If you’re in the market for a wet dry vac for your garage or shop, you should think about what else you can use the machine for. Lots of people get wet dry vacs in emergency flooding situations or for home construction, but when that job’s done, what else can the machine do? There are so many wet dry vacs on the market, and they all do pretty much the same thing from a simple vacuuming perspective, but they also have such a variety of other functions, it’s really worth your time checking out the extras for each one of them.
Although it’s not the fanciest vacuum on the market, the Ridgid WD1450 Wet/Dry Vacuum has a good set of in-the-box accessories and performs well in both wet and dry environments. It’s also easy to switch between wet and dry, and there’s a super strong exhaust port that you can use to direct exhaust and heat away from your workspace and use as a blower as well. Plus, it’s just quiet enough to use in the house without destroying your family’s hearing. Overall, it’s a good little vacuum for a great price.
Solid, Dependable Performance on Several Levels
Most consumer devices have those really obvious design flaws that make you smack your head and say – what were they thinking? Unfortunately, there are so many components to wet/dry vacuums that there’s a whole lot of room for design problems. But Ridgid has done really well with the WD1450. There’s only one single stupid design mistake – everything else is right on the money. The best features are:
- Noise level
- Variety of accessories included and available
- Functionality
- Portability and ease of use
So Quiet You Could Hear a Pin Drop…
OK, not really, but the suction is so powerful that it’ll probably catch the pin before it even hits the floor anyway. The Ridgid WD1450 isn’t quite as quiet as the Fein 9-77-25 Turbo III, but it’s still quiet enough to be used in your shop without your neighbors complaining, and you don’t have to put on hearing protection every single time. Your family can use it around the house too. Ridgid says they implement scroll noise reduction which, if I understand the patent correctly, swirls air around the inside and somehow reduces the noise. It must work because the machine is pretty quiet. There’s an optional muffler that you can get for the exhaust port, but be warned that it’s really more of a diffuser and it doesn’t reduce the noise that much.
Lots of Accessories in the Box
It’s louder than the Fein, but it’s got a lot more goodies in the box too. The Ridgid WD1450 comes with two extension tubes and three nozzles, including a car nozzle and a wet nozzle, perfect for garage use. If you plan to use this vacuum a lot inside your home, you can get a floor attachment and a dust brush as well. Since it uses a standard 2 1/2″ hose, it’ll fit other accessory kits as well.
Functionality
If you purchase a wet/dry vac, you expect it to be able to vacuum in both wet and dry environments out of the box, right? With the Ridgid WD1450, you can use both wet and dry from the moment you plug it in. Switching between the two environments is so easy. Want wet? Pop out the filter. Want dry? Pop it back in. It’s easy as pie, and a really long cord means you can always find a dry outlet in another room to plug it into. It’ll hold 14 gallons dry, a little less wet, which is enough for even large jobs.
Another function on this vacuum, although they don’t advertise it much, is a blower function. Unlike other machines that diffuse the exhaust around the drum before releasing it, the exhaust on the Ridgid WD1450 goes straight out the back and is quite powerful. This is the one stupid design mistake that I mentioned earlier. The powerful exhaust is bad if you happen to have a pile of stuff back there that you’d rather not blow around – dust, leaves, asbestos, etc. But with an extra hose, you can use the exhaust as a blower. So in the end it’s actually a good thing. You can get a muffler to diffuse the exhaust if you’ve no use for a blower.
The WD1450 is a good dust collection unit with the right filters (the fine-dust filter that comes standard is sufficient for most work), although it doesn’t have an automatic on function. It’s no problem if you’ve got a table with two outlets on the power switch.
Easy to Carry, Easy to Use
It’s only a little over 15 pounds, and with an easy carry handle, the Ridgid WD1450 might be the most portable wet/dry vac in its class. You can even drag it around by the hose because there’s a special Tug-A-Long locking device on it, and the casters swivel in 360 degrees. So when you’ve got to cover a lot of ground after, say, a flooring job, you can just vacuum like you normally would. It’s a cinch to put together too – just attach the wheels (they’re in the drum, don’t miss them). This machine has an accessory storage bag that’ll keep all the attachments close at hand, and it has a quick-release mechanism that allows you to get to the drum easily to dump it or change the filter.
Positive Feedback from Customers
Earning 4.5 out of 5 stars at Amazon and other online retailers, the Ridgid WD1450 is widely regarded as an excellent wet/dry vacuum for the money.
- “This Pro Vac is easily, hands down, the best vac I’ve ever used.”
- “When you consider the power, it’s hard to believe that the Ridgid is one of the quieter wet dry vacuums.”
- “A low center of gravity, great suction and quiet running make it a slick machine.”
- “I am a contractor and have been through many vacuums, and this is the vacuum I keep in my truck.”
- “This thing is great, powerful suction with waaayyyy less noise than my old vac.”
Where To Get the Ridgid WD1450
Prices vary wildly online, but at Amazon there’s a nice selection of third-party retailers with various shipping options to choose from, including some with free shipping.
