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i would buy the Ridgid from home depot....i have owned 2-3 vaccuums that were 200-300 each. Ridgid was like 110bucks....14gallon, 6.5HP....and it sucks up everything, and their grandchildren.
i would suggest probably the 4HP....because the one i bought is REALLY strong...and you might ache your back.
First off you completly missed the topic...you are talking shop vacs...the OP is interested in a vac for in the home...not the work shop or garage. They are not the same or interchangable. A shop vac does an extremely poor job inside on carpets etc, is impossible around stairs etc....but that's only part of the problem here.
You have fallen into the marketing trap that most people with no basis in general science fall into. Not to hi-jack this thread but the principals apply to all electrical power tools...including vacum cleaners. The principal is this...
The horse power rating on nearly all tools/shop vacs etc is complete BS.
An electrical wall outlet provides a 120 volt power source and is normally rated at a maximum of 15 Amps. If you multiply Volts times Amps you get Watts so 120V X 15A = 1800 watts of electrical power. That's the most power you can draw from a household electrical outlet without popping the circuit breaker (Note there are some 20 Amp cicuits but they are generally reserved for major appliances..fridge etc)
Now, general high school physics tells us that 1 HP (horse power) is equal to 746 Watts. So our house hold electrical outlet is capable of suppling 1800 watts or 1800 / 746 = 2.4 HP. That's it !!...and that assumes a 100% efficiency conversion from the electrical motro to the mechanical system. 2.4 HP tops...that's it.. All the rest is marketing BS...it's meaningless. Tool manufactures et al. have been doing this funny math for years. Each comes up with their own way of calculating HP etc ...it's BS.
Here's a thought experiment for you ....do you really believe that your shop vac motor produces more horse power than a typical 21 inch wide cut lawnmover ?? (typical 4.5 HP Briggs and Straton engine). If you believe those numbers printed on your shop vac carton you apparently do.
BTW Sears is IMHO one of the worst when it comes to this type of "labeling dishonesty".
So..back to the vacum cleaner question. Since they all plug into a 120 Volt outlet all you really need to do is compare how much current (how many Amps they draw from the circuit. The larger the number the higher the HP produced by the appliance...with 2 caveats..
1. This assumes the electrical motors being compared are approx. equal in conversion Effic....which is generally true
2: You "discount' the current drawn by any light equipment on the appliance. ie..bulbs etc draw current which ands to the Amps drawn but Do Not add to the HP produced by the motor.
FINI: What does this mean when shopping for a vacumm ?? Almost nothing !! Grin... Ignore the HP ratings...they are completly meaningless. Additionally the design of the air moving system, rotating brushes (if present etc) have a much bigger affect on the performance of the appliance than some bogus HP numbers printed on the carton.
I also have a Dyson Animal, the purple one. Have had it for about a year. My housekeeper in MI HATED bagless but loved this one. It was the way it empties. Most bagless have to be turned upside down. Not the Dyson.
I have 5 cats, so yes, I empty mine quite a bit too. Liz
We have been looking to replace our old Dirt Devil, it just will not pick up any pet hair - we have 2 dogs & 2 indoor cats. We have alot of hair! After reading many reviews, we had decided the Bissell 3920 was the way for us to go as the cost of the Dyson Animal is too high for us in todays economy. It was difficult to locate a vendor in AK until we got to Sears. The salesman, granted he was definitely a salesman, told us the cost of the filters on the 3920 is around $70 & should be done every 3 months. Can anyone provide any information on this?
Dyson hands down, the last vacuum you ever need. The first time you use it, you will have to empty it so many times just from all the nasty stuff you pick up with it that has been building up for years. I actually enjoy vacuuming now!
I have the Dyson DC14 All Floors. Love, love, love it! LOL, glad to hear that everyone else had to empty the canister several times the first time they used their Dyson cuz I was feeling like a really filthy housekeeper! Area rugs that I thought I'd have to shampoo looked like new after simply running the Dyson on them!
If you're looking to save some money, I can attest to the fact that the DC14 All Floors is GREAT on pet hair. I have four dogs! I think it's less expensive than the Animal. DO price Dyson online because that's how I found the best deal! Circuit City, of all places, was offering the DC 14 for around $320 a few months ago so I bought it online and then went to the store to pick it up.
Seems to be a lot of Dyson love out there. We bought a Dyson DC25 a year and a half ago and it is - hand down - the best vacuum we have owned to date. We previously had a Dirt Devil and prior to that a Kenmore. They did not perform anywhere near as well as our Dyson. It picks up animal hair and cleans rugs so much better than our old machines. And we have not had any problems yet (fingers crossed).
I did a bunch of Internet searching and reading before deciding which vacuum to buy after our Dirt Devil packed it in and the DC25 does stand out in terms of happy customers. Check this out ([url=http://vacuum-cleaner-ratings.com/Dyson-DC25-Vacuum-Ratings.html]Dyson DC25 Vacuum Ratings[/url]). It seems a lot of consumers feel it is money well spent.
My second choice was the Hoover UH30010COM. It also gets really good reviews and is cheaper than the Dyson but the Dyson had attachments and it just seemed to be a better machine. If I had wanted to save a few bucks though I think the Hoover would have been a good buy.
IMO Miele is the way to go. You get what you pay for and you will not be disappointed. Very powerful, very quiet and built to last. I love mine, I have the Miele Capricorn Canister, it's the top of the line model and was worth every penny. Good Luck
I share a campus apartment with two other college students. All three of us moved in just a few months ago, but no one thought to bring a vacuum cleaner with them. Now the carpet in our living room is starting to look pretty rough.
According to my roommates, I'm the "conscientious one" (which means they're too lazy to do it!), so I was charged with finding a good vacuum cleaner at a reasonable price. In my online shopping, I've read really good things about the Dyson DC28. I also came across a few sites that offered pretty good deals on them. The best place I've found so far is probably max-vacuum.com, since their prices are very reasonable, and their customer service guy was quick to answer all of my questions.
Before I spend what little money we have set aside this quarter for household items, however, I'd like to get some feedback. Is the Dyson DC28 a good value? Should I consider buying one from the site I found, or keep shopping around?
First off you completly missed the topic...you are talking shop vacs...the OP is interested in a vac for in the home...not the work shop or garage. They are not the same or interchangable. A shop vac does an extremely poor job inside on carpets etc, is impossible around stairs etc....but that's only part of the problem here.
I got tired of my fancy Bissel home vac so I bought a Kobalt wet-dry shop vac for the house from Lowes. It does a great job on carpet, not only do the brushes on the wide attachment get all the cat hair up, but it is strong and picks up just about everything. The hose is extra long and I can vaccum a large room without moving to another outlet. The bag is 3 times the size as any househould vac I've used.
Pop on a another attachment and it gets ceiling fans, the ceiling corners ,anything that can be reached. It's a blower also so it fills up airbeds, pool toys, etc. Best $79 I ever spent.
i would buy the Ridgid from home depot....i have owned 2-3 vaccuums that were 200-300 each. Ridgid was like 110bucks....14gallon, 6.5HP....and it sucks up everything, and their grandchildren.
i would suggest probably the 4HP....because the one i bought is REALLY strong...and you might ache your back.
6.5HP? Is it 220 volt?
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Liz
One word...Miele...
