Learn me - Wet/Dry Vacuums

As the title suggests, this is another learn me. Specifically for wet/dry vacuums, I'm looking to upgrade my 2 HP 2.5 gallon Craftsman shop/vac. It's adequate but with the short hose length it's tough with my detail gig and seems a bit low on the power side, which leads me to my question. I'm currently looking at this This one sucks how important is the "peak HP" and am I going to notice a night and day difference between my 2.5 HP and the 5 HP, I've never fully understood how HP is correlated with vacuums and if it's worth paying up for something with higher hp.

I have This one, its$$, but awesome and pretty quiet. The "upgrade" hose is great as well, use it at work, but I didnt buy one yet.

I have this one. Its awesome and worth every penny.

Looks like Java230 and I have similar tastes!

I neglected to mention, I'm a cheap SOB and squeeze the quarters until the eagle E36M3's though $99 isn't a bad price point. It also has to fit in my car along with 4 crates of detail supplies since I do mobile detailing.

The 'peak HP' numbers are all made up. The most any horsepower any device that plugs into a regular 120vac 15 amp outlet will have is around 1.5hp.

I got mine for $2.50 at a garage sale (listed at $5). It's a shop-vac brand. Seems good so far.

Not one manufacturer has built one that stores the cord and hose effectively, save one.

These jobsite units pack up nicely, offer a stepstool/seat when in use, and are really handy. If I were travelling with one (as opposed to a shop fixture) this style is what I would want.

pinchvalve wrote: Not one manufacturer has built one that stores the cord and hose effectively, save one. These jobsite units pack up nicely, offer a stepstool/seat when in use, and are really handy. If I were travelling with one (as opposed to a shop fixture) this style is what I would want.

Oooo, I like that. I've been thinking I need a seat when Im cleaning wheels. So that would kill 2 birds with one stone and I like the pack-ability of that. Rigid makes it correct?

I've got a Ridgid with a detachable motor. Pop it off and it's a pretty effective hand-held blower. Comes in handy. It's not quite the one on the HD site, but it's also about 8 years old. Probably not the best choice for a mobile service, it's more shop sized. But FYI for anyone else who's looking.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-12-gal-Wet-Dry-Vacuum-with-Detachable-Blower-WD1280/202440986

I've been pretty happy with Craftsman brand for many years.

DO NOT buy ShopVac brand. They use a proprietary filter that looks like the same drum style filters the Craftsman uses, but they have a plastic removable disk in the bottom that falls out in use. A filter doesn't work very well with a 5" diameter hole n the bottom.

^ noted! That's good information. I like my little craftsman, but it doesn't quite do the job for larger details.

Rigid makes this model, but I have seen it from others as well. They stack in the car so much better for travelling tradesmen.

In reply to pinchvalve:

That looks a lot like the vacuums I used to carry when I worked on copiers years ago.

I have an older CM and a ShopVac. I like them both. The CM is their small 5 gal vac that is light and portable but doesn't handle some jobs due to the small hose it has (1.25 inches) I got the Shop Vac that comes with the "Metal" pail rather then the common plastic pails. It also usestwo filters! A large paper bag that fits inside the pail and the normal pleated air filter. If you want to suck up liquids you do have to remove the paper bag but I rarely do that so it's a non-issue for me.