In article ,
HerHusband wrote:
My Shop Vac died on me in the middle of sanding some cabinets tonight

Based on the many positive reviews I've read, I bought a Ridgid WD1450
shop vac this afternoon for $99 (+tax). I haven't had the opportunity to
really work it yet, but I did get everything assembled and fired it up
for a few tests.

Noise Level - Not bad. It's quieter than my "quiet" Shop Vac, though in
all fairness that has been sounding a lot louder and unhealthy the past
few weeks. I remember being impressed when I bought my old Shop Vac too.
I'm sure the WD1450 isn't as quiet as the Fein or Festool machines, but
it's only one third the price and it was in stock just a few miles from
home. It's certainly quiet enough to use by itself, and I wear ear muffs
when using it with other tools like a sander anyway.

Ridgid also makes an inexpensive 'muffler' the plugs on the air exhaust
fitting. It makes things a little quieter -- not so much the absolute
sound level but knocks off some of the higher frequencies. It is a
'noticeable', albeit *not* 'radical' difference.


If you want seriously quiet _on_a_budget_, AND are willing to compromise
down to household-size hose, look for a used 'Filter Queen'. they catch
_everything_ out of the air, are damn-near indestructible -- stainless
construction, and *amazingly* quiet. No provision for wet pick-up capability,
though.

Unlike virtually any other 'home' vacuum, you _don't_ risk damaging it
if it picks up something solid -- hardware, wood scraps, whatever.

They've also got a built-in 'cyclone', so suction doesn't degrade much as
it pulls in dust.

Filter Queens are _grossly_ over-priced on the new market, but can be had
reasonably on the used one.