What A Jobsite Vac Should Be!

WTBt00ls

Hey guys, my name is Patrick. I am new to the forum. This is an awesome place though, i just opened up shop in VA and have the exciting task of replacing my current 4gal shop vac. I do interior remodeling and am looking for a new all purpose wet/dry jobsite vac. Now not being able to resist the chance to research a new tool. i went online and learned way more then one prolly should ever admit knowing about shop vacs lol. At the same time a vac is a tool you use almost every job and haul around all the time. so i figured i would do a little more then just go to homedepot this time. and actually think about things like size, noise lvl and mobility of it. One that particularly caught my eye the Ridged 14gal 2stage industrial vac (sry i cant post link dont have 15 posts yet)

This is a 14 gal vac that is the "pro" line of ridged vacs that is supose to be for contractors not homeowners and has a price tag to prove it. I has a fancy hose and also is supose to be much quieter and has 2 stage motor for longevity. For me anything less than a 2.5inch hose i cant use on a job cuz i need to suck up big chunks of stuff and who knows what outa wall cavitys ect. and noise is a huge factor cuz i hate feeling like i should be wearing hearing protection while im using the damn vac lol. the handle is great and all. really what concerns me most is the size, what size vacs do you guys use on a job site? unfortunately this line of "pro" vacs had not come out when the vac roundup review i read was done, ill link it below. For the 300 bucks you spend on this vac you could also get a lower end festool, fien, or bosh. What kinda size and brand vacs do you guys use on remodeling jobs.

i cant link the site i got the review on, but if you google shopvac review it pops up its on a site called consumersearch

thanks for your time
patrick

Mike Finley

I don't want to take anything away from your new vac, cuase it sure sounds nice. But for us we've been using this same little $60.00 rigid for about 3-4 years. (on the same filter)

It's tiny, but is 5hp so it sucks like a long island you know what. Size is important to us, too much stuff on the site already to have some monster on wheels banging into everything and taking up too much room in the trailer, especially since most clean up is acomplished much faster with a broom and a dust pan anyways and a final vac of what is left from the dust pan fall out.

I don't know why this one comes with the skinny hose, it takes an adapter to use the hose that comes with it, so the first thing to do is throw it away and put on a regular sized hose.

Can't complain, small, powerful and still working no matter how much abuse we give it.

dkillianjr

I have a shopvac brand QSP 16 gallon vac, it works great and is pretty quiet. Still not quiet enough though lol. A little tip, I use the disposable filter bags in mine, what I like about them is the vac wont blow any dust at all even if your sucking up drywall dustand to empty just lift out and throw in a trash bag. Give em a try


Dave

highlife77

NO...the same filter?? I us ea little ridgid as well 3-4 years works great, just keep the filter clean.

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dkillianjr

Hey Mike is that thing pretty quiet? I see the muffler on it. Is that a 4 gallon? I've been looking for something to replace my little 1 gallon shopvac for the smaller jobs.


Dave

Mike Finley

Yeah, when ever it starts to suck less then it should we just make sure to bang the filter in the dumpster to knock the drywall dust out of it.

I think Rigid screwed up with this one if they were planing on making any money on replacement filters. The thing is so powerful that even with a 3 year old jacked up filter the thing still sucks powerfully. What can I say. Real tools were made to be abused.

I wouldn't say it is quiet. It's not near as loud as a big ole shop vac but that's probably more an issue of motor size than anything else. We make enough noise on site so I never really thought about a quiet shop vac for any reason.

It is small, if you're a builder it would be silly, but for kitchen or baths, it's good. We don't fill it up during a job, usually takes a couple jobs before we need to dump it.

But like I said, I'm more inclinded to have a guy grab a broom for major clean ups.

daArch

Thanks Mike,

I've been looking for something for my basement shop. Small, cheap, and can suck the chrome off a trailer hitch is what I want, thou it don't look wet-dry. (leaky field stones)

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A.W.Davis

This is what we use. A 15 gallon Shop-Vac



The thing I like most about this vacuum is it is extremely quite and sucks 90% of jobsite debris with no hassles.

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troubleseeker

I have a 16 gallon "Shop VAC" that offers plenty of suction, but it is loud and pretty bulky; good for jobs where it can stay on site.

I have one of those rectangular Ridgid's (don't know if it is exact model), it is easy to transport and has a nice long hose on it, but be aware that the Ridgid brands all seem to use a strange size hose and fittings .

My favorite is my little 5 gallon Shop VAC, which is about the size of a bucket of sheetrock mud ( not the bloated newer models). It is extremely light and very portable, but a little tipsy because because of its small diameter.

Whatever you buy, be sure it accepts disposable bags, they are the secret for any vac.

neolitic

That's what I'm buying now!
Tired of sharing space and fighting my 16 gal. in bathrooms.
Or hooking up 3 hoses so I don't have to lug it up a ladder.

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MechanicalDVR

We have several of the small Ridgid vacs that have the auto pickup to work with a ower tool, tey work surprisingly well or everythng except oil burner cleaning.

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dkillianjr

Hey Mechanical, Do you remember what ridgid vac you have? I was looking for one with the auto feature I can't seem to find it.

Thanks, Dave

firemike

I have a couple of the Ridgid 16 gallon stainless steel vacs (WD1950) and have to say they really suck - literally! They do a nice job, and about the quietest large shop vac I have ever had.*

I also have one of the smaller vacs like Mike, only the one up from his. (WD4550) It has a 2" intake, good power, but a little loud. It also has onboard storage for the hose and nozzels. The hose leaves a little to be desired though, especially when cold. It is self-retracting (springy) so it will fit in the vac. Kind of a pain to use when doing a lot of cleanup. as it tends to try and recoil so you are contunually 'fighting' it when stratched out to near full length. It is great for the little jobs though. Their regular 2 inch hose and all the accessories fit the vacuum so I use them if I have a lot of cleanup to do. I use it occasionally as the vacuum for my power miter box. It's a great one to keep on the truck because it doesn't take a lot of space, yet has a decent amount of power for cleanup. And being rectangular and boxy, it's easy to store or stack.

Something kinda a neat I saw the other day, Ridgid now makes a filter bag for the larger vacuum cleaners. (VF3502) I bought one the other day but haven't tried it yet, I think it will be perfect for sanding drywall or when I use the vac with the power miter box. It will keep the filter from clogging up so fast and make disposing of the dust much easier. They are kind of pricey though, I think it was around $15 apiece, we'll see how long it takes to fill it up versus having to bang the dust out of the filter five or six times a day.

I also have one of the small vacs like mechanical is talking about, it turns on automatically when you start a power tool. Has something like an eight or 10 amp rating. I don't think they make it anymore as I haven't seen them around in the last couple of years. I wanted to get another one to use with my portable router table, but haven't been able to find one. I've got a larger Porter-Cable vac that has the same autostart feature, the vac came as part of the Porter-Cable drywall sander. Festool makes a really nice one too, pricey, but will last forever. I know a couple guys that have them, they really like them.


*About a year after I bought one, it quit working. Called the warranty department, I had to send the power head in for "inspection" to see if it would be covered under their "lifetime" warranty. I sent it in, figuring I would get a letter back stating it wasn't covered due to some lame technical loophole, like I abused it or shouldn't have been sucking drywall dust up, etc. I was totally supprised when I came home one day and an entire new vacuum was delivered from Ridgid. Not just a new powerhead, but the whole kit! Sure supprised me, there is one for the books from Ridgid!

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dkillianjr

Crap ,I figured they stopped making the ridgid with the auto on feature. Although now that I think of it I do remember seeing an adaptor that you plug your vac into to make it come on automaticly. I've been eyeing up that ridgid stainless too that looks like one nice vac.

Dave

thom

If you vac carpet, you need a power wand. A power wand will do 10 times the job.

I'm using one I picked up 15 years ago when I remodeled a restaurant and installed a central vac. Put a new motor in it 10 years ago, the most powerful one Grainger sells, it sucks like a 250# whore.

kevjob

is that the voice of experience?

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randomkiller

I can figure out how you would know about the whore but, knowing how you found out about the vacuum is a little strange.

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firemike

Awww, Come on guys, it's nice to know there thom still has a recourse when he can't find a 250# whore....

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