Hoses and power cords. The MFG never makes any provision to wrap and or store either. I am going to DIY something, but before I reinvent the wheel, if anyone has a home remedy I'd love to hear it.
And while we are on the subject, who designs these things? The handle to life them is on the top, which is held on by some flimsy latch that pops open if the wind blows. Think you can pop the end of the vacuum want onto the little feet on the Rigid model? Nope, they fit the large end not the small because that would make too much sense. Morons. The people who design shop vacs are morons and clearly have never used their own product.
Grizz
UltraDork
4/27/15 2:17 p.m.
I nominate throwing the berkeleying things in the corner until you need them again.
It's what I do.
For the hoses I normally put two nails in the wall spaced to hold the end that connects to the vac. Then they just hang flat down the wall. Cord then gets wrapped around the top somewhere. Mine has the handle then a narrow spot then flares to the body so I warp it there.
They fit inside the vac. They are out of the way, right where you need them and safe from damage or loss. This is what guys who use them everyday do.
former520 wrote:
They fit inside the vac. They are out of the way, right where you need them and safe from damage or loss. This is what guys who use them everyday do.
This. I'll typically empty the bucket when I'm done using it and store the hose inside. It fits nicely and I always know where it is.
I empty my shop vac annually, whether it needs it or not.
T.J.
PowerDork
4/27/15 3:15 p.m.
Never thought of putting the hose inside. I don't empty the thing out very often though, so I'd rather some other option. I also keep one of the hard extension pieces on mine to make it easier to clean up things on the floor without bending over or kneeling down.
5 gallon pail. Also good for 100 foot extension cords. I cut a hole in the bottom and feed just enough out to reach the plug and the rest gets stuffed in the open top.
Screw/glue 5-gallon bucket to top of shopvac, place flexible hose inside it.
Use 5-gallon organizer to hold accessories.
Attach velcro straps to shop vac sides to hold longer wands.
Or build an extension cord/accessory holder that bolts to the "back" of the shop vac and include a couple of PVC couplers attached to it to hold the ends of the flexible hose after it is wrapped around the top of the vac.
I coil the hoses up and tie them to the handle on top using those large twisty tie things you find at the local Home Depot. Not very elegant, but better than tripping over them. Similar to this:
The Craftsman unit I have is pretty nice. Its the 5hp but small bucket one. Hangs on the wall in its own bracket, has electric cord tangs to wrap around the back, and the hose (double length) wraps vertically around the entire unit. The hose reaches most of my garage; 9 times out of 10 I don't pull the unit off the wall to use it.
Like this:
Thanks guys, good ideas. My issue is that I leave it plugged in and ready to go at all times. I want to just grab the hose, suck up stuff, then tuck it back out of the way. Or if I need to bring it into the house, I want to just pick it up and go. I am going to break out the scrap metal stuff and see what I can come up with.
so you want to transport it with the hose attached, too?
My 5.5 Hp Craftsman rolling shop vac has a simple clip that holds the hose in a rolled up position when not in use and each of its four casters is shaped on the top to match the ID of the attachments so everything stays together in a secure and compact form. For the hose, all you need is a clip that looks like two letter “C’s” attached back to back.
Now for my $#@&%^$ 35 foot pool hose. What a pain in the a$$ that thing is to roll. Doesn’t help that I’m OCD as E36 M3 and can’t stand not having the two ends just overlap enough to get a bungee around them.
MUST – BE – EXACTLY – RIGHT.
