Rudy wrote:
I "studied" the market out there recently since my 5Gal old Shop Vac died.
I can't buy brushes for the motor. I looked at Craftsman, ShopVac, Ridgid
(HD) and no name brands at Sears, WalMart etc.

Depending on the vintage of your Shop-Vac that "died", you may be able
to get a free motor replacement. One of the brushes in my 3-year-old
12-gal/5 hp unit wore out, causing intermittant operation and then
total failure. I found the same problem that you did: replacement
brushes just aren't available. I noticed that the owners manual said
that the unit had a 4-year warranty. I called Shop-Vac (got the number
from their web-site), told them of my problem and the age and model
number of my Shop-Vac and they sent me a new "power unit" (motor and
top housing). They didn't ask for a copy of the purchase receipt.
Works fine now. It'll probably go for another 3 years or so.

Bob