shop vac recommendation

[mdickmann]

Hi all,
My shop-vac needs replacement.  It makes terrible squealing noises so I assume the bearings have worn out.  I thought it would last longer.  Are these repairable?

Assuming not, do any of you have a suggestion on a good replacement?  One that will last.

Thanks,
Mark

[jteneyck]

Hi all,
My shop-vac needs replacement.  It makes terrible squealing noises so I assume the bearings have worn out.  I thought it would last longer.  Are these repairable?

Assuming not, do any of you have a suggestion on a good replacement?  One that will last.

Thanks,
Mark

Most anything can be repaired if a person is motivated enough.  But I wasn't when my old shopvac started screeching.  If low noise is important to you, you should look at the Makita, which has something like 60 db.  I think Dewalt now makes a very low noise shopvac, too, and the Bosch is about 62 db, IIRC.  I have a Fein Turbo on my CNC and it's in the same db range.  It and the others (not sure about the Dewalt) can run for hours w/o issue and are available with HEPA filters, if that's important to you.  

John

[fixtureman]

My Feins are 55 DB

[jteneyck]

My Feins are 55 DB

The Fein Turbo 1 and 2 are 66 db.  The Dewalt StealthSonic is 65 db.  The Makita is 60, as is the Bosch.  

John

[fixtureman]

The Fein Turbo 1 and 2 are 66 db.  The Dewalt StealthSonic is 65 db.  The Makita is 60, as is the Bosch.  

John

I have the old Feins Turbo III

[Gary G™]

I wear Howard Leight earbands in the shop so I don’t really worry about exact DBs.
I’ve been using a Ridgid WD12700 (12 Gallon 5.0 Peak HP NXT Shop Vac Wet Dry Vacuum) since around 2009 down south.
It’s about $100 at HD.
Up at the farm, I got pretty much the same vac except it’s branded Craftsman and is probably from the 70’s or 80’s. My FIL had it before we started sharing my shop and he brought it here.

[Woodenfish]

I’ll give the Ridgid that Gary recommended an up vote. Combined with a Dusttopper it makes shop life more appealing because the vacuum cleaner filter isn’t clogging all the time. I have a Festool CT33 that I have used for tool dust collection for their tools but for my mitersaw and general shop clean up the Ridgid vac as I equipped cannot be stopped. There isn’t much difference in sound db between the two on high speed, the pitch is just a little different on the Festool but nothing irritating in my usage. For the money Ridgid shop vacs have proven to be long term work horses.

[Brian in sunny FL]

Hi all,
My shop-vac needs replacement.  It makes terrible squealing noises so I assume the bearings have worn out.  I thought it would last longer.  Are these repairable?

Assuming not, do any of you have a suggestion on a good replacement?  One that will last.

Thanks,
Mark

The bearings should be replaceable unless the motor is somehow welded together.

Every time my pool pump motor started screaming and as long as the motor was still good, replaced the bearings.

[AHill]

Fein, Bosch, and Festool are very quiet options. Fein and Festool are rather pricey, though. I have a Festool dust collector (they don't market them as shop vacs) and I added a cyclone separator that sits on top of the machine. With the additional plugs for your tool, it's the bee's knees. When I turn on the tool, the vac turns on automatically. Not sure if Fein or Bosch have that feature. While the Festool vacs look small, they have a very good CFM rating, but the collection capacity is small. Hence my investment in the cyclone separator. I used a bonus I got from work to purchase several Festool tools. I've not regretted my purchases, but I understand everyone isn't going to want to spend that much money on a tool where there are pretty decent more affordable options.

[jteneyck]

I have the old Feins Turbo III

Fein, Bosch, and Festool are very quiet options.  Fein and Festool are rather pricey, though.  I have a Festool dust collector (they don't market them as shop vacs) and I added a cyclone separator that sits on top of the machine.  With the additional plugs for your tool, it's the bee's knees.  When I turn on the tool, the vac turns on automatically.  Not sure if Fein or Bosch have that feature.  While the Festool vacs look small, they have a very good CFM rating, but the collection capacity is small.  Hence my investment in the cyclone separator.  I used a bonus I got from work to purchase several Festool tools.  I've not regretted my purchases, but I understand everyone isn't going to want to spend that much money on a tool where there are pretty decent more affordable options.

Yes, both the Bosch and Fein have options to turn on when you turn on a tool.  The downside, however, is that the combined load can't exceed the capacity of that circuit, so you likely wouldn't want to hook up a big 3 HP router with it. 

When I bought the Fein it was around $300, far less than a comparable Festool, but still a lot higher than most other shopvacs.  But there is a big difference between these extractors and a shopvac.  The Fein, Festool, etc. use motors that can run for hours w/o overheating or otherwise committing early suicide.  Traditional shopvacs typically die an early death if run for long periods of time, over and over again.  If your needs are confined to typical shop cleanup uses, then nearly any shopvac will give good service and life.  But if you intend to run the machine long and hard, the extractors are a much better option.  

Also, if you think clean air is important, you'll want a HEPA unit.  All of the extractors can be HEPA equipped, not sure about the others.  

John