[Admin]

It doesn’t matter whether you work with wood for fun or if you sell the pieces you make. When you head into the shop, you’re going to make a mess. It’s just the nature of woodworking. If you don’t have a good vacuum, cleaning up that mess is going to be a chore. I’ve never seen a cheap vacuum that can handle sawdust and wood shavings very well, but I have seen a few that burned out their motors because keeping a shop clean was more than they could handle. RIDGID NXT Has Set the Bar High for Wet/Dry Vacuums

Have you tried out the RIDGID NXT wet/dry vac yet?

 

[FlyingSawdust]

Hi,

In a YouTube tool review video, the reviewer is holding a decibel measurement of 94.8 db on a smartphone as he's running the RIDGID NXT wet/dry vac. That's extremely loud! True, it's cheap, but 94.8 db is inexcusable for us with hyperacusis, the inability to tolerate loud noises (per my audiologist). I worked in construction, then I used power tools without the use of any sort of ear protection. They never told us the damage we were doing to our hearing did they? True, I should have known.

So now when I buy tools I look for their decibel levels. For example, I chose California Air Tools when I recently bought my air compressor. A handyman that did some work for me last year decided to leave his red Porter Cable pancake in the pickup and use mine. He couldn't believe that we could talk over my CAT noise.

Does anyone recommend a quiet shop vac?

I have an Oneida Mini Gorilla on wheels in my shop, but I have to put on ear muffs when I run it, but in that purchase I had a very limited choice of excellent dust collection and noise generation.

 

[TenGees]

I have a fairly recent Ridgid vac that I'm very pleased with but I'm not sure of the model. I also have a Shop-Vac. Both are around 6 HP peak. Both are good vacs. I didn't notice that the Ridgid was overly noisy for a shop-vac but I haven't tried a real comparison of the two.

 

[JOAT]

When I first saw the picture, I thought they were bumper cars. Really. I've got a vac, and as long as it works I'm not getting a different one.

 

[RainMan 2.0]

I’ve got two . A small version and the large one . The small one requires me to wear ear plugs .
There great units though , whether it’s water or dust,

Actually I’m getting a little concerned ,as I haven’t seen my smaller one around for a while . Better go check

 

[CAD-Man]

I have the smallest one, I think it's 6 gallon, and yes it is loud. I even add one of their mufflers on it and it is louder then my large old model Ridgid 16 gallon vac. I did not see the video on YouTube, I will have to watched it.

CAD-Man

 

[DesertRatTom]

I put my DC unit in a covered area between my shop/shed and office/shed. I've given some thought to placing my air compressor out there. The DC doubles as a vacuum and with the wall, insulation, I really can barely hear it operating out there. Think I may have to add a light to notify me it's on. I always wear hearing protection these days. Don't know if I can boost my hearing aids any more.

 

[Cherryville Chuck]

I’ve got two . A small version and the large one . The small one requires me to wear ear plugs .
There great units though , whether it’s water or dust,

Actually I’m getting a little concerned ,as I haven’t seen my smaller one around for a while . Better go check

Maybe it's under the stack of insulation destined for your shop? Sorry Rick, couldn't resist. It's been too long since someone else ribbed you about that.

 

[albertvadas]

Yes, I've already used it, but I didn't like it. I don't know how you use it.

 

[John Smith_]

Yes, I've already used it, but I didn't like it. I don't know how you use it.

Dude - it's a VACUUM CLEANER. you plug it into the outlet, turn it on, stick the hose in the sawdust.

 

[old55]

Welcome to the forum @melisajons

 

[jw2170]

G'day @melisajons , welcome to the forum.