now this is on rather over looked tool in most shops,but it does come into use frequently even if you don,t really think of it as a (tool) and along with a decent broom and the option of using the exhaust port on the vacuum as a leaf blower , to blow dirt off the shop floor and entrance area,these do come in very handy in different conditions to get the shop cleaned up.
its also a very good idea to use the shop vac with the optional fine dust filter installed when your working on brakes as the brake dust tends to be toxic, so its best if you clean the brakes as much as you can before and during and maintenance procedure
(obviously a real leaf blowers significantly better at blowing crud out the shop door,but this works marginally well for small areas)
the shop vacuum has the additional function of being good at removing crap from small areas, before you start working or after you work on your car. especially for areas you can,t easily access, like when you bust a cars door window , and 2/3rds of the granulated glass falls inside the door and the rest is all over the cars interior, in small areas you'll need extra flexibility so a bit of 1" flex hose can be temporarily duct taped to the standard vacuums hose to allow you to clean the really small ,nearly un-accessible areas under seats and inside door panels.
obviously theres a large selection of brands and models and the choice should be based on function,and price to some extent. the small models don,t have the option of adding additional extra fine removable internal dust filters, which is a big advantage as the regular filters don,t catch much but the larger particles like sand,obviously they all have cartridge filters but those tend to be only good for things as fine as dirt and sand and without adding the optional fine dust filters they don,t tend to get everything so theres a fine fog of dust exiting the standard vacuum that settles over the rest of the shop,(really bad for new paint, etc.)the smaller versions don,t really have the suction to pull fine bits of broken glass crystal fragments out of door crevices, when the vacuum nozzle is not directly applied to the area,but theres no sense in spending more cash or getting a larger bulky unit that's hard to move and store when its not used.
after using several I found this as a decent compromise
THISW ONES DECENT BUT LACKS POWER
http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardware ... ogId=10053
THIS IS THE ONE I PURCHASED AND I RECOMMEND IT, remember to change filter elements frequently and a couple quarts of water and a couple drops of dawn dish washing liquid in the water traps a great deal of dust in the lower body before it gets to the filter
http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-16-Ga ... 5yc1vZbv79
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/sto ... ogId=10053
http://www.amazon.com/Craftsman-Shop-va ... nk22466-20
RIDGID 14 gallon pro vac 6 peak horsepower includes 2 extension wands, utility nozzle, car nozzle, wet nozzle and storage basket. This vac also offers new patented scroll noise reduction technology which allows for powerful and quiet performance.
* 14 Gallon Drum Size
* 6.0 Peak Horse Power
* On Board Accessory Storage
* 2 Extension Wands
* Utility Nozzle
* MFG Brand Name : RIDGID
* MFG Model # : WD1450
* MFG Part # : WD1450
I can also tell you my friend has this one and it works fine but at $150 its not noticeably better than the $100 version I selected above, in my opinion
http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardware ... ogId=10053
what you don,t want is the smaller and cheaper versions that don,t have the optional additional fine dust filter bags as they lack both the horsepower and suction to get the fine crap out of hard to reach places, (youll never notice the difference till you try BOTH) and the ability to trap fine dust like particles, before fogging them all over your shop (youll never notice the difference till you try BOTH)
I had this one below for several years and while it worked ,it was an eye opening experience to use a better vacuum, and once Id used the better versions at a friends shop with the internal fine dust bag option I just gave up on being cheap and bought a decent vacuum and I,M glad I did
http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardware ... ogId=10053
its also a very good idea to use the shop vac with the optional fine dust filter installed when your working on brakes as the brake dust tends to be toxic, so its best if you clean the brakes as much as you can before and during and maintenance procedure
(obviously a real leaf blowers significantly better at blowing crud out the shop door,but this works marginally well for small areas)
the shop vacuum has the additional function of being good at removing crap from small areas, before you start working or after you work on your car. especially for areas you can,t easily access, like when you bust a cars door window , and 2/3rds of the granulated glass falls inside the door and the rest is all over the cars interior, in small areas you'll need extra flexibility so a bit of 1" flex hose can be temporarily duct taped to the standard vacuums hose to allow you to clean the really small ,nearly un-accessible areas under seats and inside door panels.
obviously theres a large selection of brands and models and the choice should be based on function,and price to some extent. the small models don,t have the option of adding additional extra fine removable internal dust filters, which is a big advantage as the regular filters don,t catch much but the larger particles like sand,obviously they all have cartridge filters but those tend to be only good for things as fine as dirt and sand and without adding the optional fine dust filters they don,t tend to get everything so theres a fine fog of dust exiting the standard vacuum that settles over the rest of the shop,(really bad for new paint, etc.)the smaller versions don,t really have the suction to pull fine bits of broken glass crystal fragments out of door crevices, when the vacuum nozzle is not directly applied to the area,but theres no sense in spending more cash or getting a larger bulky unit that's hard to move and store when its not used.
after using several I found this as a decent compromise
THISW ONES DECENT BUT LACKS POWER
http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardware ... ogId=10053
THIS IS THE ONE I PURCHASED AND I RECOMMEND IT, remember to change filter elements frequently and a couple quarts of water and a couple drops of dawn dish washing liquid in the water traps a great deal of dust in the lower body before it gets to the filter
http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-16-Ga ... 5yc1vZbv79
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/sto ... ogId=10053
http://www.amazon.com/Craftsman-Shop-va ... nk22466-20
RIDGID 14 gallon pro vac 6 peak horsepower includes 2 extension wands, utility nozzle, car nozzle, wet nozzle and storage basket. This vac also offers new patented scroll noise reduction technology which allows for powerful and quiet performance.
* 14 Gallon Drum Size
* 6.0 Peak Horse Power
* On Board Accessory Storage
* 2 Extension Wands
* Utility Nozzle
* MFG Brand Name : RIDGID
* MFG Model # : WD1450
* MFG Part # : WD1450
I can also tell you my friend has this one and it works fine but at $150 its not noticeably better than the $100 version I selected above, in my opinion
http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardware ... ogId=10053
what you don,t want is the smaller and cheaper versions that don,t have the optional additional fine dust filter bags as they lack both the horsepower and suction to get the fine crap out of hard to reach places, (youll never notice the difference till you try BOTH) and the ability to trap fine dust like particles, before fogging them all over your shop (youll never notice the difference till you try BOTH)
I had this one below for several years and while it worked ,it was an eye opening experience to use a better vacuum, and once Id used the better versions at a friends shop with the internal fine dust bag option I just gave up on being cheap and bought a decent vacuum and I,M glad I did
http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardware ... ogId=10053
