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Best shop vac for dust collection (Read 757 times)
 
Forrest Forschmiedt
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Best shop vac for dust collection
Mar 26th, 2021 at 2:11pm
 
For those using shop vacs for dust collection what have you been using that has lasted for more than a year?

Last night, while sanding the last bit of a decorative birdhouse, my Shop Vac slowly vacuumed it's final breath.

I pulled up the receipt and found that it was one year to the day from buying it.
This is the second Shop Vac brand unit I have laid to rest in as many years using them for dust collection with a vortex separator. Hopefully, Shop Vac will honor their 5-year warranty but meanwhile I need a new machine to keep working and making stuff for this season's markets and fairs.

While I would dearly love to have a proper dust collection system, it is just not in the budget this season.


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Robert Fischer
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Re: Best shop vac for dust collection
Reply #1 - Mar 26th, 2021 at 3:25pm
 
I don't know what to tell you.  My Shop Vac brand unit is at least five years old and is going strong.   And yes, it gets a LOT of use.

Maybe the current ones aren't built as well as those from when I purchased mine.  Sad
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chris lawrence
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Re: Best shop vac for dust collection
Reply #2 - Mar 26th, 2021 at 5:14pm
 
If your separating before the vac any size should work.  I have had a ridged one for many years but no longer use it for dust collection.  Not sure what your budget is but if your in a situation where you can easily vent outside the little harbor freight dust collector works well and would pull more dust out of the air then a shopvac.  Its not to much more expensive then a shopvac.
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Forrest Forschmiedt
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Re: Best shop vac for dust collection
Reply #3 - Mar 26th, 2021 at 6:29pm
 
We just got a new Harbor Freight store. It opened maybe a week ago. I went in and checked out their dust collection setup. I have never seen a Harbor Freight store so crowded! IIRC the price was $209 for the main unit and another $69 for the box of accessories to hook it up to anything. I expect I'd need more hose to put the unit in a somewhere out of the way in the shop. That's not too bad and I really need something more than a shop vac but budget is basically zero until I start getting some income again from the market and such, especially since I just bought a new (to me, at least) lathe.

Hopefully I can get a warranty fix or replacement out of Shop Vac but in the mean time, I need a shop vac to keep making sawdust. A no frills vac is about $100 but It may just be a crap shoot whether I get a good one or not.
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Robert Hayward
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Re: Best shop vac for dust collection
Reply #4 - Mar 26th, 2021 at 6:56pm
 
I use a Shop Vac brand for minor dust collection. Also have a larger 3hp dust collector. My Shop Vac is at least fifteen years old. Maybe six or seven years ago the motor died. I looked at new, other brands, and ended up paying Shop Vac for a new head. Been running good ever since.
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Ed Weber
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Re: Best shop vac for dust collection
Reply #5 - Mar 26th, 2021 at 7:48pm
 
A lot of people use a Dust Deputy.
I've also seen one from Jet that looks promising.

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Forrest Forschmiedt
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Re: Best shop vac for dust collection
Reply #6 - Mar 26th, 2021 at 9:00pm
 
Ed Weber wrote on Mar 26th, 2021 at 7:48pm:
A lot of people use a Dust Deputy.
I've also seen one from Jet that looks promising.

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I've been using a less expensive dust separator from the Depot. It actually does a pretty good job of keeping the shop vac clean for significantly less than the Dust Deputy and snaps on top of a 5-gal bucket, with 2-1/2" hoses, ready to go out of the box.
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I attached the shop vac and bucket with separator onto an inexpensive moving dolly so they can be moved around the shop as a unit.
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« Last Edit: Mar 26th, 2021 at 9:01pm by Forrest Forschmiedt »  
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Ed Weber
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Re: Best shop vac for dust collection
Reply #7 - Mar 27th, 2021 at 1:14pm
 
Thanks for the link Forrest
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Forrest Forschmiedt
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Re: Best shop vac for dust collection
Reply #8 - Mar 27th, 2021 at 2:24pm
 
Several months back I came across a YouTube video comparing the Dust Deputy and the Home Depot separators. The conclusion in the vid was that the DD was a more efficient unit, especially when the bucket approached full. However, even though slightly more dust gets into the vac with the less expensive unit, it is a small amount. I use the same dust bag in the vac for probably 6 months before changing.

The orange unit does clog up pretty easily with long curls of wood. I learned pretty quick that it's not good for sucking up big piles of chips and curls off the floor. Sweep up the big stuff and (edited out) up the small stuff after. When it clogs it kills the vortex and stuff passes through into the vac. Smaller chips and dust are no problem. Even after six months or so, the vac bag had only a small amount of dust and chips in it. I changed the bag anyway just to try and keep the cfm as good as possible for a shop vac.
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chris lawrence
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Re: Best shop vac for dust collection
Reply #9 - Mar 27th, 2021 at 6:03pm
 
Forrest Forschmiedt wrote on Mar 26th, 2021 at 6:29pm:
We just got a new Harbor Freight store. It opened maybe a week ago. I went in and checked out their dust collection setup. I have never seen a Harbor Freight store so crowded! IIRC the price was $209 for the main unit and another $69 for the box of accessories to hook it up to anything. I expect I'd need more hose to put the unit in a somewhere out of the way in the shop. That's not too bad and I really need something more than a shop vac but budget is basically zero until I start getting some income again from the market and such, especially since I just bought a new (to me, at least) lathe.

Hopefully I can get a warranty fix or replacement out of Shop Vac but in the mean time, I need a shop vac to keep making sawdust. A no frills vac is about $100 but It may just be a crap shoot whether I get a good one or not.


You were looking at the larger one.  The one i was referencing was this one.  Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to Login or Register  If the cost of the hose is an issue you can get by with this if your only using it for one machine.  Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to Login or Register
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Forrest Forschmiedt
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Re: Best shop vac for dust collection
Reply #10 - Mar 27th, 2021 at 10:07pm
 
Quote:
You were looking at the larger one.  The one i was referencing was this one.  Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to Login or Register  If the cost of the hose is an issue you can get by with this if your only using it for one machine.  Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to Login or Register 


Thanks, I didn't see that one.
Size wise it seems a better unit for the garage shop. Definitely worth a second look when it's time to put a new system together.
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Forrest Forschmiedt
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Re: Best shop vac for dust collection
Reply #11 - Mar 30th, 2021 at 11:14am
 
FYI:

Shop Vac went out of business last September.

This would explain why I get no response to emails or calls about warranty service.
It might be best to buy another brand and avoid the leftover inventory in stores.
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Ed Weber
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Re: Best shop vac for dust collection
Reply #12 - Mar 30th, 2021 at 11:36am
 
Forrest Forschmiedt wrote on Mar 30th, 2021 at 11:14am:
Shop Vac went out of business last September.


They've been bought
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Now all they need to do is improve the quality.
Many years ago, I purchased two identical units. both of them failed in about two years within a month of each other. It kind of seemed like a strategy of "planned obsolescence".
I stopped buying them and moved to Stanley, which are still working fine well beyond the lifespan of the shop-vacs.
JMO, YMMV
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Forrest Forschmiedt
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Re: Best shop vac for dust collection
Reply #13 - Mar 30th, 2021 at 12:02pm
 
Well, that's interesting.

The article I saw said they closed their doors because of a failed buyout. I guess they must have found a new buyer or the sale came back to life.
Maybe they will eventually honor warranty claims and I will end up with a backup shop vac in case my new vacuum fails.

And the new owner is...

Hangzhou Equipment Holdings, LLC, - Great Star Tools, USA.
...The leading manufacturer of hand tools in Asia...


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Forrest Forschmiedt
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Re: Best shop vac for dust collection
Reply #14 - Apr 16th, 2021 at 6:00pm
 
Following up on Shop Vac warranty response.

Good news.
It took a couple weeks after sending an email to CustomerCare@ShopVac.com but I did finally get a response.

They are getting back up and running under the new owners and are following up on warranty claims. They will be shipping me a new power unit for my Shop Vac and the last email says I should receive it in 10 to 14 days.

I did buy a new vac already but nothing wrong with having a backup.
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