Nearly 3 years ago, I bought a new Shop Vac, a “5.6 Peak HP” model, advertised as an Ultra Pro Series wet/dry vac with leaf blower.
This has been a recurring Black Friday/holiday lighting deal model, and I figured I’d need a good shop vacuum for the new house, for the kinds of stuff I wouldn’t want to use my Festool dust extractor for.
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And I shouldn’t rely on review samples. Despite holding onto a good Fein vac test sample, I needed to buy something for personal use.
Sunday morning, I discovered puddles in the basement. Huge puddles, in lots of places.
We have a sump pump in the utility room, and the water seemed to have been everywhere else. I need to make calls this week to talk about a new drainage solution. There were signs that I should have handled this sooner, but that was about the back lawn being too soggy last year and too dry this year with less watering. So… I should have talked to a drainage expert earlier in the season, but I also didn’t anticipate water somehow finding its way in, and from non-obvious locations.
Anyway…
Great, this is the kind of thing I bought my Shop Vac for. I’ve used it a few times for light stuff, since there are always other vacs available or in need of testing.
Umm… where’s the foam sleeve? It didn’t come with one!!!
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Good thing I had my Cleanstream filter, which can be used for wet or dry pickup.
This vac has a drain – great! Too bad I didn’t use it at all.
No matter which nozzle I tried, the vac was slow and inefficient when it came to pickup up water. It just didn’t do a great job with it. I typically advocate for vacs with 2-1/2″ hoses, since they allow for easier pickup of the kinds of stuff that can clog smaller hoses. Plus, on a shop vacuum, a smaller hose typically indicates a lower powered motor and less suction.
The nozzles just… it was slow and frustrating. This vac just wasn’t making the stressful situation any easier.
I mentioned it before, but I HATE how unfriendly the top motor component is. It can separate to be used as a blower? Great! It even has attachments for reaching over and inside of gutters.
But how do you pick up the whole vac? You need to use two hands and pick it up right under the two lid locks. Uch. I tried to use the top handles before, and the motor simply pulled up and off.
It was time to dump the water out of the drum. As mentioned, there’s a built-in drain – great! But I ended up removing the top and dumping the collection container. This worked well.
A mitigation guy was on the way with fans, and I remembered my Fein Turbo II vacuum sample. It has a smaller diameter hose, metal wands, a long cord, and a quick check of the Amazon listing confirmed that it can serve as a wet or dry vac.
I believe I have the 8.4 gallon version. There’s no drain port, but I also didn’t miss it. It shut off a few times, and each time I assumed that a “fill sensor” detected that it was time to dump the collected contents.
The Fein vac was far more effective at sucking up water than the Shop Vac. It worked beautifully well. Dumping it out? Eh, I took the lid off, detached the hose, and dumped out the water.
The faster water pick-up was so much more convenient than the time a bottom drain would have saved me.
The Shop Vac did come in handy, though. I didn’t catch a piece of wet cardboard or foam wrap, and it clogged the utility sink. Knowing I can rinse the Shop Vac tub a little easier, I powered it up and sucked out the gunk from the sink.
I don’t doubt that the Shop Vac might have fared better with a smaller diameter hose and/or a different selection of nozzles. But when I needed it, and for what I needed it to do, it disappointed me.
The little things are important when it comes to different types of tools. With this vac, its detachable handle, the huge nozzles perfectly suited for clearing up a messy workshop, and the absence of a foam sleeve for wet pick-up worked against it.
Now, I’m curious. Once everything is calm again (a car accident this morning – everyone is okay – has busied my life further), I’ll have to examine how the two vacuums compare when picking up water in different contexts.
In my situation, the Shop Vac’s nozzles were too big, and they weren’t flat enough.
The Fein actually also comes with special rubber strips for wet pickup, but I couldn’t find them easily, and so I used it with the already-attached brush strips. I probably should have taken them off, but it worked so well I kept at it.
I don’t mean to suggest that the Shop Vac isn’t good, because it does have its “pros.” But despite my feelings a few years ago, it’s not a fantastic general purpose vac. I would go so far to say it’s somewhat of a specialty vac. If you don’t use the detachable motor for its blower function, it means settling for the vac’s compromised design without any benefits for it.
The folks that make the new Dewalt wet/dry vacs and other new Dewalt wet/dry vacs have emailed me a few times. I keep forgetting to respond, but this experience made me wish I had accepted the offer for a test sample a lot sooner. The water pipe drain connector of the 16 gallon hand cart model might have saved me a few trips to the slop sink and sump pit.
That all said, I now find myself wondering about which wet/dry shop vacuum I’d recommend to someone like myself, who might need it for general purpose cleanup tasks, as well as unforeseen needs.
fred
There are indeed experts who understand basement water infiltration issues and what to do about them. I suspect that there are also a fair share of charlatans who pose at such – offering the most costly solutions as the first and only option. I am not a member of either fraternity – but will offer a few observations.
When confronted with a basement water issue or even flood our first instinct is that drastic action is needed. This may be true if this is a regular occurrence or one that is on the increase. Some houses get built during periods of drought where test pits suggest that water tables are well below basement levels. Then during more normal times – these basement will take on water. Those houses may need basement waterproofing, French drains etc.. The inverse case is that a normally dry basement may take on water during some extraordinary event (say a 1000 year storm) or an exceptionally wet period – where groundwater rises to unprecedented levels. Such house may not need drastic and expensive corrective action.
None of this is to dissuade you from seeking expert advise – but you might do some of your own sleuthing first.
If you have not already done so, take a close look at your gutters and downspouts. Are they clean – do they divert water well away from your foundation? Does the soil around your house slope away from the foundation? If not you might be able to undertake corrective actions yourself.
Stuart
Good advice, thanks.
Last year, the back yard was always squishy in certain areas. I talked to neighbor, they said that houses up the hill had removed trees, and everyone has been getting more water. It was still squishy after mid-summer irrigation adjustments.
Gutters were recently cleaned.
There is a drain pipe issue, with an angle break right near the curb. I’ve been meaning to deal with it, but I saw water coming out and didn’t seem too concerned. The issues were all the way on the other side of the house.
We have a french drain.
I have some more inspections to do this week, but certain areas are inaccessible due to deck. It’s in worn shape, needs to be replaced. Siding too. We’ve been holding off on both.
There were flash flood warnings last week, and then we were hit hard by several hard rain storms. I’m guessing that the ground was simply over-saturated.
I need a few trees removed, which might make things even worse.
It’s a complicated matter.
If there’s a hole somewhere and water came in, I need to find it, but nothing seemed obvious so far.
The hole shown here – https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/how-would-you-fill-this-foundation-hole/%3C/a%3E – is right near the sump pit, and away from where we believe the water infiltrated.
A week ago, neighbor had irrigation company over, was complaining about something being too wet.
So, ultimately, I think it’s an issue with unusual water volume.
The yeti
In canada we tar the foundations. To prevent water seepage. Do they not do that in NY
MacLean
My Rigid 6.5 hp 16 gallon unit is ten years plus old and is a beast. I’ve used it for countless sheetrock cleanup jobs and it sucks water like a champ…used it to dewater a trench or two until I bought a trash pump. I also use it extensively with my pressure washer floor cleaner on our muddy garage and shop floors. Rain and mud half the year in Oregon. It keeps right up with my 3000 psi pressure washer. Hell…I’ve even tortured it with tunneling under sidewalks…using it to pump the slurry. Filters are cheap and readily available. It wheels around great and I’ve never had less than two lengths of hose.
Eric H
I highly recommend the Bucket Head Wet Dry Vac from Home Depot. I have a basement with a rubble-stone foundation. All you need are a few extra 5 gallon buckets that you can change out when one gets full. The 5 gallon buckets are great to get the dirty water out of the house without having to worry about what you are dumping down the drain.
John
It sounds like your trouble may have been with the hepa filter on your shop vac. When I do wet pickup I just pull the filter off, I’ve never bothered with the foam sleeve.
Lauren
I don’t use a filter either. My shopvac is 16 gallon 5.75 peak HP and it sucked up about 30 gallons worth of water no problem when a rodent chewed the apartment water hoses. Why would one need a filter? It’s just water.
Stuart
That’s possible, but the suction seemed decent. The problem was that the seal wasn’t good enough, pulling air and water, and not at high enough velocity.
It’ll clean out a bucket of water in no time. It just wasn’t clearing up the water as fast as I’d have liked. The Fein did a lot better, and its filter was still installed.
It worked better but awfully slow when I swapped it to a narrow nozzle, but that would have taken forever to clean up.
Dave
I am a residential water control specialist. Grade and gutter issues are the culprit the majority of the time. But things are not always that obvious.
Perimeter drainage tile issues, improperly sized or installed window wells, landscaping that holds too much water, settled concrete that is sloped towards the foundation, sidewalks poured too high (holding water in too close), a new addition to the original home, and too much water from your neighbor all are common as well, with window well issues being the most frequent.
Settling under decks is also really common, so I’d gain access and check that out. Remember that mulch or decorative rock are both just sieves, so if you have them you need to rake them back and check the actual grade of the soil close to the foundation. Obviously the grade needs to slope away.
The first step is to do a thorough inspection on the outside at corresponding places to where water came in. Oftentimes this inspection finds the issue.
Almost daily we see homes simply built too low in the ground, and this issue often requires multiple solutions, all that could have been avoided if the home would have just been built a bit shallower/the “plate” of the home just built a bit higher out of the ground. Homes built in a hole are hard to fix, and it can get somewhat expensive.
I’ve seen lots of weird and funky deals as well, but the above are by far the most common. Last week we saw a leaking sump pump line, a cracked irrigation line (irrigation is not common here), and plugged buried downspout extensions (buried downspout extensions are the work of the devil).
If I was just blindly playing the odds without seeeing it, my money would go on grade/slope away from the foundation , guttering/downspout issues, and window wells issues.
Stuart
Thanks!
A lot of those things seem possible.
One window is below the deck, but looked in reasonable condition. The other looks to have some rust damage, and I’ve made a point to reinstall it soon. The water didn’t seem to come in there, though. although it’s possible.
A drainage pro is coming for a walkaround next Monday or Tuesday, and I’ll see what he thinks. Until then, I’ll see what I can do to repair or replace the window wells.
There’s definitely too much water. There’s been some moss in the front, all season.
I checked the gutters – we had a small blockage in one of the downspouts, but after it was cleared there was free flow to the curb.
fred
I was not paying any special attention to this issue when we bought our house in the 1970s – but we’ve had a very dry basement over the years. Just dumb luck I guess.
When I look at the elevation of our area it is about 100 feet above some surrounding communities – and my property slopes away from the house – such that our backyard pond is about 25 feet below the grade where the house sits.
I did have one issue right after moving in. We had a basement closet that seemed to get rather damp. It was in the small finished area with knotty-pine (very 60’s-ish) walls and a raised hardwood floor – outside what became my shop. Pulling away the back wall of the closet, I discovered a sealed-up window. Outside the house there was a raised patio area with the sealed window buried below it. We had wanted to rip the patio out and this discovery speeded us up in doing so.
Our place in Florida is surrounded by sand and achieves a dry “basement” by not having one and by being up on “stilts”. The ground floor is an open to the air storage area. This would help – but might not avoid all damage should the Gulf waters get pushed up in a direct hit of a major hurricane. With only one bridge off the island – residents who stay for hurricane season usually heed evacuation warnings. Last year we were spared by being on the west side of the biggest hurricane.
Stuart
There’s a sealed window under our deck too, and behind the basement wall paneling. I can see it just beyond the utility room opening.
The last we checked (recently), it looked alright from the outside.
adam
I agree with John.
I have an 11 year old 9-gal. craftsman shop vac and anytime I use it for water i do not use any filter or sleeve and it sucks water like a champ.
Michael Roach
the offer still stands….your friends at Alton (DeWalt Wet/Dry Vacs)
Jim Felt
Hah! I have one of the long ago discontinued big rear wheel Dewalt vacs from maybe 2000-ish and I used it around the pool area for wet crud extraction forever. And last week a painter used it with a step down hose for three straight days and it’s still nearly a quiet as my Fein.
That’s amazing quality to me. Though online it’s spare parts list keeps shrinking. (Never needed any though).
Why didn’t it sell better? $500 maybe?
Michael Roach
whole new series of product now with the 14 Gallon starting at $149. performance of dewalt at better prices.
Framer joe
Dave makes good points, ..and
..your gutters should not drain into the yard, but into ” flow Wells” drainage pits.
Flow Wells can be added anywhere in a yard where there is drainage problems.
Definitely have the grade sloped from the house….
The cellar walls should be sealed on the inside with, Drylock waterproof paint…and the floor..
Obviously french drains on the outside will cost a fortune or if installed on the inside of the cellar.
The shop vac you have ,bites…the Fein is very good..Hilti actually makes the best shop vac… Makita makes very good vacs.
Check out You Tube , Concord Carpenter shop vac tests…. DeWalt (although my fav brand) vacs are terrible.
fred
The Dewalt (like Stanley brand and Porter Cable brand) are made by Alton Industries.
charles
I have a near 30 year old Craftsman wet/dry vac. Still going strong. Most recent use was water in around the hvac from a clogged condensate drain. pulled enough vacuum to actually dry out the concrete floor if I left the nozzle in one place for more than a couple of seconds.
Flotsam
I just picked up a Shop Vac 10G as a 2nd vac for $20. I noticed the same issue with water suction compared to my Ridgid vac,
My solution is to retain the Ridgid for water duties and the Shop Vac will go into the shop where it will be used for dust removal.
Hang Fire
I have a 5 or 6 year old Shop Vac with a built-in water pump with garden hose connection. It is a water pumping beast. However it is the second of its type, the first one burned up its motor the first time I used it. So there are “good ones” and “bad ones”. Proper non-filter configuration is essential.
Every homeowner deals with water at some point. Except for fire, nothing is as destructive to a house. Water woes often lead to termite woes, as moist wood is more yummy to termites.
You’ve already received good advice here. I’ll add, be relentless. Don’t stop. Clean gutters and downspouts OFTEN. Run drain lines from downspouts away from the house. Build up the grade around your foundation to let water naturally drain away. Re-route downspouts if necessary to avoid catch areas. Regrade the lawn if necessary. Don’t delay. Don’t put off. Just do it.
John McDougald
Like others have said, I too, never use the filter on my Craftsman ShopVac when sucking water. Mine actually has a float valve that prevents water from getting into the motor. I believe the user manual even says to remove the filters when using as a wet vac.
Stuart
The user manual says to use a foam filter sleeve, which was not included in my package.
Their regular filters are paper and are not rinsable.
The filter I used, a Cleanstream HEPA filter, IS washable and is designed for wet or dry pickup.
ridgidvac
I use the ridgid vf7000 foam filter on my wd1641 for wet pick-up & install the vp2000 pump for draining liquid from vac
At least the foam filter will protect the vac motor from wet debris. Unfortunately the vf7000 foam filter is sold seperately instead of being included with the vac
Ken
One should never use the paper filters on a shop vacuum when used for liquid pickup, that’s just common sense.
But I don’t understand why you are comparing a VERY expensive Fein wet/dry vac to the everyday wet/dry vacs.