John A. Campbell
05-17-2010, 05:21 PM
Some time ago I purchased (at Lowes) a Shop-Vac model 90PN575A to replace my old Sears Craftsman unit....the motor (open frame type) had burned out and I couldn't get a replacement motor. The old Craftsman had a helluva lot of suction....so much that if you put your hand over the nozzle it would really tighten up the hose and would scream like a banshee. This new Shop-Vac is advertised at "6 hp"....that is a lot of B.S. ...it no more has 6 hp than my wrist-watch does. I could place a small piece of wood about 1/2 the size of a domino on my bandsaw table, place the snout (opening of 3/4" X 2") of the pickup nozzle against edge of table, move the snout toward the small piece of wood, and had to get within 2" of the wood before the vacumn would grab it. The old Craftsman would grab it at 3 times that far. So I called Shop-Vac, they sent me a new motor, same problem. The thing is very quiet and easy to move about the shop but no power.....very little RPM compared to the Craftsman.....anybody got any suggestions as to the best shop vacumn available? I don't care how loud it is....louder the better....that's what hearing protectors are for.