Time for a new shop vac.

[LCHIEN]

In my Shop I have the DC hooked up to the table saw and can be quick-connect to the jointer and thickness planer.
I have a shop vac connected to the miter saw and the jointer as well as the router fence.
And another shop vac behind the drill press and band saw that I switch back and forth and the vac is on a tool trigger..
And another shop vac for general cleanup.

The shop vac behind the bandsaw died the other day while I was test cutting curves in a piece of 2 x 4 in prep for the pinewood derby cars. There was a giant shrieking noise and I thought I broke the bandsaw; shut down the bandsaw but the shrieking continued for a bit... shop vac! (to my relief). I think the bearing gave out.

Now this vac I got at my old house long before I got into wood working - It says Montgomery Wards - I probably got it in the late 70s like 1979.heck, the 5 Gallon tank is made of steel.
Anyway I think its toast.
I started shopping and what I find is that all the smaller vacs nowadays have 1-7/8" hose fittings and accessories. I'm used to 1-1/4 and 2-1/2 inch fittings.
That's all we need is another hose fitting size!
So I'm real worried about how I'm going to attach the 2-1/2 inch hoses to the tools to the vac.
ANyway I find out the inlet on all the vacs are still 2-1/2" but the hoses and accessory fittings have shrunk to 1-7/8.
So fortunately all the hoses still work. And I now have yet another hose in another size with wands, and floor sweep that don't match any of my other stuff. But it didn't come with the skinny nozzle or the round brush so I just can't chunk them and I have to keep the odd hose or buy new accessories.

Who really thought we need another vacuum hose and accessory size?

And the steel can was still good after 40 years - only a few rust spots inside from wet vacc-ing so I hated to throw it out so I turned it into my trash can so I can still look at it every day in the shop.

[capncarl]

I’ve seen a number of old style large craftsman shop vacs at Goodwill stores. I know it is mostly where old people ( like ourselves ) have their property liquidated when they move on....... sad to think about but I think they would want their tools and equipment put to good use, I know I would.

[LCHIEN]

70's logo. So long ago.

[mm1992]

I struggled finding anything 1.5 or 2.5 in shopvac hoses and accessories. I wanted a 1.5 hose so I could put my shopvac on the sander, router, and other small tools, and that took some time to find. The old 2.5 hose still has a hole patched with duck tape because I haven't found one yet to replace it. Seems they all have that weird locking connection now, or they've moved to a weird size.

[LCHIEN]

I struggled finding anything 1.5 or 2.5 in shopvac hoses and accessories. I wanted a 1.5 hose so I could put my shopvac on the sander, router, and other small tools, and that took some time to find. The old 2.5 hose still has a hole patched with duck tape because I haven't found one yet to replace it. Seems they all have that weird locking connection now, or they've moved to a weird size.

Looks like they had no more 1.25 and 2.5" accessories but just the 1.875" accessories and one adapter kit to be able to use 1.25 and 2.5" stuff. So hang onto your 2.5" extension hoses for maximum flow.

I guess the net result is that they cut their accessory inventory on hand and have just one size that is more suction than 1.25" but more flexible and cheaper than 2.5".

But I'm thankful they kept the 2,5" port on the vac itself.

[Jim Frye]

My ancient metal tubed ShopVac died (also with a screech) with a 12 gal. tank. I knew it wasn’t long for use as I had torn it down a year earlier to lube the upper bronze bearing. I replaced it with a 16 gal. ShopVac with a bulbous plastic tank. It holds more, but the plastic tank builds a static charge like you wouldn’t believe. The unit has good grounds so you don’t get zapped, but the tank is a dust magnet. I actually have to sweep the outside occasionally. One point on the replacement was that the old vac had a 12 foot long 1.5 inch hose, the new one only had a 6 footer. Of course, I used the old hose on the new vac and then joined the new 6 foot hose to an old 6 foot hose I used on the ShopVac in the garage so it now has a 12 foot hose also. Last year the garage vac packed it in and I replaced it with a 1.5 gal. ShopVac from HD or Lowe’s. That vac also has a 2.5 inch port, so I can use all of my hoses. The new vac also uses the same pleated filter cartridges that the shop vac does, so I can use all of the CleanStream filters I have. It pays to save your old vac accessories.

[LCHIEN]

Hey, a dust magnet in the shop is great! It can replace the hanging air filter I have in the ceiling that recirculates all the shop air.

That makes me wonder if this two-wire ungrounded plastic body Ridgid vac will generate static as it runs.

Since I keep it behind the tools, I did not install the swivel castor feet that increase the footprint, Hope it doesn't tip over when I pull on the hose. The base is tapered and narrower than the top.

[Carlos]

I have a really nice Shop Vac "industrial" with a steel drum and it came with BOTH of the hose sizes and tools. Both have great uses. For car cleaning, the smaller hose is the only one I use. Two of my friends recently bought vacs and found that they only came with the smaller hose, I guess to keep the price down (mine was expensive, and just came with everything you could want). My guess is that most consumers either don't care about the larger hose, or maybe just want cheap and add their own accessories. My friends bought the larger hoses separately.