Opinions on wet dry vac?

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Davidle1787

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Hi all, I'm looking to buy a wet dry vac and I am trying to figure out what I should buy. I'm not trying to spend too much, I'm just a weekend warrior and sometimes do friends cars (not for free of course). Currently I'm debating between :

RIDGID 16 Gal. Wet/Dry Vac with Blower-WD1680 at The Home Depot

Shop Shop-Vac 16-Gallon 6.5-Peak HP Shop Vacuum at Lowes.com

I also thought of the LGM, but realized I think I could just put some elbow grease in with folex, a scrubber and just wet vac the carpet clean. I was also thinking of using it to dry my car...as a Metro Vac is very expensive lol.

Which one would you guys/gal choose? Or if you have any other opinions let me know. Thanks!
 
Well i would pick Shop-Vac 16-Gallon 6.5-Peak HP Shop Vacuum from lowes because while the one in home depot is cheaper you are going to come out to the same price as the one from lowes
 
Thanks for the input! Anyone else care to give their opinion? I also heard "Shop-Vac" has gone down in quality over the years...
 
I suppose I shall also add the Powr-Flite PF51 to the mix. Anyone?
 
I have 2 rigid wet/dry vacs and LOVE THEM! Super powerful and reliable... I know this is not supposed to happen, but they've been rained on numberous times (open trailer) and no faults with them! One is about 5 years old and another is about a year old and no complaints whatsoever.
 
I worked at a Chrysler Dealership detailing cars for 20 yrs and we used Shop Vac and Craftsman. The Shop Vac didn't seem to last as long as the Craftsman so we mainly purchased 5 gallon Craftsman wet/dry vacs. The Craftsman always held up to the abuse of being used 6 days a week. -- Marc
 
I have the Rigid 6.5hp 16 gallon vac. Works really well for what its design for. I dont have the one with the blower though. I use my Metro Master Blaster to dry cars. I'm going to pick up the 4 gal 5hp vac also since its easier to transport.

I know the larger gallon vacs are meant for industrial use but it annoys me that all the attachments are large. They are not meant for cars. I ended up getting 2 hoses for extended length and buying all new attachments that are smaller in size for detailing interiors.
 
I would go with the rigid
it has two uses and lifetime warranty
 
@AjNavo61490 - Lol. Good to know. Have you ever done wet vaccums.. perhaps using Folex and some agitation to lift stains out of carpets or seats?

@Real Riders - I actually have a Craftsman W/D vacuum, but it might be the 3HP peak one...total pos. lol. I know that Craftsman, Ridgid and Cobalt...possibly other companies utilize some similar parts at the factory... I'm trying to stray away from Craftsman, I have not had the best of luck with them. But, thank for option/opinion though!

richy - That's funny, you are the reason why I added the 51 to my list. I actually stumbled up your two reviews on Youtube as well as your post on AG. I'm really contemplating on purchasing the Powr-flite, but how well does it blow dry a car? I really want a AIO type of purchase. I was first considering getting a Ridgid and a Little Green Machine, but after reading throughout AG and Autopia... I might be better off with a Wet/Dry vac.

@04Golf - THat's one thing that bugs me as well. I really want that is compatible with auto detailing. I was considering on purchasing the "Premium Car Detail Kit" that ridgid sells at Home Depot. Which would tack on another 40. Putting it close to the Powr-Flite price.... Have you ever blow dried the car with the ridgid? If so, how was it?

epikls - I'm leaning towards the Ridgid... I wish I can see someone do a semi-deep clean on a stained carpet with the Ridgid though. I would like it to have better Extraction than the Little Green Monster, So I wouldn't have to worry if I run into a nasty carpet stain.

Thanks all! Keep 'em coming
 
Davidle1787 said:
@AjNavo61490 - Lol. Good to know. Have you ever done wet vaccums.. perhaps using Folex and some agitation to lift stains out of carpets or seats?

@Real Riders - I actually have a Craftsman W/D vacuum, but it might be the 3HP peak one...total pos. lol. I know that Craftsman, Ridgid and Cobalt...possibly other companies utilize some similar parts at the factory... I'm trying to stray away from Craftsman, I have not had the best of luck with them. But, thank for option/opinion though!

richy - That's funny, you are the reason why I added the 51 to my list. I actually stumbled up your two reviews on Youtube as well as your post on AG. I'm really contemplating on purchasing the Powr-flite, but how well does it blow dry a car? I really want a AIO type of purchase. I was first considering getting a Ridgid and a Little Green Machine, but after reading throughout AG and Autopia... I might be better off with a Wet/Dry vac.

@04Golf - THat's one thing that bugs me as well. I really want that is compatible with auto detailing. I was considering on purchasing the "Premium Car Detail Kit" that ridgid sells at Home Depot. Which would tack on another 40. Putting it close to the Powr-Flite price.... Have you ever blow dried the car with the ridgid? If so, how was it?

epikls - I'm leaning towards the Ridgid... I wish I can see someone do a semi-deep clean on a stained carpet with the Ridgid though. I would like it to have better Extraction than the Little Green Monster, So I wouldn't have to worry if I run into a nasty carpet stain.

Thanks all! Keep 'em coming
Click to expand...

If you use the Quote + button at the bottom right of each post then select new reply at the bottom left of the thread it will allow you to quote multiple people at one time :props:
 
Davidle1787 said:
@04Golf - THat's one thing that bugs me as well. I really want that is compatible with auto detailing. I was considering on purchasing the "Premium Car Detail Kit" that ridgid sells at Home Depot. Which would tack on another 40. Putting it close to the Powr-Flite price.... Have you ever blow dried the car with the ridgid? If so, how was it?
Click to expand...

I bought that $40 kit just for the long crevice tool. The rest of the kit is pretty worthless. If you go to home depot they usually sell attachments in the same section. You can get smaller attachments and different hoses. You might have to buy different adapters for the smaller attachments.
 
My craftsman 16 gallon, 6.5 HP has been going strong for 5 years. It is a bit too big in certain situations. But more than capable of cleaning everything I've thrown at it.

The motor also detaches completely to blow of vehicles, with no dust in the line.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using AG Online
 
Some links to help you (mods: If its not okay to link these lmk)

I currently have this model:
RIDGID 16-Gal. Wet/Dry Vac-WD1851 at The Home Depot

Its big but the 6.5hp will take care of everything. The drain cap at the bottom is great for releasing water in the tank.

I also replaced the stock hose & bought (2) of these hoses. The stock hose it not as flexible as this hose. I would suggest this hose, I picked up 2 so I wouldn't have to more the vac around:
RIDGID Universal Wet/Dry Vacuum Hose-VT2570 at The Home Depot

Attachments to start off with:
RIDGID Brush and Crevice Tool Combo-VT1412 at The Home Depot
RIDGID 2-1/2 in. Utility Nozzle-VT2509 at The Home Depot

I got this adapter set for the smaller attachments:
RIDGID 3-Piece Adapter Kit-VT1755 at The Home Depot

This kit is really nice for interiors:
Stinger Micro-Cleaning Kit-VT1215 at The Home Depot

I plan on picking up this unit soon. Its 5hp but its versatile:
RIDGID 4-Gal. Wet/Dry Vac-WD4070 at The Home Depot

:dblthumb2:
 
I'm going with a Rigid when my craftsman finally dies, I have had it for 15+ years and three girlfriends. Its a monster but the dang hose is like working a fire hose. The rigid with the auto detail kit seems better. Smaller hose makes me thing stronger suction HP to HP comparison.
 
I work in construction in the painting field and I buy 2 shop vacs at a time from Lowes when they go on sale. The last 2 were 10 gallon size in blue like you posted. When 1 dies I always have a backup. They work great and with all the fine plaster and wood dust that we handle daily I have found the secret to a long life on these units is to always use a bag. I know many subcontractors that do not use the bags and the dust kills these motors quickly. The one I have now is at least 3 years old and gets a constant workout sometimes hours at a time. :dblthumb2:
 
af90 said:
If you use the Quote + button at the bottom right of each post then select new reply at the bottom left of the thread it will allow you to quote multiple people at one time :props:
Click to expand...

LOL. Thank you very much ! That will help
 
04Golf said:
I bought that $40 kit just for the long crevice tool. The rest of the kit is pretty worthless. If you go to home depot they usually sell attachments in the same section. You can get smaller attachments and different hoses. You might have to buy different adapters for the smaller attachments.
Click to expand...

Good to know that the kit is almost useless...Lol. Decisions decisons. I am really curious on how well the ridgid will suck up the water off the carpets with better hose. Have you tried?
 
parttimer said:
I'm going with a Rigid when my craftsman finally dies, I have had it for 15+ years and three girlfriends. Its a monster but the dang hose is like working a fire hose. The rigid with the auto detail kit seems better. Smaller hose makes me thing stronger suction HP to HP comparison.
Click to expand...

Older craftsman were great! I would have bought one way back when if I was into detailing and had the money as a kid..Lol. Precisely, I figured if you decrease the hose diameter you could increase the vacuum too
Thanks!
 
It makes me very curious what the 6.5peak horsepower correlates to when water lift comes into play. Although it is probably closer to 2.5 running HP, why does it not vacuum well as the PF51...when that thing only has 1.6hp. If I were to drop the diameter of the hose on the Rigid to 1 7/8 or 2" I wonder what the water lift values would be. I also wish the PF51 had better attachments from the get go
.. Hahaha. Would you guys recommend that I purchase a smaller vacuum and purchase the "Little Green Machine" for extraction purposes?
 
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