Ridgid 16 Gallon Pro Vac modelm WD1850

[stevescivic]

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to ask if Craftsman and Ridgid branded vacuums are the same units. I've heard from a few people that Ridgid makes them for sears.

Also I'm interested in buying the WD1850 shop vac but Ridgid doesn't really translate their performance figures into numbers that I can always compare. For shop vacs I'm traditionally used to looking at CFM ratings or how many inches of "water lift" each model is capable of.

I was actually quite interested in the Ridgid "tool box" shaped 4.5 gallon vacuum but at only 5 peak HP I wasn't sure if that was enough to do some serious dirt pulling from the carpets of really dirty car interiors.

I've been using a craftsman 60 liter shop vac for over 10 years that was rated at 200 CFM and that unit had some serious suction power.

I want a vacuum in the sub $200 CAD price range.

Right now the Home depot is selling the WD 1850 for 229.00 and the tool box 4.5 gallon vac for 129.99

I don't do workworking or anything just car cleaning but I do car cleaning in large #'s each week.

How can one do a relative comparison of peak HP figures vs. overall suction performance? Also is Ridgid reliable? what's their parts support like?


Recommendations?
Thanks

[Wild Weasel]

Ridgid doesn't make them for Craftsman. Some other company makes them for both Ridgid and Craftsman.

I've got a 16 gallon Ridgid blower/vac and the performance is excellent. I love it. I had the switch break within 2 months of getting it though and found out here that apparently it's a common issue. A bit of a weak link, having nothing to do with the actual vacuuming.

[stevescivic]

hmm interesting that another company actually makes them for Ridgid and Craftsman.

With respect to quality how are both brands? Since they're both made by the same maker does that mean that many of the internal components are the same?

Its been years since I've compared units side by side and with all the changes of globalization I'm not quite sure what the differences are now between all the different brands.

thanks

[Woussko]

Steve, As best as I know Emerson Electric makes the motor-fan assembly used in the Ridgid vacs. Craftsman are made in the same plant (some models) and some by ShopVac Corp. What I can say is that here in the USA, ShopVac brand are easier to get accessories for along with parts. Both make junky and good models. Most Ridgid vacs and the more popular ShopVac mocels come with short hoses which I bet will bother you big time. That can be fixed by either using a coupling and connecting on another or by getting a longer hose. I think for cleaning cars you may not like the big 2-1/2 (really 2 inch) hose and attachments. If you can save up your funds, you might really like a more commercial designed machine with a 1-1/2 inch commercial hose (try 12 feet or longer) a better assortment of attachments and a 2 or 3 stage fan assembly for higher suction through a crevice tool and such. What have you currently been using? One thing which is good for the most part is that with a few simple and pretty easy to obtain adaptors you should be able to use your current hose(s) and attachments with a new machine. I do recommend that you stay with a good size drum model. They hold far more dirt and come in handy for water pickup as needed. Would you ever want to use 2 hoses at the same time? How about wanting a machine that takes paper collection bags for fine dust use? Please tell more about your needs.

[Tall_Canuck]

I have the Ridgid 12 gallon vac and absolutely love it.
I would buy another in a hearbeat.
Great suction and nowhere near as loud as the Shopvac brand.

One deciding factor for me was that all Ridgid vacs come with a lifetime warranty, not LLSA, WARRANTY.

I dont think any other vac comes with that.

My two cents.
TC

[stevescivic]

I'll be using it to mainly clean car interiors and garage dust and dirt. Nothing crazy like cement chunks or even woodworking dust. I have seriously thought about getting the WD 4550 instead since its much cheaper and more compact.

I'm just trying to get a vacuum for the maximum buck. Ratings on vacuums translate to air watts, peak HP, CFM, water column lift.... the numbers are hard to interpret when everyone uses a different measurement standard.

The vac I used at my folks place was a craftsman 200 cfm 60 liter shop vac that they purchased in 1989. Had so much power that it would suck any moisture and dirt out of soggy automotive carpets.

I live on my own now so I'm looking for something that has a similar calibre of performance.

thanks!

[Woussko]

If you mean "Your Own" cars and not as a business, I would say take a look at the model WD0945 which is a good general use machine for the money. It will do lots of work for you as long as you keep an extra filter or two handy. To clean the filters, lightly brush off the outside and then wash them in reverse with water flowing from the inside out. Then allow to dry. Over time you'll have to replace them. The WD1850 is a nice machine, but it is BIG. The other one you have in mind won't do much if anything for water pickup. I like the drum style as you can suck up about anything that will pass though the hose. You may mess up the filter, but that's about it as long as you don't suck super fine dust or anything that's hot or on fire. Yes, I've heard of people sucking up hot ashes.

[woodenstickers]

I have the tool box shaped one and unless space is a consideration I would go for the larger model. I love the small one because it fits neatly in my truck and has all of the attachments stored inside. It is plenty strong, it'll do the trick on cars without a doubt, but the bigger one with the bigger hose is probably even better. (the hose is kind of short)

PS I love every ridgid vac I've laid hands on.

[stevescivic]

well I ended up buying the WD 4550 tool box shaped vac and I must say that I'm quite impressed by the power from such a small unit.

For $129 CAD its a tad bit pricey for such a small unit and when you add on the pro hose and the car nozzle then the price is 180 bucks + taxes.


Really I could have purchased the WD 1850 for 250 CAD taxes in but I guess that would be some severe overkill for what I'm going to use it for.

The WD 4550 cleaned 4 cars today that were just filthy and it was able to suck all the dirt out of the carpet and more.

The hose is small but I guess that's not a big deal since if you need to grab it for the road then it can still be used.

My next question is can this vacuum be used with a car AC inverter? If so how many watts of an inverter would I need to power up my tool box vac?

Thanks

[Newman]

I believe that vac draws 9 amps, so you need an 1100W inverter which will probably cost over $100.