Since so many people have been writing in about this, here’s a quick rundown of this year’s Black Friday wet/dry shop vacuum deals.
In my opinion, the Craftsman vacs are the better deals, quite simply because they’re not trimmed-down Black Friday-special models. The other Shop Vac and Ridgid vacs featured here, as well as any other “special buy” vacs that other retailers might carry, are specially made to sell at low Black Friday prices.
5 years from now, when you’re cleaning up after a project, containing an overflowing toilet, or using your vac in any other way, you’re not going to care about having saved $30-$40 years ago. What you will care about is a weak motor, small hose, short hose, short power cord, low quality, or other cost-cutting measures.
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To be fair, this year’s Lowes Shop Vac deal looks pretty darned good, especially compared to past years’ Black Friday vacuum specials, but it’s a new model with no user feedback or reviews. With that in mind, I would still be more confident in going with the Craftsman vacs.
Lowes: Shop Vac 16-Gallon 5.75 peak HP for $50
Features
- 16-gal tank
- 5.75 peak HP motor
- 6ft x 2.5″ hose
- 2 extension wands, utility nozzle, cartridge filter
- 12ft power cord
- rear blower port
- casters
- top and side handles
- built-in drain
Model 19273, Black Friday price of $50
Buy Now(via Lowes)
What We Think
Compared to last year’s Lowes Shop Vac special, this vacuum has a larger tank, more powerful motor, longer power cord, larger hose, and longer hose. It is also a little pricier, but you get a lot more for your money.
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I think that this is going to be a very popular model this year.
Home Depot: Ridgid 16-Gallon 5.0 peak HP for $40
Features
- 16-gal tank
- 5.0 peak HP motor
- 7ft x 1-7/8″ hose
- 2 extension wands, utility nozzle, pleated paper filter
- 15ft power cord
- blower port
- casters
- integrated handles
- built-in drain
Black Friday 2013 price is $40
Buy Now(WD1636 via Home Depot)
More Home Depot 2013 Black Friday Deals
What We Think
This year’s Black Friday and Holiday Ridgid wet/dry shop vacuum looks very similar to last year’s, and the smaller hose diameter is still somewhat disappointing. The Shop Vac vacuum is more powerful and I like that it has an industry-standard hose size.
Unless you REALLY don’t want to spend $10 extra or spend money at Lowes, the Shop Vac is the better buy.
Sears: Craftsman 16-Gallon 6.5 peak HP with XSP for $90
Features
- 16-gal tank
- 6.5 peak HP motor
- 7ft x 2.5″ hose
- 2 extension wands, utility nozzle, crevice tool, floor/squeegee nozzle combo, cartridge filter, wet foam filter
- 20ft power cord
- blower port
- casters
- integrated handles
- built-in drain
Model 12007, Black Friday price of $90
Buy Now(via Sears)
More Sears Black Friday 2013 Deals
What We Think
Compared to the other 16-gallon Black Friday wet/dry vacuum specials, Craftsman’s new XSP (extreme suction performance) vac is more powerful, a little better featured, it has a longer power cord, and it includes a few added accessories.
This vac is more than double the price of the Ridgid vac and nearly double the price of the Shop Vac special, but it also wasn’t built to sell at $50 or less.
Sears: Craftsman 12-Gallon 5.5 peak HP with XSP for $70
Features
- 12-gal tank
- 5.5 peak HP motor
- 7ft x 2.5″ hose
- 2 extension wands, utility nozzle, crevice tool, floor/squeegee nozzle combo, cartridge filter, wet foam filter
- 20ft power cord
- blower port
- casters
- integrated handles
- built-in drain
Model 12006, Black Friday price of $70
Buy Now(via Sears)
More Sears Black Friday 2013 Deals
What We Think
Compared to the Ridgid and Shop Vac 16-gallon specials, this Craftsman has a slightly smaller tank, a comparably powerful motor, a longer power cord, and a couple of added accessories. It isn’t quite as large or powerful as the 16-gallon Craftsman, but at $70 it’s also not that much more expensive than the Shop Vac special.
Hang Fire
Sigh…
None of them have “a more powerful motor”, since they are all 110V/15A or less. The “peak” or “stall” ratings are all pure fiction. Please don’t use them as a rating metric, unless negatively- the more HP they lie, the more you mark them down.
You can only get about 1.5HP out of 110V/15A. Since there is no SAE or JIS rating for “peak” or “stall”, and since there is no standard for the duration of the “peak” or “stall”, and since all of these motors have very lightweight armatures, all those 3-4-5HP ratings are pure marketing imagination run rampant. I have a 1930’s 110V motor with a several pound flywheel, it would be hard-pressed to make 3HP for a fraction of a second if stalled from full speed. How much less these flyweight wimps?
Stuart
Well, 110V x 15A = 1650 W = 2.2HP max. I don’t know how manufacturers come up with their peak HP ratings, but I can only hope that they use similar methodology.
Generally, a higher HP rating, even if BS, correlates to higher suction power.
Craftsman is firm in their insistence that their 16-gal model can outperform competing Shop Vac and Ridgid vacs. I haven’t done A vs. B comparisons, but the Craftsman XSP vacs do perform impressively.
Personally, I tend to look at suction power, hose size, cord length, and breadth of attachments and accessories.
I could ask brands about why they don’t provide noise ratings or detailed airflow specs, and why they use fictional power ratings, but they’re only going to tell me the story as they want discussed publicly.
David
Actually, you can have a more powerful electric motor with the same Amp draw/voltage as another. You have to look at the amount of copper in the armature and stator, the thickness of the copper wire windings, how many copper wire windings there are, how pure is the copper… Yes, you can definitely have more power output from two separate electric motors that run at the same power input.
You could crudely say that if you add power input and subtract power lost to heat and friction, the result is power output.
Hang Fire
True, but none of that can get the power to add up to 4 or 5 HP, or even the ideal 100% conversion 2.2HP.
Hang Fire
Is there a sound rating available for any of these vacs? If not, why not? That would be a meaningful metric. Stuart, can you get some industry reps to comment on the lack of noise ratings and the fictional power ratings?
Dei Xhrist
I picked up the Ridgid 16-Gallon on Black Friday a few years ago, and am planning to pick up another this year, maybe a smaller one. I’ve used the Ridgid for wet and dry applications, and the noise is the trade off for the best household vac I’ve ever had – wet/drys are excellent for dog fur, general dirt, and glitter. I clean the filter by spraying it with a hose and letting it get bone dry before re-installing. I’ve had problems with the hose crimping, and of course broke a wheel after about a year. Their plastic housing doesn’t hold up to 15 gallons of dirt and construction waste, and there’s no substantial way to repair other than replacing the wheel module.
Bryan
I just got back from buying my second Ridgid vacuum from THD; bought my first many years ago.
Now I’ll have one for the garage shop and one for the basement shop and spare parts for the second one when the first one dies (assuming FIFO).
joe
I just recently had to vacuum water from a flooded apartment….one of the main water supply pipes developed a small whole due to old age and nature…water was coming out of the apartments front door like a very small river…what really made me get all the water out was a long hose and long adapter with a wide nozzle…having said that, as a maintenance tech, I mainly care about hose length and how easy it is to drain/clean…at work I took a very expensive carpet cleaner hose and suction attachment to help me get rid of all that water. I use the vacuum to dry up leaks from AC drip pans or people leaving bathtub faucets running that overflow past the bathtub “over flow”…and other things like uncloging AC drip pan lines….in conclusion, none of these vacuums would be useful to me (stand out sor of speak)…i would have to add attachments to make them work for me…but then again I may be in the minority….a very long hose for a shampoo machine costs hundreds of dollars….ah well…
Stuart
Typically only dust extractors are bundled with very long hoses. For general purpose vacs, there is always the option to buy a longer hose as an accessory. 12-15 foot hoses can be found for under $50. A small diameter 25′ hose can be found for about $110 at industrial suppliers, and longer hoses are available at specialty shops.
All of these vacs do have bottom drainage valves.
Brian
Am I the only one not liking the host inlet/outlet being moved to the canister rather than the motor assembly?