Shop Vac - Opinions

[TonyL]

I have a 6.5 HP Rigid that I keep my garage, but my HD Bucket Top Vac that I use in my "shop" bit the dust.....actually stopped biting the dust


I don't want/need a dust management/collection system (IMO), I would like recommendations on horse power, brand, make for a shop vac. I plan on buying one of those magnetic hoods and hook the vac up to that. I have a good budget, but I am not afraid of saving money here. Thank you for reading and for your opinions.


Kindest regards,

Tony

PS. I do like the Rigid (above), but it makes so much noise...I do have custom hearing protection...maybe that is the route I should go. You tell me .

 

[tbroye]

I use the same Ridged 6.5 shop vac in my shop it works fine on my lathe, router table, drill press and bandsaw. Have another in the garage for my table say, planer and jointer and miter saw work fine there also it just a hassle some time move the hose from one machine to another. I have a magnetic hood on my Lather and that and the shop vac work great. Had the Lowes version and it didn't last a year. Both Ridged's and 4 or 5 years old and are still going strong. I have one of those bucket type Vac's that I use in the house on some project with some of small hand power tools.

 

[plantman]

Tony; The Ridgid you have is quite well suited for most smaller shops that do not have central dust collection systems, but they are a little loud. As power and CFM increases, so does the sound of moving air. I have two of these units I use regularly in my shop. They are light weight, on wheels, easy to hook up to any machine, and hold a lot of material. I have one regular vac and one wet/dry vac, with the wet filter, that I use in spring also to clean out my pond and fountains of water and leaves that have collected over the Winter. I find the only time I need to use my larger dust collection system is when I am running boards through the planer or making mouldings on the shaper, of course if I am only running a few boards or rolling the machines outside to work, I can just hook up one of the ridgids. Some of the attachment that comes with these units I have modified and mounted directly to machines to collect dust, and only need to hook the flex hose to them. I don't think I paid a lot for either one, and purchased them from Home Depot for around $50 and $75 each. When you compare different brands, check the CFM for the same size motors and go with at least a 2 1/2 inch or larger hose. There are many other excellent brands on the market also, and I would wear hearing protection any time you are running a shop vac or large machine. This is just my slant on what I am working with, so I hope it helps you out somewhat. Jim S

 

[ossaguy]

On my Rigid vac,I mounted a Dust Deputy on it,so almost all the debris stays in the Deputy pail,and the filter does not get clogged...ever.

Since the standard filter micron is ot small enough,I put the HEPA cartridge they sell for it,that now with it not getting plugged,seems to work good.

I put the optional muffler on it too for noise,but I can't remember if that helped much.

I use this on my bandsaw port.For lathe work with a larger hood,I think it's not enough air flow.That's why I got the Rockler dust collector.


Steve

 

[JasonC]

I'm like ossaguy, I use a Shop-Vac and Dust Deputy. Kids refer to them as R2-D2 and his girlfriend. I do car audio work as well as other woodworking projects. Routing MDF generates a TON of dust. The 10-gallon Dust Deputy handles it well.

A test of the Duty Deputy with no bag in the Shop-Vac. The Dust Deputy will easily pay for itself in cost savings vs buying bags. I bought the Dust Deputy in December and have emptied it three times (30 gallons of dust/dirt/debris) since then.

That being said…

There's a HUGE difference between a Shop-Vac and a dust collector. A Shop-Vac (all of them, really) will have a higher static pressure (stronger suction) but lower CFM compared to a dust collector.

A Shop-Vac is great for cleaning carpet, vacuuming a floor, and such, but a dust collector with a higher CFM is what I'm wanting for dust collection on the little Jet Mini. I bought the PSI dust collection hood and connected my Shop-Vac/Dust Deputy to it. The 4" connection on the PSI hood had to be stepped down to 2 1/4" for the Shop-Vac. The suction (static pressure) is great, but it's not pulling enough air (volume/CFM) to get the majority of the debris generated on the lathe. It will generate a lot of suction at a concentrated area. For that reason I turned the Shop-Vac off and proceeded without it.

My Ridgid table saw has a 4" connection that I also had to step down to 2 1/4". I still get dust all over every time I cut even though the Shop-Vac is running. A dust collector would move enough air (volume/CFM) to eliminate the mess.

So as someone that's been using a big Shop-Vac paired to a Dust Deputy, I'm looking at a small Jet dust collector now.

So in regard to saving money I've found it's generally cheaper to spend more up front instead of spending multiple times to get the desired result.

When connected to the PSI hood the dust collector will win EVERY TIME. No Shop-Vac will work as efficiently in that application. You need to evacuate a lot of air to move the chips. A Shop-Vac is limited by both CFM and the diameter of the opening/hose.

 

[TonyL]

Very good information! Thank you for the options, experience, and pictures. I am glad that I asked! I make about 7 pens a week and do no other woodworking, I will weigh it out.

 

[Indiana_Parrothead]

I have a 6.5 HP Rigid that I keep my garage, but my HD Bucket Top Vac that I use in my "shop" bit the dust.....actually stopped biting the dust


I don't want/need a dust management/collection system (IMO), I would like recommendations on horse power, brand, make for a shop vac. I plan on buying one of those magnetic hoods and hook the vac up to that. I have a good budget, but I am not afraid of saving money here. Thank you for reading and for your opinions.


Kindest regards,

Tony

PS. I do like the Rigid (above), but it makes so much noise...I do have custom hearing protection...maybe that is the route I should go. You tell me .

Why not look at a dust collector, there are some pretty nice models on the low end of the dust collector spectrum. A true dust collector is much much quiter than a shop vac and will pull at a mimimum 3X the CFM. Take a look at some thing like the Jet DC-650CK with the 1 Micron canister filter.

It is on wheels, easy to move from machine to machine if needed, very quite compared to a shop vac, 650 CFM thru a 4" hose and a 1 Micron filter. I know you can get a 1 micron filter for a shop vac but with the DC you have atleast 50X the surface area in the filter.

I used a shop vac for years and they will work, adding cyclones, better filters, etc but once you use a DC you will only use a shop vac for sweeping the floor...

By the way, with the dust collector, I can do a CA finish and never smell the fumes this is a big plus to me.

Mike

 

[PTsideshow]

I also have the rigid/deputy set up and I did add the muffler to it. It did quite it down a little, the wife can tell sitting at her computer on the floor above. I have new electronic muffs for shooting. I haven't tried them yet with the vac, since they do cut the noise from the running exhaust fan@ the range in additions to the bang.

 

[ashaw]

After going through 3 or 4 shop vacs I went with a dust collection. One benefit is less noise much more powerful. It has been running strong now for 3 years. For the cost of 3 or 4 dust vacs I got a Dust collector.

 

[TonyL]

Please tell me which low-end dust collection system you have or are referring to. Thank you.

 

[kovalcik]

The other benefit besdes the lower noise is the dust collector motor is meant to run constantly, the shop vac motors are not. You will make up the extra cost of the dust collection system in a few years by not having to buy new shop vacs.

 

[Indiana_Parrothead]

Please tell me which low-end dust collection system you have or are referring to. Thank you.

I have the Jet DC-650CK with the 1 Micron canister filter, it is probably one of the lower end models. Besides pens, Penn State has a lot of dust collection equipment and supplies.

The Jet model is available on Amazon Prime, which can save a lot on shipping for an item of that size.

Mike

 

[Silverado]

Hey Tony

Take a look at the Fein Turbo Vacumns at Coastal Tools. In my opinion they are the Mercedes of Vacumns. I believe they are the quietest of vacumns out there.


Tim

 

[TonyL]

Thank you all. This sis outstanding advice. Lots of super options to consider. Thank you for taking the time to bring me (and others) up to speed!.

 

[Indiana_Parrothead]

Hey Tony

Take a look at the Fein Turbo Vacumns at Coastal Tools. In my opinion they are the Mercedes of Vacumns. I believe they are the quietest of vacumns out there.

Tim

The Fein and the Festool Vacs are some of the quitest available, but they are really geared to a single, handheld tool use such as a ROS, a router, etc they are really not designed for dust and debris collection off a lathe. At the low end they have 116CFM and at the high end 126CFM, these do not move near the volume of air needed for a dust/chip hood. And the hose size on these is only 1 1/4" The cost of one of these vacs is well into the range for a low end dust collector, and the cost for replacement consumables (filters) is super high.

I don't own one and probably never will so I can't say how good they are but they are way too over priced and specialized for my needs.

Mike

 

[TonyL]

Thank you.

 

[ashaw]

This is the one I use.

1 1/2HP Dustroyer Dust Collector w/ 1 Micron Collection Bags at Penn State Industries

I have had no problems with it so far. I only thing I want to do is replace the top bag with a canister.

 

[Crashmph]

I have had a Clearvue Cyclone for about 4 years now. I am overly satisfied to say the least. The newer models are more streamlined and refined.

They a have a killer deal on one right now as well.

CV1800 LH 1P Cyclone Bundle No Filters - Clear Vue Cyclones

This may be out of your price range, but this is clearly a whole shop solution. As a side note... you will spend about this much more on the 6" S/D PVC to connect to all the tools.

 

[Russknan]

Unfortunately, I don't, at the moment, have space for a dust collection system. But I found a compromise that's working pretty well. Ridgid STAINLESS shop vac. Much quieter than others. Can vacuum around the shop without hearing protection, unlike my old Sears "B52"! Bought a Rockler dust separator and a set of bags for the Ridgid. Haven't filled up a bag since, and it's MUCH easier and cleaner than having to clean out the filter. Two other mods: Buy the hose upgrade for the Ridgid. Longer and more flexible. Then buy the "Stay Put" (or something like that) hose from Peachtree Woodworking. ($20?) Attach that to the dust separator while at the lathe. Can be angled right under the tool rest. Doesn't catch everything, but makes a huge difference. Big dust collection system would certainly be preferable, but I really like this combo. Russ

 

[TonyL]

That is the real deal!. I am going with a $40 Shop Vac BNIB from Craig's List. There is no comparison, but nice to see what I may work myself up to! Thank you.

 

[BayouPenturner]

I have the 2hp from Harbor Freight. I broke it into sections and mounted the motor with a seeperator outside the shop then ran a 4" duct for both lathes using the devices discussed. the dust collector does remove the CA fumes and does a great job. The neighbors don't notice any significant noise. I will try to take a couple of photos and send when I can get to the shop.