Ridgid WD1450 Vac Extension Wand Holder

[neblinc]

I just bought this Vac at Home Depot and is it just me, or is there a problem trying to put the extension wand into the holder with the male end?
Seems to me the the holder will accept the female end but no way on the male end. Do I call customer service about this?

Randy


http://homepage.mac.com/randysweb/.Pictures/WD1450.jpg

[Wild Weasel]

Into the holder? What holder? I'm not quite sure what you're trying to do.

The famale end of the extension wand should stuck onto the end of the hose and then you put your final accessory on the male end of the wand.

[neblinc]

Ok, on the diagram I have circled in red the rear foot caster which has a place to store the wand extensions when you are not using the Vac.
So I have all the pieces together, hose,wands etc.
When I am done and ready to store the hose, according to the manual I just insert the male end of the wand onto the rear foot caster.
Well, it won't fit!

Randy

[Woussko]

If my memory is correct you have to try to insert the larger female end.

It normally works out better to just get a large box, cut off the 4 flaps and use it to store the hose and attachments. It's a good idea to keep a spare filter handy too.

If you don't like the box idea, maybe a large plastic waste basket would work.

[wwsmith]

Mine will only fit by using the female end and works fine.

[neblinc]

That defeats the whole purpose of leaving all the extensions & hose hooked together for storage.
I think this is a design flaw!!
This is a pic right out of the manual.
http://homepage.mac.com/randysweb/.Pictures/RIDGE.jpg

Randy

[Wild Weasel]

Well that diagram makes it pretty clear that you're right and it should fit.

Actually... now that I think of it, shouldn't the male end of the extension be the same as the end of the hose? I've got a bigger vac but I know that I can stick the end of hose over the thing on the wheels. Can you try that? If the end of the hose fits, then the end of the wand should fit as well... perhaps with just a bit more force.

My vac has a bunch more of those things for accessory storage instead of a bag.

[Woussko]

Should have been made so the smaller male end fits. I think a work-around might be to use a hose coupler. That way both ends of one wand can be the larger female size. It's sort of a half @$$ fix but should work. Try the female end of a wand and see if it does fit. If not, then the designing was really messed up. Actually your's isn't the first shop vac where they messed up. It really would be nicer if the smaller male end fit.

This kind of reminds me of the design for the plastic cases for Milwaukee Sawzalls. Look inside and try to figure where to store blades. Also look at some the other designing. I about flipped out thinking the designer had to have been high in the clouds. I ended up getting a used but good cond. steel case for mine. Sooooo much better

[amcnerl]

neblinc,

I have a different Ridgid vac but has the same feet as yours. My wand will only fit the holders on the female end. A thought is maybe 1 of the feet will accomodate both male or female. I haven't looked at mine but will tonight. I think either end should work also, would make using the vac for cleanup more convenient.

[Woussko]

Maybe the picture in this post will give you some ideas. The big cloth hopper bag can store the hose, an extension cord, wands and several attachments. I think this could be added to a any large size shop vac and especially if it has a steel or SS drum.

I'll try to get some idea of the prices on the parts to make up that kit and might post.

Click thumbnail (little pic) to see larger.

[neblinc]

You guy's are missing the point :confused:
There is a problem with the unit and I do not want work arounds. I want someone from Ridgid to admit to the flaw and either replace or repair it.
I have not heard back from customer service at all since I sent the info yesterday.
I spent over an hour at Home Depot trying to decide between all the models, and decided on this one for the size & hose storage that seemed to be the most bang for the buck.
I get it home, go through the manual, put it together, use it, then go to put everything away and it does not stow away like the manual shows.
So to me it is a defect that needs to be addressed by Ridgid.
I guess If I don't hear back from customer service, I will just take it back and get a Shop Vac Brand instead.

Randy

[wwsmith]

It appears only one of the feet is designed to work that way. Maybe the one you got was packaged incorrectly and you ended up with 4 feet all the same? You could try taking it back to HD and getting another (maybe open and verify the correct parts before leaving). They do have a 90 satisfaction policy. If this theory is correct, it would also be faster than waiting for Ridgid to get you the correct part even. Downside is knowing HD they will put yours back on the shelf and someone else will get the shaft. :(

I checked and I was incorrect in my previous post. I do not have the exact same model and mine is not designed to have this feature.

[Woussko]

I think that Neblinc is upset that this is a design issue. If you look at the picture in the owner's manual (see his post) it shows the hose connected to a wand and the small end down by a caster. I really doubt the small end will fit other models of Ridgid vacs, but it would be interesting to try a few of them a HD to find out.

It's been some time since I got rid of my Ridgid (Still in use at a friend's place) and went over to a more serious industrial vac. Yes, it was some good $ but I'm happy that I did. What I remember was that mine (9 gallon model - Ridgid) was that you could put the larger end of two wands into the rear caster assemblies and some other attachments (again the large size end) in the front casters. The smaller end just wouldn't fit. This is from memory and I could be wrong about this.

If you do trade it for a ShopVac brand vac, be sure to check it out carefully. Some of their ideas for storage are pretty crazy too. I like the simple hopper bag myself. I can put anything I want in it. If it want to tip over backwards, a big flagstone in the bottom of the drum holds it nice and level. Or, just let the weight of the dirt sucked up help.

Parts list for several models of Ridgid brand wet/dry vacs: http://ridgid.com/ASSETS/1686AFE18A4D45EEAB2784904581E69E/999-998-xxx.10_WD620_935_Vacs_PL.pdf

From what I can see the WD1450 has 2 types of caster assemblies of which only one of them could be used for storage of anything. They are the rear ones. This is if the pictures are correct. So far I can't find where I can download the owner's manual.

[Wild Weasel]

Not that it helps any, but here's my suspicion.

I think that maybe they changed the extensions at some point and didn't realize that they broke the design.

I just went and checked mine. Same as you, the small end of the wand doesn't fit the holder on the castor. Curiously though, the end of the hose fits on just fine, and that's how it's shown in the diagram in my manual. It shows the hose connected to one, and the wand connected to another.

The small end of the wand has the same OD as the end of the hose... but a slightly smaller ID. That's the problem.

I agree with you that it's a defect now, though I don't think you're going to find a resolution.

[Woussko]

For what it may be worth, I checked the ID of some old Ridgid and also ShopVac brand plastic wands. They are very close. The OD is different, but in this case it wouldn't matter.

It would be nice if they could make the caster covers so that either end fits, or maybe do one side one way and the other side the other. Hmmm How about a rounded end tapered cone? That would work for both and be easy to make.

[amcnerl]

I checked my vac, it's a 16 gallon convertible so it's a bit different. None of the holders are designed to accommodate the smaller end of the wand. My manual doesn't show the wand but the hose resting in the holder. I think Ridgid should come up with an explanation for neblinc's concern.

[amcnerl]

I read thru my earlier post and was refering to a male or female end when I should have been using large and small ends. My apologies for the confusion.

[neblinc]

I went ahead and called customer service and they had forwarded my email to corporate but did not inform me until I called.
They are sending out an adapter (http://www.ridgidparts.com/accessories/VT2511.phtml) that will satisfy me I think.
Thanks for all the "ears" of my venting :)

Randy

[Wild Weasel]

I went ahead and called customer service and they had forwarded my email to corporate but did not inform me until I called.
They are sending out an adapter (http://www.ridgidparts.com/accessories/VT2511.phtml) that will satisfy me I think.
Thanks for all the "ears" of my venting :)

Randy

Well... you won't be able to attach your accessories to the end of the wand with that thing on there, so if you use an accessory then my suggestion would be to glue the adapter down to the holder so when you lift the wand, the adapter stays put.

Alternately, if you use the same accessory most of the time, then when you put away the vac, instead of taking off the accessory and putting it in the bag, just take off the whole wand. Stick the end of the hose on one of the castors and the female end of the wand, with the accessory still attached to the other end, on the other castor. This might be more convenient in the end.

[Woussko]

That adaptor may come in very handy if you ever want to connect 2 hoses together. It should solve the storage problem too. Rather than to glue it in place, you might just drill a little hole in the side and use a small sheet metal screw to hold it to the caster cover. Then you can take the screw out and use it as a hose connector if you need it. Actually, they don't cost that much and you might want an extra one.

This still doesn't really fix the problem, but is a nice work around. Ridgid would do well to make up caster covers that would work with both sizes of want ends.

Update: Drill the hole in the adaptor a tiny big larger than the screw so it passes through it easy. In the caster cover drill a hole about 1/2 the diameter of the screw. You may not need this at all. Try tapping the adaptor on to the caster cover with a block of wood or such. It might go on nice and tight. If you ever need another, Home Depot or Lowes normally stocks them.

[neblinc]

I like the screw idea!! I still can't believe Ridgid let this design flaw get out the door. It wil interesting if I get contacted by anyone in upper management about this issue or if it will be a non issue tio them.

Randy

[djb]

neblinc -

When I saw the title of your post I knew exactly what it was about. I bought a 16-gal Ridgid Shop Vac last year and right out of the box, that was the first thing I noticed, the hose can't be stored on "handy" holder they have on the vac feet. Wand extensions can be stored there, upside down, but there's no way to secure the hose.

Definitely a design flaw. I asked a guy at HD once, and right away he smiled and shook his head, so I bet they are aware of the problem. But that's the only problem I have with this Vac, so I learned to live with it... :p

- djb

[Woussko]

Just a little bit more info. The hose connector for the big 2-1/2 size hose which is much closer to 2 inches ID can be found in HD, Lowes and maybe good hardware stores. It doesn't need to be Ridgid brand. The one by ShopVac will work too. This is a design issue and I hope that it gets fixed soon. I want to see them change to a cone shape where either end fits and even the smaller 1-1/4 attachments would fit.

I have one of what's in the picture. ShopVac makes it and it's for adapting to different sizes of dust collecting ports, but I plan to check it out for this problem. I bet if the square were made round and the smallest steps cut off it might just be what I have in mind. I'll go see if Lowes has one. If they do, I'll get one and take measurements. I have a wild idea in my mind, but need to be sure it will actually work.

[sup]

Ah, I'm not the only one - Glad I found this post. Today I've opened my WD1450 shop vac and tested it out. Works great but when I went to put store the hose and extension wand, it didn't fit. I spent 30 minutes dumbfounded by the manual - "Insert male end of extension wand into the holder sleeve as shown". Tried many different options and discovered only the female end fit. For a second, I had to re-think what was male and what was female :confused: then concluded that the manual was incorrect.

I agree, they should make it easier to store the wand and hose so I consider this a design flaw. Yes, the attachments do fit there but mine vac came with a bag holder which holds those items fine.

[ryan.s]

neblinc -

When I saw the title of your post I knew exactly what it was about. I bought a 16-gal Ridgid Shop Vac last year and right out of the box, that was the first thing I noticed, the hose can't be stored on "handy" holder they have on the vac feet. Wand extensions can be stored there, upside down, but there's no way to secure the hose.

Definitely a design flaw. I asked a guy at HD once, and right away he smiled and shook his head, so I bet they are aware of the problem. But that's the only problem I have with this Vac, so I learned to live with it... :p

- djb

That's really weird. I bought a ridgid 16 gallon vac last year as well and am able to store the end of the hose on the vac feet. Do your attachments fit without any problems on the end of the hose? There's a recess on the top of the nub in the feet where the end of your hose should fit over. The only thing I can think of why the end of the hose won't fit is that the inner diameter of your hose is smaller becase the end of the hose is thicker than the one I have which I believe is the reason why the small end of the extension wand won't fit. Sounds confusing, hope it makes sense.