Hello all!

Before I became a homeowner the in-laws gifted us an Armor All 2.5 Gallon 2 Peak HP Wet/Dry Vac that has a measly 53 CFM and 47.4 IN water lift.

I’ve never been overly impressed with this unit from the beginning. There’s no collection bag. The top housing of the unit doesn’t seal well to the collection tank (therefore it’s not preforming to specifications). It’s nearly impossible to find a wet filter for this unit. It’s made by Cleva Hong Kong Limited which is or was being sued by Emerson Electric Company for patient infringement. Emerson Electric from what I understand manufacturers vacuums for Ridgid, Craftsman, etc.

Well, being a new homeowner I’ve had many expenses lately with one-time purchases so I’ve tried to use this Armor All wet/dry vacuum for as long as I could. I recently demolished a cinder block dividing wall (non load bearing) in the basement which had a sole purpose of holding coal to heat this late 1800’s home at one time. Since it’s negative space, I removed it. I’m left with quite a bit of small material after demolition. A lot of this fine material remains even after sweeping. Yet the Armor All wet/dry vacuum even struggles with this, among other tasks I’m noticing.

I’m frustrated with this unit and can now justify upgrading. While being frustrated, I may be going to the opposite extreme. I’ve potentially settled on 3 options below. However, from what I’m reading the size of these units below may be ‘overkill’ however I wouldn’t know as I don’t have much experience with different sizes of shop vacs.

I do not have a garage (but plan to have a detached one built within 1-2 years). For now, it would remain in the basement for storage where I have a decent amount of space. It’s where I keep a Yeti Tundra 45, a lawn roller (empty), top dressing rolling lawn spreader and an Ego lawnmower (only during the winter, I baby it). I don’t enjoy moving these heavy items to and from the basement but it’s not physically an issue. I do currently have gravel parking so if I decide to use it to vacuum our vehicles, it will be a challenge with a vacuum with wheels but again, that will change in the future.

I don’t know what the future uses will be with the new shop vac. This far, 7 months into homeownership I’ve used it as a dust collection for sanding our wooden deck, removing stale water from a water softener brine tank, cleaning air ducts vents, cleaning refrigerator coils and up until now, cleaning the cinder block demolition.

I’m interested in:

• RIDGID 14 Gallon 6.0 Peak HP NXT Wet/Dry Shop Vacuum

• DeWalt 16 Gal. 6.5 HP Poly Wet/Dry Vac

• Craftsman 16 gal Corded Wet/Dry Vacuum 12 amps 120 V 6.5 HP

Based on the above information, are these sizes a great option for me or should I look at something smaller and if so, what size?

Thanks for your help!