High-powered vacuums for the jobsite

That headline begs for an explanation, doesn’t it? You’ve probably figured out I’m reviewing vacuums. And I am: We have a Fein Turbo I; 4 Gallon wet/dry vacuum; a Ridgid wet/dry #WD40700 4 Gallon; and a Ridgid 6 Gallon wet/dry vacuum # WD0635

The Fein Turbo I is the smallest of the three in the Fein Turbo Line of vacuums. At 6 gallons, it is plenty big for the work I do. The best thing about this vacuum is the noise, or should I say the lack of noise. At 62 decibels it is nice to have inside of finished spaces and not have to wear ear plugs. The older I get the less I like noisy things.

The Turbo I has a standard, cloth filter/bladder capable of filtration down to 5 microns, which is pretty small. If you want to get more of the gunk out of the air they offer a 1 micron pleated filter cartridge and bag. Or go even cleaner and get the HEPA filter and BIA paper filter bag. You won’t be vacuuming really dirty floors with those systems because they will plug up too fast, but the air will be filtered more.

If you’re used to an old noisy construction vacuum, you will find that the Fein Turbo I’s cloth filter/bladder will clog up quite fast working rough construction cleanup. But it does a really good job and is easy to clean out.

The Fein Turbo I’s accessory kit is one to die for. It has lots of neat pieces and the stainless steel wands are great. The two floor attachments work real well and are made at the proper angle. The hose is really flexible, and get this: It’s 16 feet long, and so is the power cord. If you like dragging your vacuum around by the hose you’ll love the six wheels of stability under this Fein Turbo I.

One small quibble about the vacuums: They need larger hoses. Now, maybe I’m not a rocket scientist, but if you have a good vacuum machine and put a small hose on it you’re going to get less suck at the end of the hose. So I put our old bigger, longer hose on them. The Fein has a 2-inch intake port reduced down to 1 ¼ inch. Same with the Ridgid units: a 2-inch intake port reduced to 1 ½ inch. Why?

The Ridgid WD0635 is a 6 gallon wet/dry vacuum that’s a bit noisier than the Fein. But it sucks like crazy even though the 7-foot-3-inch hose is too short and a bit stiff. This unit is noticeably lighter than the Fein. It may be lighter, but it has a lot of sucking power. The filter is a round pleated affair that is easy to clean.

It only has four wheels but is low to the ground so doesn’t tip over too easily.

The Ridgid wet/dry WD40700 4 gallon is a cute little vacuum that works really well. Yes, it is just as noisy as its above counterpart, but it’s low to the ground and is easy to pull along as you vacuum. It is small enough to carry on to the job with a bunch of other tools. It features a round pleated filter like the above model that is also easy to clean. The vacuum has a 20-foot power cord and a 5 HP motor. We used our 25-foot hose with this unit, so you could get a lot done before you had to find another power source. It may not be very big, but it roars like it is.

The Ridgid WD40700 has the same accessory kit as the above unit, but the floor attachment was designed wrong and it has a hose that is still too short. But it is still a great vacuum because it’s so small and sucks so well.

One thing about both the Ridgid units is the accessory kit. There is no real floor attachment that works well. The one provided is too small, and the angle of the wand to the floor seems wrong. Somebody goofed up and only put a 10-foot power cord on this great vacuum.

Fein definitely has a better vacuum here, but I don’t deal with prices so we may not be comparing apples to apples. I will say you usually get what you pay for. I like quiet vacuums, and the Fein Turbo I is less noisy than the Ridgid units. Now that’s not to say the Ridgid units are bad. I liked them all for vacuuming dirt, sheetrock junk, cars and trucks, but I really liked the longer hose of the Fein unit vs. the Ridgid units.

‘Til later, Art