Shop Vac Wet Dry Reviews

This is a good vacuum, and the frame is strong. Suction is good. The caster wheels will not fall off going up and down stairs, etc. It was sort of difficult to put together because the directions were poor. For those that don't follow directions you'll be fine.

This is the VERY BEST vacuum on the market. I went the bagless route and regretted it. This is the same vac that my parents have had since I was a kid (the vac is now over 30 and going strong.)It took me a while to find it and then some time to adjust to the price but I use it for home and automotive. Worth every pennny.

This is my 5th wet/dry vacuum. If you want a single-stage vacuum, it's hard to beat the Ridgid brand for price and perfromance. But if you want the Rolls Royce of wet/dry vacs, then you want a 3-stage Milwaukee! This is much more vac than a home owner or even a serious do-it-yourselfer would consider. But if your business is commercial or industrial cleaning, then this is your only choice. With 130" of static pressure, I have not found another vac that can match the Milwaukee for wet pick-up (like soaked carpeting or standing water on bare floors). And, of course,this picks-up anything dry that gets in the way. The array of heavy-duty attachments (for everything from automotive to boiler cleaning) and filters (sharps to very fine dust) makes the Milwaukee suitable for just about anything imaginable. This machine is Milwaukee throughout--if you break something on it it can be repaired, making this the last wet/dry vac that you will probably ever buy.If you don't need a 21-gal vac, choose a smaller one--as long as you buy a 3-stage model.

The hose diameter is too small everything you suck up get stuck. Cleaned up one project and had unclugged it 6 times.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful 1.0 out of 5 starsGrrrr, January 13, 2007 By Dickerwoman "Nancy" (Emerald Hills, CA USA) - See all my reviewsBought this to clean my barn aisles...picks up about 10% of what it goes over. Can't find any information on who to contact to see why it isn't working....

The 12 amp I think is the most powerful shopvac you can get. We got the 12 gallon so we can buy bags for it at Walmart or a hardware store. It has a long cord on it. It also has a soft start, it winds up slow, not just BAM, and it's running. It is a little loud, it has a higher pitched whine that the other Hp rated shopvac's I have used. There is a big difference in how much more sucking power it has. I hooked it up to the table saw and I think it did a better job that the big dust collector does. We got a long 50 foot long 2" hose and use it for sanding dry wall. You can use a wye and have two people sanding drywall mud and this vac will suck up the dust. The on/off switch is just as cheesy as all the other shopvac's, you think they would have put a better switch on such an expensive vacuum. . . I am impressed and really glad I got it, it puts all the other shopvac's I have owned to shame in performance. For the price it is a real winner.

This vacuum has picked up everything that I needed it to. Porter Cable even allows the use of bags to collect all the dust, so you don't have a mess in emptying the full vacuum. You don't need to use the bags if you have a lot of clean up. The built in pleated air filter catches all the dust, and the outside cleaning tool allows easy cleaning of the filter without opening the vacuum. The on board storage brackets for the accessories and the auto shut-off feature for water pick-up are also great. The tool power feature, is great. When used with the power outlet for tools, the vacuum only turns on when the tool is running and turns it off after 15 sec when you turn off the tool The purchase of the accessory kit will save you trouble finding attachments. The literature and manual also could be a little better. Unit has been running great for about six months in my shop almost every day. No problems.UPDATE. This vacuum is still running great as of July 2010. No problems except the small foam seal around where the hose enters the body of the vacuum broke. Porter Cable sent out a new one within five days. When our house vacuum broke in 2005, my wife used this every week to vacuum the house until 2009 when she finally let me (I offered many times) to buy her another vacuum after much pressure to get it back in my shop.

I got my vacuum yesterday and, of course, proceeded to clean my entire house. That was the best cleaning it has gotten in years and it took less than 30 minutes. This machine made the cleaning process easy, which also means it will get done more often. My house is over 3k sq ft and most of the floors are tiled. Dust Bunnies breed like rabbits. A regular vacuum is a hassle on hard floors. This vacuum is light and comfortable, the power cord reaches throughout the house, and I like being able to easily reach up and clean the ceiling, windowsills and furniture. At first, I thought it wasn't going to be powerful enough, but it picked up everything, even chunks of cat turds (I have a 20 yr old cat who misses the box occasionally). My only complaint is that the holes in the metal tubes are cut a bit crudely. Trying to release the tubes from one another when pressing the little button can result in some lost skin on your thumb. A little more precision in manufacturing would have eliminated the problem. I will smooth out the edges with a sander.

Okay, I was online searching for a wet/dry vacuum and I was about to spend around $150 for a top of the line Shop-Vac brand or a VacMaster. However, after reading the reviews and having my own bad experience with an older lower end Shop-Vac, I decided to spend a little more money and get a better brand (if there was one). To be honest I didn't know where to start and happen to Google "best shop vac" and came across a website that was listing the top five garage dry/wet vacs and the Milwaukee was at the top of the list. I didn't even know Milwaukee made wet/dry vacs! Furthermore, I've never owned a Milwaukee product either. Well, I looked up their lineup and read the reviews for their other models (essentially the same hp motor but different tank capacities), which by the way were all five stars with rave reviews. Sure, this thing costs literally an arm and a leg and that's WITHOUT any vac tools and surprisingly NO hose coupler! Of course I am not going to give it one less star because it didn't include these important items that make the whole unit work, but at this price point some may argue it should be included. Think of it this way, most people who buy BMWs and Mercedes don't really get a fully loaded car for the price they are paying either, right? I think they separated the tools and coupler out to make the price, well, somewhat reasonable. That is if you think nearly $900 is reasonable. I certainly didn't but let me tell you why I invested (note "not wasted)…

This thing is solidly built and powerful. Generally pleased - much nicer than the old Wet/Dry Vac that it replaced. Pretty quiet, although not as quiet as the reviews indicated. The bags are nice and hold a lot. Have not used the automatic turn-on feature with power tools.Three nuisance problems:(1) It's fairly easy to move with the high handle, but still gets caught on cords. My solutions was to buy the 15M hose and leave the vac mostly in place.(2) The attachments are a little loose on the hose fitting. This is very minor.(3) The hose diameter is small - no more than 1.5 inches ID at the fitting. Clogs relatively easily by small slivers of wood when hooked to router table. Have to occasionally clear to maintain vacuum strength.More of a curiosity than a problem is that the hose tends to build up static when running continuously as dust collection for the router. After running a while the router shavings are attracted to the hose and stand out like fur, similar to iron filings on a magnet.None of the above are more than minor nuisances. Would buy it again.

This dust extractor is the best there is for what I need it for! I have it coupled to a dust deputy cyclone, using 2.5" hose to all my woodworking equipment. As soon as I received this item, I HAD to test it with my 13" planer. I put it on approx 1/4 the total suction it offers, I run the power strip with all the tools plugged to it through the vacuum plug with automatic on/off feature. It works SO good! The planer puts out some serious debris, and it has 36ft of hose between them, and it works flawlessly. The automatic filter clean option is quite loud, but I wouldn't be without it! The dust deputy consumes 95% of the debris, but with the filter clean feature, & the 12 gallon tub, it can go for quite a while. I have tried it on the highest available suction, and it will suck large nails at the planer connection hose that is 36ft away! Can't say enough good things about this tool!

I purchased an earlier model of this vac in 1972 and it is the best shop vac I have ever owned.My Fein began to fail after 5 years so I plugged this one in and was reminded how powerful but noisyit is. You will not regret buying this vac. It has seen many years of abuse, wet and dry, without any issues.

I had to buy a HEPA vac for my job, and was expecting to pay hundreds more. I took a chance with this one and was very surprised at how good this vac is.

im a builder and i find any fein tools are phenomenal. my tools get used to the point of rediculous, so i can no longer use certain brands that i know break down easily or wear out and die alltogether. fein has never let me down. you get what you expect and more. the power from this little vac is amazing and its very quiet with adjustable speeds, nice. i can use this vac in my house while my newborn sleeps upstairs, without the worry of harmful dust getting blown around the house. on jobs customers love it and i can sleep at night- do yourself a favor, buy one-

Seriously, this is the best vacuum on the market. The motor is super strong and the construction quality is superior to all other units available. We have used the competion's vacuums and they fall short in every category. I recommend this for anywhere you need a reliable, strong vacuum. The only problem is that this unit is so well constructed, you may never need to buy another one, ever. Thank you Amazon