There are 8 best small shop vacuums on Amazon.com.
Every product we review is chosen by the editors.If you buy from a link, we may earn commission.We test gear.
Shop vacuums are hard-working machines, but they are poorly named.They find good use in the workshop, but they are equally useful around the house, the garage, and even outside.They can clean up a plumbing leak.They might be known as indispensable vacuums.It seems more fitting.We tested a range of the most promising models to find the best one.
Click here for quick info on the best shop vacs from our testing, then scroll down for buying advice and in-depth reviews.
The vacuum head is a part of a shop vacuum.It is on top of a plastic drum or a steel drum.The vacuum may be configured like a suitcase if the drum is small.Some have a strap on their shoulders.The wall-mounting hardware on many small vacuums will allow you to store the appliance near a work bench or on the wall of a garage, where you will need it most often.You roll the vacuums around on the caster wheels.The amount of the vacuum's tank is determined by how much it will hold without the head and air filter.It is an approximation of the tank's capacity.Tanks for shop vacuums range from 5 to 20 gallons.Industrial models can use a drum.
Most shop vacuums have a nozzle and hose that fit into an inlet port.The air used to pull the debris into the drum goes out the exhaust port.If you need a blower in a pinch, you can put the hose into the outlet port.
We gathered several small corded shop vacs that are easily portable and ideal for small to mid-size jobs around the house, garage, and yard.We timed each corded vacuum as it sucked up two pounds of sawdust, the same amount of screened top soil, and a gallon of water.We looked at the features and performance characteristics of the machines, including noise under peak load, handle comfort, cord length, and whether the hose is securely attached.
We did some preliminary testing on the nine-gallon, 82-volt Snapper, so if you want to check it out, scroll down to the end.We used the time trial as a portable dust collector.Those results may be worth examining if you use power tools.
The shop vac winner is fast and powerful.Even in cold weather, the large diameter hose is easy to work with.The same goes for the power cord.2.2 seconds was twice as fast as any other machine in the test for sucking up a gallon of water.We like that it has the best accessory kit of the vacs tested, and it's ideal for positioning near a work bench.As the tank fills with debris, the only demerit is that it is a bit top-heavy.
This vac was the only vac that came with a four-wheel caddy, and its wall-mounting brackets are very well designed.This makes it a very versatile appliance; we see it as being capable for wheeling around the house, vacuuming, in the shop, or with a permanent station on the garage wall for car cleaning, an application made more practical by its six-foot hose.You need a lot of hose to reach floor mats and between seats.