I was looking forward to spending a good bit of the weekend making chips
on my mill. I'm making an aluminum sight base (weaver rail) for a target
pistol. Halfway through roughing it to size, I noticed my "Quiet Suction
Power" (Yeah, right) Shop vac wasn't running smoothly. Shortly after
hearing the motor rev up & down erratically, I smelled zorched motor
smells.

It's a 14 year old 8 gallon model, and it hasn't actually seen tons of
use. Milling chips are small, and I think I've emptied it only 3 or 4
times. Motors seem to be the weakness of Shop Vac machines (not much
else to go wrong). It died Friday night, so my email to the factory
about a replacement motor will go unanswered until Monday. I can get a
replacement machine from Amazon for $67. I found one place on-line that
will sell me the whole top head assembly for ~$90. If the motor is more
than $50 with shipping, I'll be looking for a new vacuum.

The only big objections I have to the one I have is that it's still too
loud to run continuously w/o ear protection, and their motors aren't very
robust.

The alternative to just replacing it with another one is to spend more
bucks to get something like a Fein, which is supposed to be very quiet.
I have a hose setup with a nozzle that is all configured for standard
ShopVac 2.5" hose, and I don't know how much fussing would be required to
adapt that to the Fein.

Suggestions? Thoughts? Comments?

Doug White

Doug White wrote:
I was looking forward to spending a good bit of the weekend making
chips on my mill. I'm making an aluminum sight base (weaver rail)
for a target pistol. Halfway through roughing it to size, I noticed
my "Quiet Suction Power" (Yeah, right) Shop vac wasn't running
smoothly. Shortly after hearing the motor rev up & down erratically,
I smelled zorched motor smells.

It's a 14 year old 8 gallon model, and it hasn't actually seen tons of
use. Milling chips are small, and I think I've emptied it only 3 or 4
times. Motors seem to be the weakness of Shop Vac machines (not much
else to go wrong). It died Friday night, so my email to the factory
about a replacement motor will go unanswered until Monday. I can get
a replacement machine from Amazon for $67. I found one place on-line
that will sell me the whole top head assembly for ~$90. If the motor
is more than $50 with shipping, I'll be looking for a new vacuum.

The only big objections I have to the one I have is that it's still
too loud to run continuously w/o ear protection, and their motors
aren't very robust.

The alternative to just replacing it with another one is to spend more
bucks to get something like a Fein, which is supposed to be very
quiet. I have a hose setup with a nozzle that is all configured for
standard ShopVac 2.5" hose, and I don't know how much fussing would
be required to adapt that to the Fein.

Suggestions? Thoughts? Comments?

I opened up one that started to smell "hot". ands discovered the one of the
wires on the motor going from the armature coils to a commutator had broken. I
soldered it back together, and the motor went back to working right for a while,
till it broke again.

On 9/25/2010 8:12 AM, Doug White wrote:

(...)

The alternative to just replacing it with another one is to spend more
bucks to get something like a Fein, which is supposed to be very quiet.
I have a hose setup with a nozzle that is all configured for standard
ShopVac 2.5" hose, and I don't know how much fussing would be required to
adapt that to the Fein.

I like my Fein, it's quiet but it is wimpy in relation to my
Craftsman. It also has *very little* chip capacity in relation
to the Craftsman. I get my shop vacs on Craigslist for very
little money.

I saw an article written by a guy who boxed his shop vac and
benefited from substantial noise reduction.

Here's the Lexus version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKkbq1fcKz4

--Winston



--
Corporate executive forgets to commit a felony for 24 hours.
Film at 11.

I guess I just don't get it. I use a brush, a broom and a dust pan. I don't have to listen to a screaming shop vac. My machines
get full of chips. Then I clean them. I cannot imagine the use of a shop vac eliminates those tasks.
Steve

"Doug White" wrote in message . ..
I was looking forward to spending a good bit of the weekend making chips
on my mill. I'm making an aluminum sight base (weaver rail) for a target
pistol. Halfway through roughing it to size, I noticed my "Quiet Suction
Power" (Yeah, right) Shop vac wasn't running smoothly. Shortly after
hearing the motor rev up & down erratically, I smelled zorched motor
smells.

It's a 14 year old 8 gallon model, and it hasn't actually seen tons of
use. Milling chips are small, and I think I've emptied it only 3 or 4
times. Motors seem to be the weakness of Shop Vac machines (not much
else to go wrong). It died Friday night, so my email to the factory
about a replacement motor will go unanswered until Monday. I can get a
replacement machine from Amazon for $67. I found one place on-line that
will sell me the whole top head assembly for ~$90. If the motor is more
than $50 with shipping, I'll be looking for a new vacuum.

The only big objections I have to the one I have is that it's still too
loud to run continuously w/o ear protection, and their motors aren't very
robust.

The alternative to just replacing it with another one is to spend more
bucks to get something like a Fein, which is supposed to be very quiet.
I have a hose setup with a nozzle that is all configured for standard
ShopVac 2.5" hose, and I don't know how much fussing would be required to
adapt that to the Fein.

Suggestions? Thoughts? Comments?

Doug White

In article ,
Doug White wrote:
bucks to get something like a Fein, which is supposed to be very quiet.
I have a hose setup with a nozzle that is all configured for standard
ShopVac 2.5" hose, and I don't know how much fussing would be required to
adapt that to the Fein.

Suggestions? Thoughts? Comments?

Doug White

Well, one alternative (cheap enough if you enjoy building it, more
expensive to buy, but possibly cheaper than the Fein, which has been
pricing itself on the 75% for the name, 25% for the product model for
quite some time, IMHO) would be a chip collector or dust collector - as
seen in woodworking, and some larger metal shops. Lose the screaming
high-speed impeller for a larger blower that can run off a nice quiet
induction motor rather than a brush-type universal. Portable and fixed
(you'll need to do some ductwork) versions available. Put it on the
other side of a wall or out in a shed with or without air return
depending on whether or not it's (heating/cooling) season, or plumb the
exhaust into a big air-to-air heat exchanger coupled to a fresh-air feed.

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by

Ecnerwal wrote in
:

In article ,
Doug White wrote:
bucks to get something like a Fein, which is supposed to be very
quiet. I have a hose setup with a nozzle that is all configured for
standard ShopVac 2.5" hose, and I don't know how much fussing would
be required to adapt that to the Fein.

Suggestions? Thoughts? Comments?

Doug White

Well, one alternative (cheap enough if you enjoy building it, more
expensive to buy, but possibly cheaper than the Fein, which has been
pricing itself on the 75% for the name, 25% for the product model for
quite some time, IMHO) would be a chip collector or dust collector -
as seen in woodworking, and some larger metal shops. Lose the
screaming high-speed impeller for a larger blower that can run off a
nice quiet induction motor rather than a brush-type universal.
Portable and fixed (you'll need to do some ductwork) versions
available. Put it on the other side of a wall or out in a shed with or
without air return depending on whether or not it's (heating/cooling)
season, or plumb the exhaust into a big air-to-air heat exchanger
coupled to a fresh-air feed.

I also use it to clear off my lathe, and the portability of the 8 gallon
size is a big plus. I'd really rather be making chips than turning chip
collection into a project that uses up all my shop time for a month. As
it is, one reason I'm thinking about buying new is that it will take a
half an hour to an hour to tear apart the old one & replace the motor.
The downside of new is that it will take at least that long to dispose of
the old one. I think I can recycle the plastic bits (I'm hoping they put
the triangle on the stuff in '96), but only if I disassemble & clean them
up a bit.

On a good week, I get to spend two or three hours actively making stuff
in my shop. ****ing it away on nonsense like this is extrmely annoying.
Once the motor cooled down, I can run it in brief spurts. It sounds like
the bearings are shot, which is what happend to the last one that died
years ago. I would happily pay $5 more for decent bearings, and then I
wouldn't be in this position.

Doug White

My Ridgid shop vac from Home Depot sees moderate use and never disappoints.

i

On 2010-09-25, Doug White wrote:
I was looking forward to spending a good bit of the weekend making chips
on my mill. I'm making an aluminum sight base (weaver rail) for a target
pistol. Halfway through roughing it to size, I noticed my "Quiet Suction
Power" (Yeah, right) Shop vac wasn't running smoothly. Shortly after
hearing the motor rev up & down erratically, I smelled zorched motor
smells.

It's a 14 year old 8 gallon model, and it hasn't actually seen tons of
use. Milling chips are small, and I think I've emptied it only 3 or 4
times. Motors seem to be the weakness of Shop Vac machines (not much
else to go wrong). It died Friday night, so my email to the factory
about a replacement motor will go unanswered until Monday. I can get a
replacement machine from Amazon for $67. I found one place on-line that
will sell me the whole top head assembly for ~$90. If the motor is more
than $50 with shipping, I'll be looking for a new vacuum.

The only big objections I have to the one I have is that it's still too
loud to run continuously w/o ear protection, and their motors aren't very
robust.

The alternative to just replacing it with another one is to spend more
bucks to get something like a Fein, which is supposed to be very quiet.
I have a hose setup with a nozzle that is all configured for standard
ShopVac 2.5" hose, and I don't know how much fussing would be required to
adapt that to the Fein.

Suggestions? Thoughts? Comments?

Doug White

On Sat, 25 Sep 2010 13:22:09 -0500, Ignoramus10035
wrote:

My Ridgid shop vac from Home Depot sees moderate use and never disappoints.

i


Ive got both a Rigid and a big Craftsman and as long as I keep the
filters clean...both seen to work fine. And I use both for sucking
chips off the milling machines, both wet and dry.



Gunner

On 2010-09-25, Doug White wrote:
I was looking forward to spending a good bit of the weekend making chips
on my mill. I'm making an aluminum sight base (weaver rail) for a target
pistol. Halfway through roughing it to size, I noticed my "Quiet Suction
Power" (Yeah, right) Shop vac wasn't running smoothly. Shortly after
hearing the motor rev up & down erratically, I smelled zorched motor
smells.

It's a 14 year old 8 gallon model, and it hasn't actually seen tons of
use. Milling chips are small, and I think I've emptied it only 3 or 4
times. Motors seem to be the weakness of Shop Vac machines (not much
else to go wrong). It died Friday night, so my email to the factory
about a replacement motor will go unanswered until Monday. I can get a
replacement machine from Amazon for $67. I found one place on-line that
will sell me the whole top head assembly for ~$90. If the motor is more
than $50 with shipping, I'll be looking for a new vacuum.

The only big objections I have to the one I have is that it's still too
loud to run continuously w/o ear protection, and their motors aren't very
robust.

The alternative to just replacing it with another one is to spend more
bucks to get something like a Fein, which is supposed to be very quiet.
I have a hose setup with a nozzle that is all configured for standard
ShopVac 2.5" hose, and I don't know how much fussing would be required to
adapt that to the Fein.

Suggestions? Thoughts? Comments?

Doug White


I am the Sword of my Family
and the Shield of my Nation.
If sent, I will crush everything you have built,
burn everything you love,
and kill every one of you.
(Hebrew quote)

"Steve Lusardi" wrote in
:

I guess I just don't get it. I use a brush, a broom and a dust pan. I
don't have to listen to a screaming shop vac. My machines get full of
chips. Then I clean them. I cannot imagine the use of a shop vac
eliminates those tasks. Steve

It makes cleanup a lot easier, but there are some operations where it
helps the machining. I have a setup using the Loc-Line vacuum hose,
which is rigid enough to park the nozzle within an inch or so of the
cutter. I use the long pointed nozzle:

http://www.modularhose.net/Merchant5/merchant.mvc?
Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=M&Category_Code=8

This has several beneficial effects:

1) I can see my work clearly because it isn't buried in chips

2) Chips can't get caught between the work & the cutter. This is
especially important when slotting & cutting pockets.

3) When I'm done with an operation, I have a lot fewer chips to clear
out of the way when I need to clamp the work back in the vise. It is
particularly good at sucking up really fine aluminum shavings that would
otherwise get stuck on my vise & parallels and screw up the next cut.

I don't use it as often as I'd like to, because of the noise. A Fein
vacuum presumably uses better motors & bearings, and they are ~ 10 db
quieter than the Shop Vac. Of course, a "cheap" Fein also costs 4 times
as much as the new version of my dead ShopVac machine.

Doug White

On Sep 25, 9:12*am, Doug White wrote:
I was looking forward to spending a good bit of the weekend making chips
on my mill. *I'm making an aluminum sight base (weaver rail) for a target
pistol. Halfway through roughing it to size, I noticed my "Quiet Suction
Power" (Yeah, right) Shop vac wasn't running smoothly. *Shortly after
hearing the motor rev up & down erratically, I smelled zorched motor
smells.

It's a 14 year old 8 gallon model, and it hasn't actually seen tons of
use. *Milling chips are small, and I think I've emptied it only 3 or 4
times. *Motors seem to be the weakness of Shop Vac machines (not much
else to go wrong). *It died Friday night, so my email to the factory
about a replacement motor will go unanswered until Monday. *I can get a
replacement machine from Amazon for $67. *I found one place on-line that
will sell me the whole top head assembly for ~$90. *If the motor is more
than $50 with shipping, I'll be looking for a new vacuum.

The only big objections I have to the one I have is that it's still too
loud to run continuously w/o ear protection, and their motors aren't very
robust.

The alternative to just replacing it with another one is to spend more
bucks to get something like a Fein, which is supposed to be very quiet. *
I have a hose setup with a nozzle that is all configured for standard
ShopVac 2.5" hose, and I don't know how much fussing would be required to
adapt that to the Fein.

Suggestions? *Thoughts? Comments?

Doug White

Have never had a real Shop-Vac brand go bad, have had several
Craftsmans smoke. Current Shop-Vac is one of the old ones that still
has a metal canister so maybe they're making them cheaper these days.
There have been a number of add-ons to quiet shop vac motors, usually
along the lines of a foam-lined bucket over the top with various
methods for air passage. Biggest thing is to make sure you've either
got a HEPA canister on it or both the foam sleeve and paper bag on it
when picking up chips and keep the filters cleaned off. Chips in the
motor is a Bad Thing.

Stan

On Sep 25, 9:21*am, "Bob F" wrote:
Doug White wrote:
I was looking forward to spending a good bit of the weekend making
chips on my mill. *I'm making an aluminum sight base (weaver rail)
for a target pistol. Halfway through roughing it to size, I noticed
my "Quiet Suction Power" (Yeah, right) Shop vac wasn't running
smoothly. *Shortly after hearing the motor rev up & down erratically,
I smelled zorched motor smells.

It's a 14 year old 8 gallon model, and it hasn't actually seen tons of
use. *Milling chips are small, and I think I've emptied it only 3 or 4
times. *Motors seem to be the weakness of Shop Vac machines (not much
else to go wrong). *It died Friday night, so my email to the factory
about a replacement motor will go unanswered until Monday. *I can get
a replacement machine from Amazon for $67. *I found one place on-line
that will sell me the whole top head assembly for ~$90. *If the motor
is more than $50 with shipping, I'll be looking for a new vacuum.

The only big objections I have to the one I have is that it's still
too loud to run continuously w/o ear protection, and their motors
aren't very robust.

The alternative to just replacing it with another one is to spend more
bucks to get something like a Fein, which is supposed to be very
quiet. I have a hose setup with a nozzle that is all configured for
standard ShopVac 2.5" hose, and I don't know how much fussing would
be required to adapt that to the Fein.

Suggestions? *Thoughts? Comments?

I opened up one that started to smell "hot". ands discovered the one of the
wires on the motor going from the *armature coils to a commutator had broken. I
soldered it back together, and the motor went back to working right for a while,
till it broke again.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Those series-wound motors can speed pretty high, usually the wires are
banded or tied at the commutator to keep them from breaking off due to
centrifugal force. An armature that didn't have that done would be
one that was calculated to fail. I've also seen cheapies where the
wires were just punched into slots and crimped, no solder. Same deal,
probably calculated to fail right after the (short) warranty ran out.
Both cases are easy to fix beforehand, would be worth looking into new
motors to see.

Stan

wrote in
:

On Sep 25, 9:12*am, Doug White wrote:
I was looking forward to spending a good bit of the weekend making
chips on my mill. *I'm making an aluminum sight base (weaver rail)
for a targ
et
pistol. Halfway through roughing it to size, I noticed my "Quiet
Suction Power" (Yeah, right) Shop vac wasn't running smoothly.
*Shortly after hearing the motor rev up & down erratically, I smelled
zorched motor smells.

It's a 14 year old 8 gallon model, and it hasn't actually seen tons
of use. *Milling chips are small, and I think I've emptied it only 3
or 4 times. *Motors seem to be the weakness of Shop Vac machines (not
much else to go wrong). *It died Friday night, so my email to the
factory about a replacement motor will go unanswered until Monday. *I
can get a replacement machine from Amazon for $67. *I found one place
on-line tha
t
will sell me the whole top head assembly for ~$90. *If the motor is
mor
e
than $50 with shipping, I'll be looking for a new vacuum.

The only big objections I have to the one I have is that it's still
too loud to run continuously w/o ear protection, and their motors
aren't very robust.

The alternative to just replacing it with another one is to spend
more bucks to get something like a Fein, which is supposed to be very
quiet.
*
I have a hose setup with a nozzle that is all configured for standard
ShopVac 2.5" hose, and I don't know how much fussing would be
required to adapt that to the Fein.

Suggestions? *Thoughts? Comments?

Doug White

Have never had a real Shop-Vac brand go bad, have had several
Craftsmans smoke. Current Shop-Vac is one of the old ones that still
has a metal canister so maybe they're making them cheaper these days.
There have been a number of add-ons to quiet shop vac motors, usually
along the lines of a foam-lined bucket over the top with various
methods for air passage. Biggest thing is to make sure you've either
got a HEPA canister on it or both the foam sleeve and paper bag on it
when picking up chips and keep the filters cleaned off. Chips in the
motor is a Bad Thing.

I've had very good luck with the Gore CleanStream filters.

http://www.cleanstream.com/

Been using the same one since I bought it 14 years ago. I took a quick
look to see if it had been punctured & let grit into the motor, but it
looks OK.

This is the second "ShopVac" brand machine that I've had the motor
bearings die on. The CleanStream filter should be much better than the
standard paper/foam ones. My only concern is that it might cut down on
the airflow a bit & reduce cooling.

Doug White

Gunner Asch wrote:

Ive got both a Rigid and a big Craftsman and as long as I keep the
filters clean...both seen to work fine. And I use both for sucking
chips off the milling machines, both wet and dry.


My Crapsman had the impeller fail once already. The flashing on my mom's roof is heavier
aluminum. The beer can in my hand only half as thick.

Wes

On 9/25/2010 2:48 PM, Doug White suggested:

(...)

I've had very good luck with the Gore CleanStream filters.

http://www.cleanstream.com/

I second that motion.

My cleanstream continues to perform excellently, after
years of abuse.

--Winston -- Hangs the filter upside down and hoses it
off. It spins like crazy.


--
Corporate executive forgets to commit a felony for 24 hours.
Film at 11.

Doug White wrote in
:

I was looking forward to spending a good bit of the weekend making
chips on my mill. I'm making an aluminum sight base (weaver rail) for
a target pistol. Halfway through roughing it to size, I noticed my
"Quiet Suction Power" (Yeah, right) Shop vac wasn't running smoothly.
Shortly after hearing the motor rev up & down erratically, I smelled
zorched motor smells.

It's a 14 year old 8 gallon model, and it hasn't actually seen tons of
use. Milling chips are small, and I think I've emptied it only 3 or 4
times. Motors seem to be the weakness of Shop Vac machines (not much
else to go wrong). It died Friday night, so my email to the factory
about a replacement motor will go unanswered until Monday. I can get
a replacement machine from Amazon for $67. I found one place on-line
that will sell me the whole top head assembly for ~$90. If the motor
is more than $50 with shipping, I'll be looking for a new vacuum.

The only big objections I have to the one I have is that it's still
too loud to run continuously w/o ear protection, and their motors
aren't very robust.

The alternative to just replacing it with another one is to spend more
bucks to get something like a Fein, which is supposed to be very
quiet. I have a hose setup with a nozzle that is all configured for
standard ShopVac 2.5" hose, and I don't know how much fussing would be
required to adapt that to the Fein.

And the winner is: A Fein Turbo II. It's very pricey, but almost _20
dB_ quieter than the ShopVac. The woodworking folks all swear by them.
The motor is cooled by a separate fan, rather than the airflow, so you
aren't sucking fine dust past the motor, and overheating it when the
filter gets clogged. Apparently a 2 1/2" hose will plug right into it
just fine.

Doug White

if you don't need the ability to suck up water, why not get a wood turner's
dust collector - harbor freight sells small/cheap, and more $ gets you
better - they use AC motors not brush motors so they are a lot quieter

"Doug White" wrote in message
...
Doug White wrote in
:

I was looking forward to spending a good bit of the weekend making
chips on my mill. I'm making an aluminum sight base (weaver rail) for
a target pistol. Halfway through roughing it to size, I noticed my
"Quiet Suction Power" (Yeah, right) Shop vac wasn't running smoothly.
Shortly after hearing the motor rev up & down erratically, I smelled
zorched motor smells.

It's a 14 year old 8 gallon model, and it hasn't actually seen tons of
use. Milling chips are small, and I think I've emptied it only 3 or 4
times. Motors seem to be the weakness of Shop Vac machines (not much
else to go wrong). It died Friday night, so my email to the factory
about a replacement motor will go unanswered until Monday. I can get
a replacement machine from Amazon for $67. I found one place on-line
that will sell me the whole top head assembly for ~$90. If the motor
is more than $50 with shipping, I'll be looking for a new vacuum.

The only big objections I have to the one I have is that it's still
too loud to run continuously w/o ear protection, and their motors
aren't very robust.

The alternative to just replacing it with another one is to spend more
bucks to get something like a Fein, which is supposed to be very
quiet. I have a hose setup with a nozzle that is all configured for
standard ShopVac 2.5" hose, and I don't know how much fussing would be
required to adapt that to the Fein.

And the winner is: A Fein Turbo II. It's very pricey, but almost _20
dB_ quieter than the ShopVac. The woodworking folks all swear by them.
The motor is cooled by a separate fan, rather than the airflow, so you
aren't sucking fine dust past the motor, and overheating it when the
filter gets clogged. Apparently a 2 1/2" hose will plug right into it
just fine.

Doug White

On 9/28/2010 11:59 PM, Bill Noble wrote:
if you don't need the ability to suck up water, why not get a wood
turner's dust collector - harbor freight sells small/cheap, and more $
gets you better - they use AC motors not brush motors so they are a lot
quieter

My primary use of my small shop vac is to pull silicone dust out of my
HF bead blast cabinet. Would the dust collector work better for that?

"Doug White" wrote in message
...
Doug White wrote in
:

I was looking forward to spending a good bit of the weekend making
chips on my mill. I'm making an aluminum sight base (weaver rail) for
a target pistol. Halfway through roughing it to size, I noticed my
"Quiet Suction Power" (Yeah, right) Shop vac wasn't running smoothly.
Shortly after hearing the motor rev up & down erratically, I smelled
zorched motor smells.

It's a 14 year old 8 gallon model, and it hasn't actually seen tons of
use. Milling chips are small, and I think I've emptied it only 3 or 4
times. Motors seem to be the weakness of Shop Vac machines (not much
else to go wrong). It died Friday night, so my email to the factory
about a replacement motor will go unanswered until Monday. I can get
a replacement machine from Amazon for $67. I found one place on-line
that will sell me the whole top head assembly for ~$90. If the motor
is more than $50 with shipping, I'll be looking for a new vacuum.

The only big objections I have to the one I have is that it's still
too loud to run continuously w/o ear protection, and their motors
aren't very robust.

The alternative to just replacing it with another one is to spend more
bucks to get something like a Fein, which is supposed to be very
quiet. I have a hose setup with a nozzle that is all configured for
standard ShopVac 2.5" hose, and I don't know how much fussing would be
required to adapt that to the Fein.

And the winner is: A Fein Turbo II. It's very pricey, but almost _20
dB_ quieter than the ShopVac. The woodworking folks all swear by them.
The motor is cooled by a separate fan, rather than the airflow, so you
aren't sucking fine dust past the motor, and overheating it when the
filter gets clogged. Apparently a 2 1/2" hose will plug right into it
just fine.


--
I can see November from my front porch

On Tue, 28 Sep 2010 21:59:52 -0700, "Bill Noble"
wrote:

if you don't need the ability to suck up water, why not get a wood turner's
dust collector - harbor freight sells small/cheap, and more $ gets you
better - they use AC motors not brush motors so they are a lot quieter

"Doug White" wrote in message
0...
Doug White wrote in
:

I was looking forward to spending a good bit of the weekend making
chips on my mill. I'm making an aluminum sight base (weaver rail) for
a target pistol. Halfway through roughing it to size, I noticed my
"Quiet Suction Power" (Yeah, right) Shop vac wasn't running smoothly.
Shortly after hearing the motor rev up & down erratically, I smelled
zorched motor smells.

It's a 14 year old 8 gallon model, and it hasn't actually seen tons of
use. Milling chips are small, and I think I've emptied it only 3 or 4
times. Motors seem to be the weakness of Shop Vac machines (not much
else to go wrong). It died Friday night, so my email to the factory
about a replacement motor will go unanswered until Monday. I can get
a replacement machine from Amazon for $67. I found one place on-line
that will sell me the whole top head assembly for ~$90. If the motor
is more than $50 with shipping, I'll be looking for a new vacuum.

The only big objections I have to the one I have is that it's still
too loud to run continuously w/o ear protection, and their motors
aren't very robust.

The alternative to just replacing it with another one is to spend more
bucks to get something like a Fein, which is supposed to be very
quiet. I have a hose setup with a nozzle that is all configured for
standard ShopVac 2.5" hose, and I don't know how much fussing would be
required to adapt that to the Fein.

And the winner is: A Fein Turbo II. It's very pricey, but almost _20
dB_ quieter than the ShopVac. The woodworking folks all swear by them.
The motor is cooled by a separate fan, rather than the airflow, so you
aren't sucking fine dust past the motor, and overheating it when the
filter gets clogged. Apparently a 2 1/2" hose will plug right into it
just fine.

Doug White
Or even a decent central vac unit with a lamb bypass motor.

"Bill Noble" wrote in
:

if you don't need the ability to suck up water, why not get a wood
turner's dust collector - harbor freight sells small/cheap, and more $
gets you better - they use AC motors not brush motors so they are a
lot quieter

I used to have one of the big vertical bag dust collectors. I tested it
against several other vacuums:

http://yarchive.net/metal/shop_vac.html

It was noisier, and had less real suction than many other machines. The
Fein is rated at 57.8 dB, which is more than 30 dB quieter than my old
dust collector. There may be quieter dust collectors out there, but the
Harbor Freight ones don't qualify:

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-hp-mi...tor-94029.html

rated for "107-112" decibel level. That is FIFTY dB noisier than the
Fein. No thanks!

Doug White