I need a Shop Vac, but how powerful?

[MSIGuy]

So my only vacuum I have is a little 12v cheapo from Wal-Mart that rocks for the occasional piece or dirt, but its worthless for much more than that. So I think I need to pick up a Shop Vac, but I don't know how powerful of one I need.

I kinda want to keep it around the $50 range, maybe up to $70 if it'll really be worth it. I've looked around Wal-Mart, Lowes, Home Depot ect and I've found a few different ones ranging from 2.0hp to 4.0hp. My question is really how powerful does a shop vac need to be? Will a 2hp be enough for most jobs or should I go for a 3hp or 4hp Shop Vac? I'm not foreseeing a huge amount of horrible carpets in my future, but I might also grab a Little Green Machine if that'll make any difference in recommending a vac.

So what do you guys have?

[Joe's detailing]

Re: I need a Shop Vac, but how powerful?

My question is really how powerful does a shop vac need to be? Will a 2hp be enough for most jobs or should I go for a 3hp or 4hp Shop Vac?

Lift= suction that matters
Let me explain, when you cover the shop vacs hose with hand, does it lose suction...? or does it remain the same ..?
The higher the hp the greater the suction power, if your just vacuuming little stuff any 1-2 hp vac will do. If your removing dirt, sand, all sorts of debris, I'd recommend 4-5 hp.
Ridged makes some Nice shop vacs with exceptional suction for price...

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: I need a Shop Vac, but how powerful?

I agree. The rigid vacs imho give alot of power for a great price.I have a 2.5 hp. unit. It cost $30.00 Then I bought the car attachment package for $19.95. It does a great job for us. Never had a problem.

[yalerd]

Re: I need a Shop Vac, but how powerful?

Thanks for this, I've been thinking to buy one but I've seen a couple of them and haven't decided, maybe this weekend I'll finally get one

[sstg]

Re: I need a Shop Vac, but how powerful?

Can't Go Wrong With A Ridgid.

[TXShine]

Re: I need a Shop Vac, but how powerful?

I have an old Craftsman 16 gal. 3.5 hp shop vac that I’ve used for the cars/trucks and around the house/shop for a long time (over 10 yrs anyway) and it is still going strong. However, I have been wanting a new one that’s smaller in size and quieter.

I’ve looked a lot and would really like an Attix 8 (you can see one at the industrialvacs web site) but I just can’t justify the cost ($350.00+), unless someone can help me do that.

I’ll probably get the Ridgid 4.5 gal. 5 hp Pro-Pac (Model# WD4550) with the 10 ft. Pro Hose (Model# VT2570). I’ve heard the hose is well worth the extra $35.00. Any opinions on that?
Oh, and one thing I really like is the WD4550 has a full lifetime warranty.

[TXShine]

Re: I need a Shop Vac, but how powerful?

Btw, just a little tidbit for ya, Emerson Tool Co. makes both Ridgid and Craftsman shop vacs.

Sorry, for the double post. Not much time given to go back and edit.

Any chance to add a little more time for that Tim?

[Joe's detailing]

Re: I need a Shop Vac, but how powerful?

Btw, just a little tidbit for ya, Emerson Tool Co. makes both Ridgid and Craftsman shop vacs.

They also make stinger vacs...

[TXShine]

Re: I need a Shop Vac, but how powerful?

This should probably be over in Interior Care....but I didn’t think about it when I first posted.

Anyway, I just wanted to follow up with some of my observations. I went to Home Depot and picked up the WD4550 Pro-Pac & VT2570 Pro Hose today. I liked the size and the tool box styling of the 4550 and the quality and flexibility of the Pro Hose was great. So, two of the reasons for getting a new vac was accomplished, but that’s where it ended.

The 4550 was just as loud as my old Craftsman which is 16 years old. Yeah, I found my receipt today and I paid $99.99 before tax back in 92. I just couldn’t believe the 4550 was so loud, I really thought it would be much quieter than it was. On top of that it had absolutely no more lift/power than the 3.5 hp Craftsman, what a disappointment. FWIW, I did test both with the Pro Hose attached and the Craftsman easily matched the new 4550, if anything I would probably give the edge to the Craftsman.

I’ll be taking the 4550 back to Home Depot tomorrow, but I may keep the Pro Hose. It has great flexibility and the10 foot length is really nice and much easier to use than the 6 foot stock (stiff like most) hose on the Craftsman.
Maybe I’ll check out the Quiet Deluxe Series from ShopVac.

[MaxImage]

Re: I need a Shop Vac, but how powerful?

We use a Craftsman Clean N Carry wet/dry vac. It's more compact than a lot of the other commerical wet/dry vacs out, plus has a 5HP motor. I like it a lot but a 5HP motor really *****...so much so that even with the "trap door" on the hose open (supposedly to reduce suction) the hose ends up coming out of the attachments when we vaccum; due to the fact that the attachments get stuck to the carpet or the seat. The huge suction is great, but the annoying part is that you can never get far before the attachment comes off and you need to put it on again. Another plus is that I've used attachments from regular house vaccums that are much more durable with no problems on the hose of the Craftsman.

Would I buy this vaccum again? Yes. But a 3 HP model might work more efficiently.