Shop-Vac 9625010 4.0-Peak Horsepower Right Stuff Wet/Dry Vacuum, 10-Gallon,Yellow/Black

I almost didn't buy this vac because of the clueless reviews some people give.One review said that the attachments did not fit.. well no wonder because you are supposed to use the adapter it comes with. These dry/wet vacs all come in different hose sizes as well as inlet and outlet sizes depending on the container size and etc. They have adapters to accomodate the different hose outlet sizes.Another review said that it didn't pick up hair well and it clogs up?? Well not in my case anyhow.. Also saying thats the hose was too thin, well don't know about them but I think the hose is pretty decent.For me it works great, for it picks up hair, dirt, dust, whatever else I need it to pick up. I love the size and the shape of the container which is perfect for my use around the house and garage.I have owned different size dry/wet vacs and other shop vacs as well and I really like this one, but if I was a professional contractor like some of my family are, I would probably buy a bigger capacity one but other than that this is a great vac.

0. IntroductionThis will be a two-part review: the vacuum itself and hoses and accessories that come with it. When buying a shop vacuum (any brand), you are buying a versatile machine for a greater variety of applications than a home vacuum. A shop vacuum will have several hose diameters to choose from, more available accessories and adapters. You may find that the accessories that come with the vacuum are only a “starter kit”, and you will have to tap into the manufacture’s ecosystem of accessories to suit your needs.Having said that, I realize that ideally you would want to buy all or most of the “right” accessories with the vacuum, to avoid spending time looking for other accessories and paying more. Reading other reviews from frustrated customers, I think it safe to say that the mixture of accessories that come with this vacuum could be improved.1. Vacuum bodyThe vacuum has 2.5 inch locking inlet and can potentially accept all three Shop-Vac’s hose diameters (1.25, 1.5, and 2.5 inches), as each of these hoses is usually sold with one 2.5 inch locking end.The vacuum has a sticker declaring it has a 10-gallon capacity and reaches 6.5 peak horsepowers. Peak horsepower rating means little, but another rating from the manufacturer rates it at 12 Amps, 195 CFM. I measured 9-10 Amps with “kill-a-watt” meter. The 10-gallon capacity is also questionable. For example, if you were to install a disposable bag, the right capacity would be Shop-Vac’s 5-8 gallon bag, not their bigger 10-14 gallon bag.These are minor things, of course, but if you are new to this vacuum, they add to confusion. On the plus side, the vacuum comes with a removable dolly to roll it around and has three filtration devices: one is a disposable bag, two is the main cartridge filter around the motor, and three is a foam plug installed inside the exhaust. It also serves as a deflector for the exhausted air. I usually keep it in place, as I find the vacuum has sufficient power for my needs, but it could be unscrewed from the exhaust to either increase the power or turn the exhaust into a blower outlet (it has the same size thread as the inlet, so the same hose can be connected to it).The disposable bags are optional, but really, unless your needs a such that they become a significant expense, you will love the no-mess solution they provide. To vacuum water, the bag needs to be removed, and the cartridge filter replaced with a foam sleeve. There is no drain to empty the water; to empty the vacuum you would need to carry (roll) it to the site of disposal, unclip the dolly, undo two clips that hold the motor assembly, and empty the vacuum body as you would empty a bucket. Not super convenient if you vacuum water often, but is all right for an occasional use.To button up and transport the vacuum, you would wrap the power cord around the vacuum’s handle; there is a little clip-on plastic panel for the tools, but it is more of a joke. I just carry the tools in a box, when I need to. There is no storage for the hose.The bags, the filters, and the foam sleeve models are marked with both a number and a letter. The idea was that a single letter is easier to remember than a number, so one could go to a store and ask for a foam sleeve “R”, for example. Unfortunately, I still hardly remember any numbers or letters, but here is the table with possible combinations:Foam Sleeve------------------90585 R (wet/dry)Cartridge Filter--------------------90304 U (general household)90350 X (medium filtration)*90340 W (fine filtration)Disposable Bag---------------------90661 E (medium filtration)90671 H (fine filtration)** - comes with the vacuum2. AccessoriesThe vacuum comes with 1.5 inch hose and 1.5 inch tools. If you (like me) have never dealt with Shop-Vac’s 1.5 inch hose, you have no clue what you are getting into. Unlike any canister vacuum that I have owned, and unlike Shop-Vac’s other hose diameters (1.25 and 2.5 inches), this hose does not end with a male connector to connect to the tools.Instead, tools are pushed into the hose cuff to make a strong semi-permanent connection. Some tools, I should say. Take a closer look at the claw tool that comes with this vacuum, and you will notice that the hose end of this tool is ribbed and is designed to be inserted inside the hose cuff. No doubt, this is what people at my local Car Wash would want. In fact, this is what they use: a 1.5 inch hose, a claw tool (theirs is made of metal), and duct tape to make the connection even more airtight. If they ever take the claw tool off the hose, it is to put more duct tape around it.This is not how most people use a vacuum. Most of us like to change tools quickly, and appreciate a quick connect/disconnect mechanism, although this mechanism does not hold the tools as strongly.And so Shop-Vac decided to include quick-change tools too. If you look at the extension wands and the floor nozzle, these are your regular conical quick-change tools, with male end facing the tool. And now you have a problem: if you try to connect 1.5 inch hose to 1.5 inch quick-change tool (floor nozzle or extension wand), you will end up with two female ends that do not connect.This problem is solved (rather poorly, I think) with an included adapter (Shop-Vac 9198400) with male ends on both sides. One end goes into the hose cuff, one into an extension wand. Yes, it will work. And no, this is not a graceful solution.It would be much better to design a second separate hose cuff with a male tool end, and include this combination with the hose. For example, Shop-Vac’s 1.25 inch hoses often have this construction (i.e. Shop-Vac 9063000, or Shop-Vac 9057100). The tool end has a convenient 150-degree bend, and can freely rotate inside the cuff. This design would fit the needs of most people. And if you are the one who wants to use push-in tools, just change the hose cuff.But until then, if you want to use quick-change tools, you are either stuck with a Shop-Vac’s adapter solution, or need to change to a different hose diameter, or should start warming up your 3D printer and perfecting your CAD skills to print your own cuffs and nozzles. I did the later, actually. Youtube is full of people making vacuum adapters from PVC and wood, but for ultimate flexibility, there is nothing like a CAD program (I learned Onshape), and a 3D printer (I do not own one, and use 3D HUBS services to print the parts).This brings another question: what hose diameter do you need? Or do you need more than one? If I were to give names to Shop-Vac's hose diameters, the table would look like this:1.25 inch - DIY home and car cleaning1.5 inch - professional cleaning or shop use2.5 inch - large item pickup, something that plugs other hoses/tools, such as wood shavingsThis vacuum comes with 1.5 inch hose that is geared toward professional use. There is a bunch of professional metal tools and wands available for this hose at Shop-Vac's web site, and these metal wands are pushed-in types, as far as I can tell. Again, this is no excuse for not providing a separate graceful cuff-nozzle solution for quick-change tools.3. ConclusionThere is probably a reason why this vacuum is no longer sold at my local Lowe’s (they used to have a less powerful identically shaped black/red model), and this reason is 1.5 inch hose, in my opinion. There are no 1.5 inch tools on the shelves too, and the only box with 1.5 inch crush proof hose has been there for months.As of now, this hose is not popular. It is reserved for professional use by Shop-Vac by providing push-in connectivity natively and quick-change connectivity only as an afterthought. Too bad, it has a great potential, in my opinion. But then, there are some five star reviews for this vacuum too, aren’t there? You may like the size of this vacuum (I do, it is not too small, not too large), you may never mind the use of an adapter to connect tools, or you may change to different hose diameter altogether. I also found a way to like it, although I spent quite a bit of time and money in the process. But hey, I learned CAD and got into 3D printing. I should treat this as money spent on education.

Great vacuum! Wide hose opening so things don't get stuck easily. Long hose means that when I'm vacuuming my minivan, I don't have to drag the unit into the car with me, in fact I can easily vacuum from front to rear without much adjustment at all. The hose attachments could be better, but overall, not a major issue for cleaning my van. When I do need to use them it gets the job done. If you are a person who uses the attachments on the regular however, I could see it being frustrating. Something I also enjoy about the hose is that the tip of the hose is rubber instead of hard plastic, meaning you can kinda stick in down into places hard plastic hoses wouldn't really fit. Not a huge deal, but makes it more flexible. Wheels follow along pretty nicely too, unit didn't tip once.

I should have believed the first reviewer. The attachments absolutely do not fit the extension wands. The hose and extension wands are standard 1.5 inch and the the accessories are standard 1.25 inch. The accessories will go into the flexible hose and the extension wands will go into the hose but the accessories will not go onto the wand so your only option for the accessories is to insert them into the hose and bend over or get on your knees. The other reviewer said you need to use the adapter which is partially true, but you need to use the adapter to attach the wands to the hose but you still cannot attach an accessory to the extension. You can go to the Shop Vac website to verify this. The hose is 1.5 inches and if you look at the accessories you can see they are only are available in 1.25 inches. You can buy a third party adapter that will reduce 1.5 to 1.25 but you lose a lot of suction.

Very good power in a small maneuverable package.Lots of cord and hose length.Poor onboard storage, poor method of hose to accessory fitment.

Awesome vacuum, rolls very easy on concrete with wheels provided. All parts to get started supplied as picture shows. Very strong vac. This was a replacement for a older 6.5Hp that had burnt up over years of usage. So far this vac has been used regularly without any issue. Wish the hose holed and cord roll up would be a little better