How to connect a ShopVac to SS?

wgander · Post by **wgander** » Sun May 11, 2008 11:25 pm

I'm seeking ideas for a way to connect my ShopVac to my SS lower blade guard. I didn't have enough space to bring my Dust Collector to PA and haven't been able to find an adapter that will fit both tools. (The Shop vac is a 1 1/4" hose.)

crousetrodomis · Post by **crousetrodomis** » Sun May 11, 2008 11:58 pm

Well, call it what you want, but mine's quite rigged. I went to Lowes, bought a 2 1/2" hose which should fit your Shopvac (female adaptor on the actual vaccum should be 2 1/2" but then the hose necks down to 1 1/4") and ran it over to the dust port. It does not fit "snug" so I drilled 2 *SMALL* holes in both the Shopvac hose and the dust port where I could place a pin through to hold it all together. That being said, it works, it was cheap and until I can find the money for something better, its what will do.

NOW, when I need extra hose, I use the 2.5" hose as described BUT on the end that normally goes to the shopvac I place a 2.5 adaptor that necks down to 1.25", then take the 1.25" hose and place it back onto the shopvac as normal. (later if you would like, I can go out, snap some pictures of the Greek tragity and post it here tommorrow; just dont tell anybody, i'm not proud of it

)

Bruce · Post by **Bruce** » Mon May 12, 2008 12:03 am

Even if your ShopVac has a 1 1/4" hose, it probably has a 2 1/2" inlet on it. If so, all you need is the ShopVac 2 1/2" hose and it will work. I don't think you'll be happy with the dust capacity of the 1 1/4 inch hose, especially if you have a jointer.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Mon May 12, 2008 7:54 am

My Shopvac has a 1 1/4" hose also but the port on the vacuum itself is 2 1/2" and fits onto the the DC3300 hose. Do different Shopvacs utilize different connection methods?

The hose laying off to the right of the Shopvac is the Shopvac hose.

[ATTACH]1493[/ATTACH]

brown_hawk · Post by **brown_hawk** » Mon May 12, 2008 8:34 am

Have you thought of tearing down the 3300 and then putting it together when you get to PA? In pieces, you could fit them in spaces that are otherwise wasted.

If you do take it apart, do it outside. Put the nuts and bolts back in one of the holes, (base, top,etc) with a piece of tape on the threads to keep the nut from unscrewing due to vibration. Also, use masking tape to label the parts. (Probably unnecessary, but why take chances?) And put the filter inside a plastic bag!:D

Otherwise, there is good advice above.

Hawk

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Mon May 12, 2008 9:23 am

After taking a photo for the resonse to wgander's post, I decided to park my Shopvac in a new location. It just might stay there for a short while. I'm going to use it as a dust collector just to see if it works. As a vacuum, the Shopvac certainly performs well.

[ATTACH]1494[/ATTACH]

Wouldn't it be nice if the DC3300 would fit in that unused space under the Mark V.

wgander · Post by **wgander** » Mon May 12, 2008 9:48 am

Thanks for the ideas; I'll have to check the diameter of the input port of my shop vac.
I'm already in PA. We spend our summers here, traveling by motor home. We towed our minivan and I brought the Shopsmith, jointer, strip sander, ring master, owners manuals and odds and ends. I was concerned about weight, so I didn't bring the Dust Collector or the rest of my tools.
I have a nice shop here and a lot of very old hand tools that I inherited, but cannot afford to buy duplicates of what I have in CA.

chrispitude · Post by **chrispitude** » Mon May 12, 2008 1:23 pm

My old Shopvac had the 1 1/4" hose. I decided that this was an indicator that the airflow was not sufficient to carry debris up a 2.5" hose, so I sold the old one on craigslist and bought this one:

Shop-Vac 16-Gallon 5.75-Peak HP Pump Wet/Dry Vac

This new Shopvac comes with a full 2.5" hose, and has way WAY more suction than my old one. This was very evident when using the wide floor cleaning attachment to clean the garage floor. The new Shopvac really performed a lot better than the old one. The end of the 2.5" hose fits right into the dust collection port, but is a bit loose. A single layer of electrical tape around the end of the Shopvac hose solved that problem.

click here for picture

As a bonus, the new Shopvac comes with the built-in water pumping feature (for emergency sump pump duties) which I've wanted for a long time.

- Chris

brown_hawk · Post by **brown_hawk** » Mon May 12, 2008 7:18 pm

[quote="wgander"]Thanks for the ideas]

I used a small 2.5 hose Shop Vac for years before I got the 3300. The only thing I would be hesitant about would be the Pro Planer. Since you didn't bring that, the shop vac should be fine. Get the paper filters and empty it early and often.

When I used mine, my major problem was forgetting to empty the 5 gal. bucket.

Good Luck,

Hawk

chrispitude · Post by **chrispitude** » Tue May 13, 2008 2:58 pm

I'd like to put a ClearVue Mini cyclone collector in line with my Shopvac:

ClearVue webpage

They have a video of it in action on their site.

- Chris

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How to connect a ShopVac to SS?

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