6 gallon quiet Shop-Vac $35 @ BigLots

[CarvedTones]

The bad news is that I called Cary, Western Blvd and Glenwood Ave stores in Raleigh to find the last one at the Glenwood store, which is now in my possession. :eusa_danc Note that it is a "refurbished" which according to a source I have some confidence in means it was returned unused and retested. [STRIKE]There is a roll of the dice as the warranty is 90 days instead of 2 years.[/STRIKE] EDIT - Post below will explain why I struck that out. I am not too worried about that; the ones that fail usually do it almost right away and the ones that don't last and last. A good deal on a new one is around $75 online, for reference.

 

[CarvedTones]

A quick follow up...

It had been my expectation from talking to my coworker that I was going to get a shortened warranty. But that does not seem to be the case with the one I got. There is even an extra sheet of paper outside the owners manual detailing the 2 year warranty. There is actually nothing on my unit to identify it as anything other than a brand new unit.

All I have done so far is unpack it and turn it on for a very brief test. My wife did not hear it! That was the most critical test, well other than making sure it sucks. It's pretty quiet for a vacuum; there is as much or more air nose as engine noise. It disperses the outflow rahter than having a blower, probably to help with noise. That would be an issue if you want to use your vac as a blower. It is quiet enough that there is definitely no need for ear protection to use it.

 

[Sealeveler]

Great deal there as long as it sucks.Tony

 

[CarvedTones]

It sucks! Yeah, I need photographic evidence and it will show up one of these days, but I just came in from turning/testing and can give you a preliminary report. I looped some baling wire (yeah, I own it and use it ) around the "neck" of a standard floor attachment and then bent a hook in the doubled end of it and draped the hook over the post of the tool rest. I had already installed the CleanStream HEPA filter. Anyway, I turned a couple of different pieces of dry wood. Big chips still hit the floor, but every bit of the dust and smaller chips went into the vacuum. Little people who pretend to be asleep for a while and listen for the tiniest noise as an excuse to get up did not come investigate.

 

[CarvedTones]

OK, officially a minor gloat:

It fits! It sucks!

It came with the small hose. I tried the bigger one and it didn't seem to make a difference, so I am using the little one for now (doesn't get in the way as much). That is a piece of very dry persimmon on the lathe. I turned some a few days ago and dust was everywhere. Not this time.

Note - chips were already spread about; it still throws a few but the small ones on the vac came off the stand when Iwas slipping it on the shelf.