Wet.Dry vac reccomendations

terrydowning · Post by **terrydowning** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 7:05 pm

My trusty Craftsman 8 gallon wet/dry vac finally gave up the ghost a couple of days ago. the smoke coming from the motor was my first clue. Now the motor won't turn at all.

Is it possible to rebuild this motor or failing that, I'm looking for recommendations on a replacement. Size and Manufacturer.

I prefer wet/dry vac to a dedicated dust collection system as it is more versatile. I need to be able to vacuum cars, pick up wet stuff, etc. While dust collection is important in my woodworking, the budget just won't allow for both.

Looking forward to your opinions.

8iowa · Post by **8iowa** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 7:25 pm

Shop vacs are powered with universal type electric motors, for which there are no standards. You would have to go back to Sears for a replacement motor, which would probably cost more than a new vac.

Consider "stepping up" in quality and performance, and look at the Fein and Festool vacs. They run much quieter and have a variable suction feature to accomodate dust collection with orbital sanders. I love this set-up. Virtually all the dust is sucked up as you sand.

terrydowning · Post by **terrydowning** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 7:35 pm

Thanks for the recommendation. I'm sure they are great Vacuums. But after a quick review of prices, they are well beyond my Budget. ($100 - $200) I suppose I should have mentioned that in my original post.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 7:39 pm

8iowa wrote:Shop vacs are powered with universal type electric motors, for which there are no standards. You would have to go back to Sears for a replacement motor, which would probably cost more than a new vac.

Consider "stepping up" in quality and performance, and look at the Fein and Festool vacs. They run much quieter and have a variable suction feature to accomodate dust collection with orbital sanders. I love this set-up. Virtually all the dust is sucked up as you sand.

I don't like to guide my shopping by scanning price tags but I paid $144.00 for my 10 gal, 4 hp ShopVac. How much am I going to have to pay if I buy something that says Festool? I don't think there is one out there available for less than 2 0r 3 times what I paid.

Don't take me wrong, 8iowa. I am not knocking Festool. I just can not afford them.

Gene Howe · Post by **Gene Howe** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 8:59 pm

The Sears 8 gal., or larger, are well worth the $, IMHO.

wannabewoodworker · Post by **wannabewoodworker** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 12:06 am

Bought a Rigid last year at HD and it is pretty powerful and sucks like no bodies business. Cost was reasonable and it definitely sucks better than the DC3300 I just picked up recently.

tnerb · Post by **tnerb** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 1:22 am

wannabewoodworker wrote:Bought a Rigid last year at HD and it is pretty powerful and sucks like no bodies business. Cost was reasonable and it definitely sucks better than the DC3300 I just picked up recently.

I agree with Michael.

I have a Rigid also and it's everything he said plus it's very quiet as far as shop vacs go.

Brent

pennview · Post by **pennview** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 7:33 am

I'll agree with the others on the Rigid -- relatively quite and really sucks. I believe mine is a 16 gallon model with a removable motor assembly that can be used as a blower, which comes in handy for blowing leaves/pine needles off of the patio. Also, the hose has a clip on the end so it doesn't pull out of the canister when you're dragging it around the shop by the hose. Uses a pleated filter that's easy to clean and does a good job of preventing dust from being blown out of the exhaust.

spiderclimber · Post by **spiderclimber** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 9:23 am

wannabewoodworker wrote:Bought a Rigid last year at HD and it is pretty powerful and sucks like no bodies business. Cost was reasonable and it definitely sucks better than the DC3300 I just picked up recently.

I have a little knowledge on this as I have 2 of the DC3300s and have had 3 separate shop vac.

The first shop vac I had was a craftsman just like yours. I bought it used and it worked well for several years. It died on me so I replaced it with a shop vac from Sears made by craftsman. It didn't last 6 months. They changed their manufacturer and the quality went down. I did some research and the manufacturer of the old craftsman shop vacs now makes Rigid shop vacs for home depot. I bought the 16 gallon model I believe, or maybe it was 14. Either way it was $99. I have used it extensively since then for almost a year and it runs great. I even tipped it over while sweeping up and it still ran on it's side.

As for the comparision of the DC3300 to the shop vac, they are different animals altogether. If you read the literature online for the DC3300 it states it is not as powerful as a shopvac for sucking power but it is greater for CFM or cubit foot per minute which is what you need for light saw dust, not nuts and bolts or heavy stuff.

For your application, the Rigid is the way I would go, just don't buy one off of craigslist that came from the special $29 deal home depot had on thanksgiving. Those units are cheaper made, a less powerful motor, and the accessories are twice as thin. They will not hold up.

Good luck on your purchase and hope this helps with some insight.

terrydowning · Post by **terrydowning** » Fri Mar 25, 2011 11:36 am

After talking to my accountant and seeing my recent tax bill.

My dust collection will be old school broom and dustpan for the foreseeable future. The cars will just have get vacuumed with my tiny canister vac and wet stuff will have to be taken care of with the carpet cleaner or mop.

Talk about being blindsided... Way too ugly, detailed, and personal to go into in this forum. This is just the latest chapter in a string of unfortunate turns. Thankful that I still have a steady job at a great company, and relatively good health.

But let's just say that anything for the shop including supplies and material has dropped to a very low priority.

Thanks for all the input. I'll revisit the whole dust collection thing when the situation improves. Any advice/tips for doing things on the cheap (read no cost) is appreciated though.