$99 Shop Vac?

[craigb]

I was in the Big B yesteray and noticed they are selling a wet/dry shop vac for $99. The unit looked o.lk, it was rated at 1000 watt, so could be a little underpowered?

Does anyone have any experience of these vacs? I didn't notice the brand name on it.

[simon c]

Hi craig

Shopvac is actually the name of the brand. I bought one of these as it was cheap and it seems fine. Certainly good for the workshop. The utensils are a bit clunky, in fact the whole thing is rather clunky.

I think they are going for the "razor blade" approach to cost. You'll find that the replacement filters cost $60 and any "extras" you buy will have similar costs.

It's a very simple machine so not much can go wrong.

[craigb]

Thanks Simon,

Any feel for how often the filters would need replacing?

Also, how noisy is it?

I'm just using an ordinary domestic vac as my shed vac at the moment and it's really noisy. :(

[simon c]

Hi craig

I've only had it a couple of months so no feel yet about the filters. But they clean very easily - you just bang them and the sawdust falls off.

It's pretty noisy.

Simon

[smidsy]

Hei Guys,
In a similair vein, I noticed bunnings sell a cheap garden vac for $55 - would this be any good for the shed or don't those vacs pick up the fine stuff.
Cheers
Paul

[craigb]

Actually, I just dug out an old FWW from last October when they did a comparison test on workshop vacuum cleaners.

The ShopVac was one of the machines they tested, and although it didn't get "best in show" it didn't get a real bagging either.

From the chart it says it runs at 74db which is pretty noisy I guess, especially when compared to the Festool which was 50 something db.

But then it doesn't cost anywhere near as much either. :rolleyes:

Craig

[LineLefty]

I've always wondered about the profile of the people who buy festool.

I spoke to the guy for a while at the perth wood show and sure teh saw was nice but a thousand big ones for a circular saw? Who are they convincing?

[leighd]

We have the festoll vacuum at school and i was using it and i didnt think it was working becuase i couldnt hear it with my earmuffs on.

[John Saxton]

Craigb, when I laid out some $$$$ for the Festool 150 ROS some time back I was'nt in the mood to part with some serious moolah for their dust extraction unit.
Consequently I bought an el-cheapo Shop-Vac unit which whilst noisy to say the least it does do the job rather well and am more than pleased with it providing SWMBO dosen't always grab it for vaccuuming her darn car all the time moreover when I want to use it with any hand machines.
It has the suction to cater for my needs in that area but the filter does need cleaning often with compressed air outside the workshop but then its back to business and 99smackers is a lot o' savin' over the dinero needed for a full-on Festool such like.

Cheers :)

[bsrlee]

Mate has a heavily used ShopVac (brand) cleaner in his workshop. Everyone wears earmuffs when it is turned on! But does it inhale! :D Had to replace a few casters when they got knocked off & lost, but its still going stong after ?10 years? or so of metal fillings, fiberglass & resin grindings, wood dust etc. The top also comes off & turns into a leaf blower on his model.

On the filter front - Target are the cheapest, or Godfreys if no go @ Target . Cover the filter with the leg of an old set of stockings/pantyhose swiped from SWMBO - it will stop sharp things poking holes in the paper. Considering the price difference, you could just buy new ones if you don't have your own SWMBO :cool:

Also Lee Valley, as well as several other US Internet retailers sell HEPA filters for Shop Vac units to repace the original paper filters - the HEPA ones can be washed & may be able to filter finer dust.

[bitingmidge]

OK I'll fess up...in the bad old days I had no option and needed a big sucker that could remove a lot of water. I have a $500 Jet wet/dry 20 gallon (or however big the thing is) with a 1/2 horsepower turbocharged blah blah blah.....

Noisy as buggery.
(Although someone with more experience in that regard may have a different view).

Bought it originally to suck up water as we pressure cleaned the tiles in the shop (sandwich shop not "workshop"), which it did admirably... (used four times for one hour each time in this role, but it actually saved eight days hire because these were midnight jobs!).

Kept it semi permanently attached to the band saw. Sort of worked OK, within the limits set by the band saw connection.

Didn't come with all the fittings one usually gets and so I haven't used it much for anything else.

Now that the commercial need for it has passed I'm thinking of building a heap of connectors for it for plane, ROS, Belt sander, drop saw and cleaning the cars. (These will be able to be fitted to any other vacuum anyway)

Do I flog it for what I can get ($150?) and buy something cheaper and quieter with less grunt or just keep it and learn to love it in its new role?

Cheers,

P
:confused: :confused: :confused:

[echnidna]

Stick it in a padded box that will cut the noise right down

[John Saxton]

B,Midge,what have you got to lose apart from trying it on all your mechanical handtools to see if it'll suck away your chips/dust?

Rather than outlay more dosh try to adapt it to meet your needs with all that you require in your workshop.As I see it you're not gonna get much for it so why lose on it to that extent rather get more practical use out of it I mean you've already written it off tax-wise have'nt you?

On the point of adapting to fit most tool suppliers have a range of modifications if you cannot do it yourself or conversly turn the required joiners on a lathe or have someone do it for you.

Cheers :)

[JohnM]

Hi there

I"ve had a Shopvac for years - never missed a beat. I buy bags from Mitre 10 locally, catch the dust before the filter

John

[craigb]

Thanks for the replies. Looks like I've got no reason not to buy one. :)

The domestic vac I'm currently using screams like a banshee anyway so I'll just put up with the noise.

I really just want something to use with the small power tools so it sounds like it's just the ticket.

Cheers
Craig

[bitingmidge]

B,Midge,what have you got to lose apart from trying it on all your mechanical handtools to see if it'll suck away your chips/dust?

On the point of adapting to fit most tool suppliers have a range of modifications if you cannot do it yourself or conversly turn the required joiners on a lathe or have someone do it for you.

Cheers John,

No worries with it sucking chips, it's trying to prevent the belt sander dissappearing up its own orrifice that's the issue!!!

You are correct, it owes me nothing (and is in very good shape), some of the adaptors may be a bit tricky on a lathe though.... the ROS connection is oval, the Plane is almost triangular. I am thinking of building a styrene mould and glassing over to suit each particular tool...will post any results if I get around to it.

I'll just keep wearing earplugs I guess.

Cheers,

P :D :D :D

[Zed]

Last weekend I bought a Karcher 2201 from Bunnies for $199. all the fittings and not too noisy - has about a 15ltr capacity - add it to a triton dust bucket and your away.

I just need to dick around to make a cyclone out of the dust bucket and I should be perfect.

cheers

[John Saxton]

B,Midge,I have resorted to using a bicycle tube with cable ties on the odd occasion where the shop vac dosen't exactly fit some of my other tools.

HTH
Cheers :)