What Is A Good Jobsite Vacuum?

Peladu

Ok I have a question for you guys; What vacuum do you use and do you like it?

I have a Craftsman 16gallon wet/dry with 5 peak HP. This monster sounds like a jet engine. When I am doing a quick fix or a punch list and I turn this thing on I cant hear myself fart. Babies start crying, cats and dogs run away, mommies slap me, (which sometimes isn’t a bad thing) and three blocks down other dogs begin to howl. It has sounded this way right out of the box. I tried to get a smaller one and that was like pissing in the wind.

Do you guys have a recommendation for a high volume yet quiet vacuum?
(I hope this isn’t like asking my F150 to get 35mpg.)

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

DecksEtc

I have a Hitachi wet/dry vac. It's actually classed as a "portable dust collector" by them but looks just like a shop vac. I can't remember the model number off hand but I'm sure there aren't a lot on their website. This thing is VERY quiet and has a LOT of power. I paid about $325 or so for it.

I have an adaptor to hook it directly to my table saw - it keeps the sawdust down on-site and clients really appreciate the fact I don't make a huge mess on their property.

Mike Finley

The best one is the smallest sized one with the most suction power.

Mines a little Rigid model, this one right here actially:



The 1st thing I did was throw away all the attachments and replaced the small diameter hose with a full sized one. It is set up with an adapter on the hose that comes with it to accept the small hose, so no modifications are needed to plug in a standard hose. That's the one I use, it's tiny, it's light, it's durable and it sucks like a Long Island whore.

slickshift

Yeah I got the same one
'Cept it's 5.5
Same deal, I can't use it w/o ear protection
Trying to bring it up a customers old, narrow, staircase, or anyplace that they display those knick-knacky things is like a bull in a china shop
It takes up too much room in the van
It seemed like a good idea at the time....

But I'm in the market for a small quiet one that really sucks

slickshift

Looks like a HD exclusive

ConcreteGuy

For general cleaning I agree that the smaller the better for wet/dry vacs.

Fer kicks and giggles, here's a model we use in hospital work:
http://www.vacuumcleaners.net/vacuum...12pd_1458.html
Dust is verboten in hospitals.

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Peladu

Thanks for all of the info guys, keep it coming.

Fortunatley I don't need a Hepa filter vac.
Thats a lotta bones for a vac just to vac up drywall dust, amongst other things.

A friend has the same RIGID and no longer uses it on the job, he hated it.
He vac's his car with it and it stays in his garage.

I used a vac one time, liked it, I think it was called Tornado....
lets see what Google tells me.....

mdshunk

I have one of those Oreck 8 pound "hotel vacs" on all three trucks now. They work out really well for cleaning up customer's carpets while not taking up too much room on the truck. They're small too, which is nicer for cluttered homes.

AAPaint

Heh! I'm in the same boat, sorta. I have the 6.5HP 18 gallon contractor grade shop vac.....what a frickin beast! Damn thing shocks the daylights outta me when it's runnin every time I touch it. I guess it builds up a good bit of static or something, but when I touch that metal handle to move it, ZAP!! It takes up one whole back seat in the van by itself. Moving it around is a pain too, but damn does that thing suck......You know how many wiping rags I have lost to that sucker?

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AA Quality Painting & Pressure Washing LLC
Jacksonville Painters
Jacksonville, FL.