hanging conveniently all around my shop and prefer to wear them than spend $750 to $1200 on a vacuum that I'd prefer to invest elsewhere.

The Shop-Vac also has the widest variety of filter/bag options -- inexpensive and available everywhere. I typically use 0.3 micron HEPA pleated canister filters combined with drywall bags.

Shop-Vacs are not world-class quality, but the only repairs I've had to make in almost fifteen years are replacing the plastic on/off rocker and a plastic peg that prevented the motor from rotating under startup torque.

The I-Socket is a nice addition for automatic turn-on and delayed off. This feature is built into the Fein and several other brands.

[Steve Sawyer]

I prefer my big 18 gal Shop-Vac.

Do you mean this one? If so, wow, that's in the same price range as a Festool.

[Ken Garlock]

Two of you have mentioned the Ridgid 12-gallon model, but I can't find anything that size - 6, 14, 16 gallon but no 12.

Anyone have a model number?

MY mistake, it is a 14 Gal. The model is WD1450.

I'll correct my post above.

[John Callahan]

I'm partial to Shop Vac, I had three (till one walked off a jobsite) in different sizes. Set up with a HEPA filter and the appropiate bag, they'll clean as well as anything. As Wayne mentioned, the bags are widely available. Good tech support too. All three vacs cost less than a Fein or Festool. They work well for me.

[Joel Goodman]

I've had the smaller (cheaper) Fein for several years and it's excellent. It's more than a Shop Vac with less capacity but it's a lot quieter.

[Vernon Taylor]

I am in the process of putting my old Craftsman in a cabinetI have lined with styrofoam insulation which I had left over from a long ago basement remodeling project the foam is 3/4 and was in panels meant to go between furring strips, I am using a dust collection kit by shopvac which is on clearance for 39.95 on their website "]WWW.shopvac ,com[/comes with clear tubing, blast gate and assorted fittings,might want to check it out. The foam has effectivly cut the noise by at least 50percent. and I plan on using it like a central vac, and dust collection for brnchtop tools. I have a cyclone DC for the larger machines and a Fein Turbe 3 which I use with the ROS.

[Steve Sawyer]

Very interesting.

Since the Ridgid models seem to be getting some good recommendations I went onto the HD website and compared three models.

What is amazing is that of the three models, the cheapest one - the 12-gallon WD1246 - had the best specs.

All three pulled 53 inches of static vacuum, but the CFM ratings look like this:

WD1850 - $150 - 203 CFM - 12 Amps
WD1450 - $100 - 178 CFM - 11 Amps
WD1246 - $70 - 289 CFM - 10 Amps

[Peter Quadarella]

Strange, makes you wonder how that could be possible. Typo?

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
Re: the Ridgid/ WD1246/1247

Strange, makes you wonder how that could be possible. Typo?

No, it's not a typo or "black magic". The 1246/47 (the 1247 designates the free filter model) runs flat out and flat out runs and moves a remarkable amount of air.
It also has a fairly short lifespan/eats filters/depends on clean filters for all that air movement and suction.
I have three of them - I cant pass up a bargain - I bought from HD on Black Friday over the last three years.
1 is for dry use, 1 is for wet use and the third I bought simply because it came with a free filter. Filters are $15.00 ea. and the vac w/free filter was $29.00. I saved a buck.

Did I mention it does scream? Both in performance (w/clean filters) and in relative noise level. It also sucks down a lot of juice (no pun intended).
Last spring when I redid the floors at a rental, I had to (try to) use the vac with a set of 500W halogen lights. As long as the filter was clean, I was OK. As soon as the filter clogged a little, you could hear the motor start to strain,,and WHAM! It would trip the breaker. I got to where I could hear by the pitch of the motor when it was getting close, shut it down and took the filter outside and shook it off.

Bottom line - is it a good $70.00 vac?
No.
Is it a great $29.00 vac?
Absolutely!

[Rob Will]

I have owned about 8 shop vacs. Looking back over the years, the ones that had the longest service life (and still going) were the commercial models with a metal tank. IMHO, the extra weight and larger wheels are a positive thing. The stainless steel model at Lowes is worth looking at.

Rob

[Thomas Williams]

Just to throw in my 2 cents, I recently purchased the Ridgid WD1450 and feel that this was well worth the price. The noise is very tolerable and it provides plenty of suction for my needs.
I would have liked to had one of the top end models but I just could not justify the expense for a shop vac. I can use the difference in price to put toward updating my dust collector.

[Tim Sgrazzutti]

I'm about to try the WD1450, as I've read the noise reduction on that one should make it quiter than my 10 year old crapman screamer. I have having to wear hearing protection to vacuum out a car. Not to mention that I can't have the kids outside while I'm doing it unless they're wearing hearing protection too. Damn inconvenient. I keep forgetting to bring a db meter home from work to see just how loud that thing is, but I'd like to compare the two. Does anybody have a sound level rating for the 1450?

[Thomas Williams]

I can't tell you in decibels, but the WD1450 can be used without ear protection, I can hear the phone ring when I am using it and can even carry on a conversation. My old vac was an early Ridgid that was so loud I could not hear a router when the vac was running.

[Keith Pitman]

I bought the 12 gallon Porter Cable recently to replace a very old Sears model. It's a big improvement over the old Sears: Much quieter, has an outlet for a tool and auto-start, long cord and hose. Only negative is that it uses a nonstandard tools, so you have to buy Porter Cable attachments.