What do you guys use for shop vacs? I'm going to set up a little spot for doing port work and need a good shop vac overall. I was looking at the 5 gallon rigid at home depot, but wondered if I should go bigger
My shop vacs are pretty old. I used to buy the Sears ones (made by Emerson Electric?) that became the HD Rigid ones.
But, back to your question, the larger capacity shop vacs (e.g. '16 gallon') usually had more powerful motors and higher suction. They also came with the larger diameter hoses, which I liked for picking up wood chips. But the physical size made them clumsy, so I settled on the '12 gallon' size
I have 3: one, in the basement; one in the garage; and a third that I guess I got at a garage sale as a spare. I like they are all the same, so they use the same filters, etc.
So, check the HP ratings, and consider what you plan to suck up with them: dust, wood chips, water, etc. You may also want more than one, in different locations, or for different applications, and how much room you can devote to them.
Philbert
