shop vac recommendation

[Brian in sunny FL]

I've seen some good reports on the new Hercules dust collector form Harbor Freight.  I don't usually go there for tools and at $300 not sure how it compares with the rest of the market.  I just use mine for cleanup and fell in love with the 40V Ryobi stuff, plenty of power and convenience for what I do including yard tools.

[JDuke]

I've seen some good reports on the new Hercules dust collector form Harbor Freight.  I don't usually go there for tools and at $300 not sure how it compares with the rest of the market.  I just use mine for cleanup and fell in love with the 40V Ryobi stuff, plenty of power and convenience for what I do including yard tools.

I might give one of those a shot if it were considerably less than $300 but I am not going to buy a $300 vacuum at harbor freight.

[ajkoontz]

I might give one of those a shot if it were considerably less than $300 but I am not going to buy a $300 vacuum at harbor freight.

HF has really upped their game in the last 5-10 years. I don't own the Hercules vacuum, but I've had really good luck with a lot of HF stuff lately.

[Brian in sunny FL]

The $300 price tag did shock me but I've seen reviews comparing it to the Festool vac and performed well.  That new Hercules brand seems to be their step up.  They need to shed the perception they have.

[Hank Knight]

I've had Fein Turbo III for over 20 years. I bought it as a dust collector for my little Inca jointer planer. It worked great for that, but the capacity was too low for a planer and I had to empty it often. I replaced my Inca years ago with a Hammer 12" JP. The Fein couldn't come close to keeping up either the Hammer, so I installed a cyclone central dust collection setup that's piped to all of my machines. Now I use the Fein for a general shop vac, at-the-tool collection for routers, sanders etc. and for miscellaneous other tasks including sucking up water when my basement floods (the old basement, not my workshop). Several years ago the sound deadening foam in the housing deteriorated and blew out over time. The cost of a new "sound proofing kit" was exorbitant, so I just disregarded it and continue to use the vac. It's a little nosier but not as noisy as a Shop Vac. I've gotten used to it so it does't bother me. It has been a good vac, but it's over 20 years old and I'm expecting it to croak any time now. I'm not looking forward to replacing it. The prices these days are crazy.

[Bob Vaughan]

Hi all,
Are these repairable?
Thanks,
Mark

Best answer: Maybe.
it depends on your resources, repair experience, and mostly the build of the vacuum.  Cheap plastic-bodied vacs I've seen in the last decade were not worth the effort.  Often the motor housing was glued or melted together making disassembly and re-assembly impractical if not impossible.

30+ years ago I used to replace bearings, brushes, switches, and cords quite often.

[Tapper]

The $300 price tag did shock me but I've seen reviews comparing it to the Festool vac and performed well.  That new Hercules brand seems to be their step up.  They need to shed the perception they have.

Looks like they're trying to do just that with the new TV ads they have running. I've had nothing but good luck with HF merchandise, albeit I've already bought all the stationary and portable power tools I'll ever need. 

I would definitely take a look at their line should I be in the market.

Doug

[kurt18947]

Several years ago the sound deadening foam in the housing deteriorated and blew out over time. The cost of a new "sound proofing kit" was exorbitant, so I just disregarded it and continue to use the vac. It's a little nosier but not as noisy as a Shop Vac.

I have an old Fein Turbo II and had the same experience with the foam. I bought acoustic foam about 3/4" thick with adhesive on one side off Ebay. I removed the black bell top and removed the degraded foam and just for grins replaced the bell top without the foam. It was loud, that acoustic foam is responsible for most of the 'quiet'. I had to cut the foam to fit. It isn't perfect but it goes a long way and wasn't expensive at the time. One caveat about the automatic outlet. It turns on as expected but if the device plugged into it - in my case a sliding miter saw with laser - has any sort of power draw when plugged in, my vac will not turn off. I have to power cycle it, turn the power switch off then on and the vac will stay off until I use the machine again. It seems that integral power supplies draw a minuscule amount of power even if the laser or whatever isn't turned on, enough to keep the vac running even when the main power draw is turned off.

[Hank Knight]

I have an old Fein Turbo II and had the same experience with the foam. I bought acoustic foam about 3/4" thick with adhesive on one side off Ebay. I removed the black bell top and removed the degraded foam and just for grins replaced the bell top without the foam. It was loud, that acoustic foam is responsible for most of the 'quiet'. I had to cut the foam to fit. It isn't perfect but it goes a long way and wasn't expensive at the time.

Thanks for the tip!

[Bob Vaughan]

For amusement, search Nilfisk Industrial Vacuum.  They can make top of the line if that's where you want to go.