Hi Richard, It's been too long since I bought a good one for me to have any recommendations, but I can suggest a thing or two to consider while you're shopping. Shop-Vac has, in my opinion, gone off the deep end in allowing product design engineers who have never actually used a vacuum in a working shop, to design their current line. Although they have finally decided to install power cords of more than eight inches in length (so when the customer electrocuted themselves, it would have to be with their OWN extension cord, rather than Shop-Vac's) they still haven't figured out how hose attachments work. In the new models, at least those that I have seen, the hose connection terminates in a slotted plate that slides into a notch in the side of the cannister. You can't unplug the hose, you have to take the top off the unit to get it loose. This utterly eliminates the quick hose-clog clearing technique of swapping hose ends and sucking the clog out from the other side. There is also no provision for attaching the hose to the exhaust, for use as a blower. As far as I'm concerned, these things alone make the units utterly useless as shop vacuums. On the positive side, they are much quieter than they used to be, and are pretty efficient/cheap for the "occasional light dust" crowd. With the new/improved/longer cord, you can even actually plug the little suckers in and use them in a customer's home. FWIW, Ron
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