Customer Reviews

Shop-Vac 9251310 10-Gallon 5.0 Peak HP Drywall Wet/Dry Vacuum

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this shop-vac before starting a big DIY drywall project, and it's been OK. It has quite a bit of suction, and it has a long hose and power cord, so you can usually drag it around without too much trouble. It's not too loud, and so far, it's done fine. The only thing I really don't like is that the intake has a kind of L-curve (apparently to stop objects from slamming into the filter) that tends to trap drywall crumbs and paper until the hose is blocked. Cleaning drywall dust out of the trap is easy enough, but no fun.

The main thing I still don't know, and wish I did, is whether the vacuum is particularly suited to drywall (i.e., some kind of dust-resistant motor), or whether it's just a normal shop-vac with a HEPA filter and the drywall tools. If so, you might want to consider getting a different Shop-Vac plus the cleanstream filter, drywall tool attachments, and some drywall dust bags.

Here's what you could get if you chose a different vacuum:

1) A blower. Most of the new, relatively quiet shop-vacs don't function as a blower, because instead of one big exhaust port that you could hook to a hose, they have a bunch of smaller ports to reduce noice (slightly). This vacuum sucks (which is good), but doesn't blow (which might not be good, if you want a blower).

2) A pump. You can use this shop-vac to suck up water into the bucket, but you will have to pour out the bucket every ten gallons, or set the shop-vac someplace where it can drain and use a long hose. Some of the others come with a pump, so you can drain a basement or a swimming pool by sucking the water into your shop-vac and letting it pump uphill.

3) More suction. More suction is always good. The drywall shop-vac does fine for piles of drywall dust and sawdust, but there is always a little bit left. I often wonder whether a little more power would do a little better.

4) Bigger or smaller bucket size. I have no problem with 10 gallons, but you might want something smaller and more manueverable, or bigger so that you have to empty it less often.

5) Household clean-up tools. This vac comes with the 2 1/2 inch wide toolset, which isn't that great for cleaning your house or car. You can buy the other hoses, but some of the other vacs might come with them.

great vac good suction
would buy again
however:
could be less expensive
should come with an brush attachment but didn't
friction fit tubing will work loose, have to constantly keep snugging up the fittings.

Not expecting much for the price but surprised. Have been using Craftsman and Ridgid Vacs for years with upgraded filters. This vacuum, was a great investment and beats the typical shop vacs by far. It doesn't seal as well as some of the super high priced comercial drywall vacs do but I've seen a substantial decrease in drywall dust even during small projects. Lightweight and a great combination of filter and filter bag. Highly reccomend for medium to low frequency drywall projects.

REAL RATING: 0 stars

I bought this supposed "industrial" or "professional" vac for its stated purpose: to clean-up drywall dust. I'm not a professional, just a homeowner rebuilding one house, part-time. That's all I needed the machine for.

We sand using a vacuum connected to a $35.00 screen sanding set-up, so that the dust goes directly into the vacuum, rather than creating clouds of dust and vacuuming later. The shop-vac worked, but not as efficiently as I expected for a claimed "drywall vac".

Out of the box the switch was bad but functioned, so I limped along with it for a while. I finally called shop-vac and they agreed to send me a new motor assembly hesitantly, even though it was well within warranty. I was told that they "don't manufacture the motor assembly". A cowardly way of saying "made by a 3rd party in China". When I got the new motor assembly the old switch started working better, so I waited to switch motor assemblies. The vac did work, but never had the power of my old $69.00 Craftsman machine.

Then, one day the motor stared to smell like it was burning up, so I immediately switched it out with the replacement. We went back to sanding and in no time that motor started to go bad and get noisier and noisier. Within 35 hours of run-time it was clear that the motor was nearly gone.

At this point it was apparent that I wasted my money buying a Chinese made toy under the guise of a brand name that no longer stands for quality. So, I was forced to do some research for a new machine and discovered the WAP Attix 8. Needless to say, I bought the WAP to replace the shop-vac garbage.

So far it does everything it claims to do, properly and far more quietly than ANY shop vac I have ever experienced. Although it costs more than I wanted to spend on a vac, I need to get the job done w/o endangering my family. I recommend the WAP 8 if you want to do drywall work. Mine came from Ultimate Garage which has extensive technical reviews and stands behind what they sell. You can find it here on Amazon as well.

In any event, buy what you're comfortable with, but DO NOT BUY SHOP VAC! (And for the record, I have nothing to do with WAP, I'm an experienced tool user but not a tool junky, I just want what I need to get my house fixed.)