Shop Vac Buying Guide [UPDATED]
The best shop vacs come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, power levels, and price points. Nearly every store that sells tools also sells shop vacuums. These handy tools range from larger-capacity units to smaller, portable models. Our picks for the best shop vac for 2023 include categories for various needs and applications.
shop vac buying guide
Shop Vacs are like Kleenex, Bandaids, and Sawzalls. The Shop-Vac brand became so synonymous with wet-dry shop vacuums that people started calling all of them Shop Vacs. The Shop-Vac brand is still around, though it went through a rough period and a sale a few years ago.
The best shop vac overall has to have the best balance of everything and Milwaukee nailed it, but not with just one vac. They created an entire modular system that lets you customize what you need. Choose from single-battery, dual-battery, or corded powerheads. Then add 6, 9, or 12-gallon canisters. From there, you can go with a standard filter, wet foam filter, or HEPA filter.
The Vacmaster VK811PH Industrial Wet/Dry Vac gets our best heavy-duty shop vac nod for several big reasons. First, this shop vac had the highest-tested water lift in its price class at 106 inches (based on our tests). Even with that kind of pull, it still manages 125 CFM of suction.
For a true wall-mounted shop vac we presume you may want to do more than simply clean up some floor space. For connecting woodworking equipment to a shop-wide vac system without hitting four figures in price, we like the Rikon 60-101. As our pick for the best wall-mounted shop vac, it collects up to 99% of dust as small as 1 micron.
Our favorite shop vacs still come with a cord. Many manufacturers, however, have smaller-capacity vacuums designed for very portable use. And some actually have cordless shop vacs with higher CFM and water lift capabilities. These cordless vacs can truly help your job site cleanup since you get to skip hunting for an outlet. Run-times keep getting better as well, making them more practical than ever.
When considering between choosing a dust extractor or a shop vac we recommend looking at what you hope to achieve. A shop vac typically thrives at picking up materials like wood chips and debris. It often has a wider nozzle to handle these tasks without easily clogging. A dust extractor, on the other hand, focuses more on removing airborne particles like concrete dust.
Clearly, the capacity you need depends upon the application for your shop vac. When comparing similar models in an application, factor in the amount of material a vac can take in. We also look at how efficiently it stores material. A shop vac with a well-designed filter can outperform another model in terms of realistic storage capacity.
Keep in mind shop vacs measure capacity by the overall size of the canister. The filter takes up part of the room, so the dry capacity is smaller. The wet capacity is smaller still to avoid the risk of pulling water up into the motor. Most quality models have a float valve of a sort to close off the motor when the water level gets high enough.
Crediting God and his excellent staff for the success of what is now the largest power tool review publication in the industry, Clint DeBoer hopes to see continued growth for the company as it rapidly expands its reach. Pro Tool Reviews critically reviews hundreds of hand tools, power tools, and accessories each year to help inform users about the best and newest products in the industry. Reaching everyone from the construction industry professional and tradesman to the serious DIYer, Pro Tool Reviews helps tool consumers shop better, work smarter, and stay aware of what tools and products can help put them at the top of their game.
Can you please include decibel levels in your vac reviews. In fact all stationary shop tools. Noise reduction is being addressed by manufacturers but it is not easy to get those specs. I am trying to reduce noise and dust in my shop. Thank you
Homeowners and contractors alike depend on the take-no-prisoners, heavy-duty suction power of a wet/dry vacuum. From sawdust in the workshop to an overflowing bathtub, a wet/dry vacuum can make easy work of a tough mess.
While a traditional vacuum cleaner is meant for cleaning pet hair, debris reserves, dust and all kinds of what nots from your room, there is an entirely different category which takes things to the next level. I am talking about shop vacs; they are often called wet-dry vacuum cleaners.
Also, shop vacs are normally less complicated as they do not have all the intricacies and accessories as that of a conventional power tool. Therefore, it is safe to say that you can take our opinion about how to buy the best shop vac with more than just a grain of salt.
The staff spent a lot of time on carefully reviewing different standard wet-dry vacs to come up with a buying guide for you. Moreover, I spent an entire weekend on weeding down and editing the guide to see stuff from the perspective of a first time online user. So, maybe you might just want to humor me for a while?
But, If you are a DIY enthusiast, or a professional cleaner, you will want to invest in a high end Ridgid shop vac, or a Dewalt for that matter. Not only the holding capacity is more in latter case for uninterrupted cleaning, but the specs are also a little bit robust as compared to a normal model.
Just as I mentioned earlier, if you have spilled a wine bottle, dropped down a glass on hard floor, or just ended up blocking the entire basement, it is no longer an issue. As long as you know where your trusty shop vac is, you will not only end up cleaning the mess on your own, but it will also help to cut down on the ginormous cleaner services bill.
However, you cannot just use any shop vac to suck up liquids. You will require a wet-dry vacuum cleaner to clean any wet messes. I am talking about soaking wet or a completely water filled basement in that sense.
By now, you already have an idea how versatile these vacuum cleaners are. They are not exactly industrial standard as long as home use is concerned, but thanks to a robust motor and reinforced storage canister, shop vacs can outperform many other categories of cleaning equipment.
Although power specs vary from one product to another, some of the basic features always remain the same. You can take a look below to get a rough idea of specs as a baseline for your upcoming purchase. Should you eventually decide on buying a wet dry vacuum cleaner, you can settle for a model with specifications which are exactly the same or in excess of the ones listed below:
Depending on the brand and company, your shop vac may or may not come with extra accessories kit. These accessories consist of pipes, cleaning heads and many other attachment ports that make any reckless cleaning session a breeze.
Also called power tools, the items can be attached to the vac hose, enhance/ regular air wattage, extend the reach of the vacuum and etc. One thing which you need to keep an eye out for is whether the manufacturer is giving any accessories with a brand new purchase of a shop vac, or not.
If you pull the wet-dry vac by the hose, your chances of tilting over the entire unit will be pretty damn high. Many people ended up physically damaging the unit because they were too lazy to use the handle in the first place. In some cases, the shop vac hose head can break as well if it is pulled at an awkward angle.
Although I warmly welcome any high end model of a wet-dry vac with open arms, it is the features that really matter in the long run. An increased amount of features can help you to do all kinds of cleaning, but it does take a toll on the pricing factor. Given that you can easily afford a shop vac in high price bracket, why not go for one of the following features as an add-on perk:
In conclusion, wet dry vacs are a great convenience tool for anyone looking for a thorough cleaning experience. At least, compared to a normal vacuum cleaner, shop vacs offer a stress free venture through any surface, or room type without second thoughts.
On top of that, many shop vacs only require one time annual filter replacement. This saves a lot of money when you are calculating cost in terms of compound expenses, which typically come in after a power tool, is purchased. I hope this mini shop vac buying guide helped in setting you up straight for your very own vacuum cleaner in the near future.
I've tried to compile the most comprehensive guide to purchasing a wet/dry stop vacuum.Here you can learn about all of the characteristics of a wet/dry vac that you can search foron this site, and be fully informed so you can search for the perfect wet/dry shop vac to meet your needs.
Vacuums that are wall-mountable come with brackets for mounting on the wall. There two classes ofwall-mountable vacuums. One type are smaller vacuums with short hoses that are meant to be carried whenused, which include brackets to mount on the wall for storage when not in use. The other type are vacuumsthat are meant to stay on the wall during use to become a sort of centralized vacuum for a space. These havelong, often VERY long hoses, and are intented to be mounted in a gararage, workshop, basement or similiarlocation such that the hose can reach the floors or vehicles that you need to vacuum. These still tend to besmall to medium-sized vacuume, since it would become too cumbersome to take down a very large vacuum from thewall to empty the tank or change the filter bags.
You might call it a wet/dry shop vacuum, a wet/dry vac or simply a shop vacuum, but this tool is an essential for do-it-yourself project cleanup. A shop vacuum functions like a typical vacuum: an electric motor creates suction that pulls debris through a hose and into a canister for disposal. Like many household vacuums, shop vacuums can use attachments to make them more effective for specific tasks. However, shop vacuums are designed to take on many cleanup jobs outdoors as well as indoors. They often have more power than a household vacuum, allowing you to pick up wood chips and fasteners from a remodeling project. Most are capable of collecting liquids as well, making them perfect for cleaning up after a leak or emptying the last bit of water from a toilet you need to repair. 041b061a72