There will again be three major wet/dry shop vacuum deals this year. Sears will offer a Craftsman vac, Home Depot will offer a Ridgid vac, and Lowes will offer a Shop-Vac vac.
Here’s a look at all three deals, and some final thoughts about which I would recommend and why.
For more thoughts and reader comments about the individual shop vacuum deals, check out the previous posts about most of these individual models:
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Home Depot Ridgid Shop Vacuum Deal for Black Friday 2014
Lowes Shop-Vac Vacuum Deal for Black Friday 2014
Amazon Shop-Vac Lightning Deal Pre-BF 2014
Sears: Craftsman 12-Gallon XSP Vacuum for $70
Features
- 12-gal tank
- 5.5 peak HP motor
- 2-1/2″ x 7′ hose
- 20′ power cord
- 2 extension wands, utility nozzle, crevice tool, floor/squeegee nozzle combo, cartridge filter, wet foam filter
- blower port
- casters
- integrated handles
- built-in drain
What We Think
This is the most compelling deal, in my opinion. I’ve tested this Craftsman vac, and it’s well built. Everything about this vac is user-friendly, from the giant on/off switch, to the hose that won’t fall off when you use it to drag the vacuum around.
Compared to Home Depot and Lowes’ Ridgid and Shop Vac deals, this is the only “regular” model that’s out there.
The large hose size means this vac can be more easily connected to larger accessories and benchtop woodworking power tools. It’s better to use a wider a hose and step down to a narrower nozzle or accessory than to step up from a narrow hose to a wider adapter or accessory.
This is the one I would buy.
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Buy Now(via Sears)
Home Depot: Ridgid 16-gallon Vacuum for $40
Features
- 16-gallon tank
- 5.0 peak HP motor
- 1-7/8″ x 7′ hose
- 15′ power cord
- 2 extension wands, utility nozzle, pleated paper filter
- blower port
- casters
- integrated handles
- built-in drain
What We Think
This isn’t a bad deal, but the 1-7/8″ hose size is limiting, and reports of broken vacs or underpowered suction have me a little worried.
It has some nice features, decent on-paper specs, and despite a few bad reviews it seems to have many positive recommendations.
Ridgid makes some great vacs and, unless I’m mistaken, the same company makes vacuums for Craftsman.
You don’t get as many accessories as with the other deals here, which you might or might not care about.
My local Home Depot locations all have 85 of these vacuums in stock. Home Depot isn’t selling a $70 or $80 vacuum for $40 – this is a wet/dry vacuum specifically designed to sell for $40.
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
Lowes: Shop-Vac 12-Gallon Vacuum for $40
Features
- 12-gallon stainless steel tank
- 6 HP Peak motor
- 1-1/4″ x 7′ hose
- 18′ power cord
- Top carrying handle
- Rear blower port
- On-board cord and attachment storage
- Fits large cartridge filter, 10 to 14 gallon disposable collection bags, large foam filter
- 200 CFM air flow
- 60 inches sealed pressure
What We Think
This is a new model for this year, and it’s hard to tell if this is a Black Friday special buy, or a regular model. Local Lowes locations all have 20-32 units in stock, and so it seems that this is vac was specially designed to sell around the $40 Black Friday pricing.
The 1-1/4″ diameter hose doesn’t seem congruent with the “6 HP peak” motor rating.
Other features and specs, such as the 18-foot power cord, 7-foot hose, and stainless steel canister are appealing.
Adding a larger hose to this bundle would still result in a lower out-of-pocket cost than Sears’ Craftsman wet/dry vacuum deal. But that’s if you can shake the feeling that this vac could have been designed around the $40 price point.
Shop-Vacs generally have great reputations, but it’s hard to say whether this model will share in that reputation.
It’s not really fair to judge this vac based solely on its specs or price, but I cannot help but feel a little hesitant towards it. If it was instead bundled with a 2-1/2″ hose and was priced at $50, I would be a little more encouraged to consider it in a more positive light.
Shop vacuums are supposed to last many years. Black Friday specials could very well last a long time, but there’s a possibility that costs were cut in order to provide for a $50.
It’s also possible that Lowes is losing money on these vacuums and swapped in a smaller diameter hose in order to minimize that loss. Loss leaders aren’t unheard of during the holiday season, where retailers might lose money on certain products that have a higher tendency to increase foot traffic to the stores.
I really don’t know what to think about this deal, but I lean more favorably towards the Craftsman as I feel it’s a safer bet.
Buy Now(via Lowes)
Amazon: Shop-Vac Ultra for $89
Features
- 12-gallon tank
- 6.5 HP peak motor
- 8′ x 2-1/2″ hose with locking attachment
- Detachable blower
- Large easy-reach power switch
- (2) 22-1/2″ extension wands
- 14″ floor nozzle
- 120° elbow
- Crevice tool
- 8″ utility nozzle
- Ergonomic elbow handle grip
- Blower nozzle
- Concentrator nozzle
What We Think
This was a fantastic deal, but it was only live for a limited time on Amazon. My instinct says that there will likely be a repeat deal, but there’s no guarantee of that. Sears’ Craftsman vac pricing will probably remains table throughout the holiday season. If you’re not desperate for a new wet/dry shop vacuum right now, I would say to watch for this deal to return. And if it doesn’t, the Craftsman XSP vac is a great fallback.
Buy Now(via Amazon)
Recommendations
Since the Amazon deal is not guaranteed to return, I will only rank the major brick and mortar retailers’ deals.
Craftsman – a safe bet, great value, but more expensive. You get a good vacuum for your money, and accessories that will satisfy most users’ needs
Ridgid – a returning deal, with some negative user feedback, but mostly positive reviews. Fewer accessories and an in-between hose size means you might have to spend more later on, but also suggests you get more vacuum for your money.
Shop-Vac – a new and unproven model with great features (including the stainless steel canister), and on-paper specs. More accessories suggests you might get less vacuum for your money.
Bruce
I’d like somebody to define HP before I’d ever use it to rate a machine. If you go with the most common electrical measure of 746 watts. A good choice as it’s an electric motor, a 5 hp machine would draw almost 32 amps. Uh, no it’s not 5hp. Anybody know that amp draw of these three units? Might actually give you something you could measure. How about a wet suction test? How fast will they empty a five gallon bucket?
You know what I really want, less lies in advertising.
Stuart
The HP ratings are only useful in comparing vacs of a particular brand. For instance, it should be same to assume that a Shop-Vac with a “6.5 peak HP” motor will provide more suction power than a Shop-Vac with a “5 peak HP” motor. That’s really the only way to use this metric. As you said “peak HP” is fictional, as it implies amperage way higher than residential outlets can provide.
Bruce
I looked up ‘vacuum horsepower’ and found this entry:
“Horsepower
This is a rating that was used primarily for marketing purposes and had little or no relation to vacuum cleaner performance in the real world. Thankfully, it has been largely done away with as a vacuum cleaner specification.
Often referred to as “Peak Horsepower” these ratings were obtained by removing the fans from the vacuum motor and subjecting it to the maximum load possible before the motor burned out. Then, a complex formula was applied to come up with a Peak Horsepower rating. Again, this specification is meaningless in terms of evaluating the cleaning ability of a vacuum cleaner.”
OK, so what HP is actually useful for is how much abuse the motor will take. A motor that can over amp at a higher level could run hotter without burning up. Of course I can build you a motor that will turn at 60amps all day long but it wouldn’t perform at all when when you turned those amps down. It’s even more useless than I though.
Del
I have the same Craftsman XSP Vac. One of my requirements as well was having a 2 1/2″ hose. I can’t speak for the other models, but I did compare the XSP to comparable Ridgid & Shop Vac models before I made my purchase.
It’s a great vac for sure. Build quality is very good. Rolls around easily and has sucked up everything I’ve thrown at it. I also like the shape compared to my older 12 gallon Craftsman, which was fatter and more awkward to carry with its two side handles vs. the skinnier XSP and top handle.
Robin
Stuart there is a new OEM for Craftsman Vacs. They used to be made by Emerson Electric, the same company that makes Ridgid Vacs but now they are being made by the same company that manufactures the Vacmaster brand of vacuums.
Kent
Any recommendations on “quiet” wet & dry vacs?
Stuart
Not really. If you want quiet, you would probably have to look at dust extractors with variable suction. A lot of these models also have wet/dry capabilities.
Adam
The quietest I’ve ever used are the ones from Fein. Really expensive though, and I guess they fall more into ‘dust extractor’ than ‘shop vac’.
Pete
I have a shop vac similar to the one shown. It was purchased last Father’s Day. The motor looks to be the same, same handle , on/off switch and a small diameter hose like the one shown. It works ok, If it wasn’t a give I would probably have taken it back and got something with a bigger hose and better casters. I find that medium sized stuff can get stuck fairly easily.
To answer another readers questions it draws 9.8amps.
Pete
Upon further research I believe my shop vac is nearly the same one as posted above, exept for the stainless tank which looks cool. While the “hose” is indeed 1-1/4″ the inlet to the hose is 1-1/8″ and when you put a wand extension on it the inlet is reduced to 1″. While I do get good suction, like I said above- it chokes on medium sized stuff because it has to go thru three 1″ wand inlets then a 1-1/8″ then to the 1-1/4″ hose.
Sean
I have the 12 gallon Craftsman at home….I wish somebody would make a powered brush bar for it so I could use it to vacuum carpets!
Tons of suction power, tons of capacity, and switching over to the green HEPA filter (expensive bugger, but you get 25% off if you buy it with the vacuum) means I can use it in the house on all sorts of icky dusty messes and not worry about blowing gross stuff all over. We have 3 cats and foster kittens for a local no-kill cat shelter, so it sees its fair share of gross messes.
A longer hose would be nice, and a more easily cleaned prefilter would also be a plus….but overall I love it. The onboard storage for almost every accessory it comes with is sweet, makes keeping track of everything super easy. XSP supposedly stands for extreme suction power and a new design, and while I can’t say for sure if that’s true, I know it has way more suction than my dad’s older 20 gallon shop vac ever did, and my 12 is running a HEPA filter that seriously needs to be cleaned right now.
For those looking for a quieter shop vacuum, try the 4 and 5 gallon Craftsman vacuums….they’re supposedly quieter than normal ones, but they are by no means silent!