Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)No matter who you are, your going to have something to clean up, weather its in your house, or in your shop/garage. Sometimes a household vacuum does not do such a bad job for cleaning up debris. However, other times, the suction of a household vacuum, is not up to the task. Another thing you need to keep in mind is if you have a flood, a household vacuum can not be used to suck up water, only a shop vac is designed to do that.
EXPERIENCE: My experience with this vacuum has been a good one. Like all vacuums, this one is made of plastic, however the caster wheel shafts are made of metal. This is the quiet version of the Shop Vac's, and thus is not as loud as the larger models. Though this vacuum does not include many accessories for it, it does include a gulper nozzle. And if you own another Shop Vac like I do, you can just use the accessories for it on this one.
You are not required to do so, but since I am using this shop vac in my house, I wanted to utilize the reusable dry filter. All you have to do Is align the circle pattern over the foam sleeve and then secure with the foam sleeve ring that is included with the vacuum. I attached a floor sweeper nozzle from the other shop vac and began vacuuming both of my rooms.
First thing I noticed was that this vacuum is at least 10-decbels quieter then that of my 10-gallon shop vac. And that is amazing too since they both use 2-HP motors! I like this, as the only thing that made me not like my other shop vac in the house, was how loud it was. I honestly feel like I need hearing protection for my older 10-gallon model.
Don't let the size of this vacuum fool you, it has a lot of suction power! It was able to clean both the bedrooms just as well as my larger model. The only bad thing I can say about it is, if you have any rugs that are 1/2" deep or larger, it will cause the shop vac to tip over when your pulling it, thus the internal ball will shutoff the suction flow. When this happens, you will have to turn off the vacuum, lift it up, wait for the ball to drop, and then turn it back on.
Just like with all shop vac's it has the ability to suck up water, I however have not tested this function. However, it does recommend that you not use the dry filter with it, only the foam sleeve. It also recommends not sucking up liquid with a dirty filter. However, since it has the same motor size, I wouldn't doubt it would suck up water just as good as my larger one. I however do not recommend you use these smaller vacs to do that, as you only have 5-gallons to work with. I highly recommend if you are buying a shop vac to pickup liquids, that you choose a 10-gallon model or larger.
CONCLUSION: These vac's are great for around the house because they are nice and small, take up little space. The vac has just as much power as the larger ones do, and the 5-gallon size is all you need for house chores. I find that it works really well for my uses and do not regret the purchase. It was on sale at my local hardware store for only $19.99, so I feel it was money well spent. 5 out of 5.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Shop-Vac 9650800 3.5-Peak HP Pro Series Wet or Dry Vacuum with Detachable Blower, 8-Gallon
*Features: low profile anti- tip design, filter cartridge, carrying handles, casters, visible on/off switch, automatic shut-off for wet pick up, on board cord storage, dent resistant plastic tank and tool storage *Includes: 8' x 1.25" hose, (3) 1.25" extension wands, 10" nozzle/squeegee insert, gulper nozzle and cartridge filter
