DeWalt 16 Gallon Shop Vac - Review

[Nature Man]

Purchased the below shop vacuum back in December 2025, just two months ago. I bought it to replace a ShopVac I had for about 10 years that burned out. About a week ago as I was using the DeWalt for about 15 minutes, it just stopped all of a sudden. Of course, I did all the things you would do when that happens, checking the position of the switch, making sure it was still plugged in, and even checked the circuit breaker. Everything was normal-normal, except the vacuum had shut down. I unplugged it and waited about 10 minutes before I retried it again. Plugged it back in and it started like a champ. Used it for about 10 minutes, and then it cut out again. Being disgusted I unplugged it and decided to give it a rest for the day. The next day it started right up, but after about 10 minutes it stopped once again. That was when I decided I had to take action, because I just can’t live with a new piece of equipment that is still in the warranty period that does not function properly. So, yesterday I took it back to Home Depot to get my money back. No problems there whatsoever. The purpose of this thread is to give anyone that is contemplating purchasing a DeWalt shop vacuum a heads up on the problem I encountered. Chuck

 

[woodtickgreg]

Wow that's really strange. The 2 vacs I've purchased have been excellent without any problems. Sorry you got a bad one.

 

[2feathers Creative Making]

Sounds like the overheat button was too sensitive. Glad to hear the supplier did you right.
Give us an update on second unit if you don't mind. We tend to use DeWalt shop vacs at work. I will avoid if they are falling down on the job. We have to have continuous run for powered sanding dust collection . Sure need more than 15 minutes of sanding time.

 

[Nature Man]

Sounds like the overheat button was too sensitive. Glad to hear the supplier did you right.
Give us an update on second unit if you don't mind. We tend to use DeWalt shop vacs at work. I will avoid if they are falling down on the job. We have to have continuous run for powered sanding dust collection . Sure need more than 15 minutes of sanding time.

I actually decided to not replace with another DeWalt, even though I am a big DeWalt fan. Staying with Home Depot, I opted to give the Ridgid brand a run for its money. Put it together yesterday and gave it a trial run. So far, so good. My only concern at this point is it does not have an internal collection bag for sawdust, etc. Appears to be more powerful than the DeWalt, and more noisier. Below is the comparative unit that I bought. Chuck

 

[TimR]

The old guys around here will appreciate there was a time when you just bought a Craftsman and it just kept going like that little bunny. After 45 years I finally had to replace it when it died, and tried getting the Lowe’s store who carry Craftsman to replace it. Seems like there may have been a lifetime warranty on recently purchased ones, but not mine. I opted for a Ridgid, if I recall it was rated a little quieter than others. So far, I’m happy with it…but don’t expect 45 years of service.

 

[Mike Hill]

The old guys around here will appreciate there was a time when you just bought a Craftsman and it just kept going like that little bunny. After 45 years I finally had to replace it when it died, and tried getting the Lowe’s store who carry Craftsman to replace it. Seems like there may have been a lifetime warranty on recently purchased ones, but not mine. I opted for a Ridgid, if I recall it was rated a little quieter than others. So far, I’m happy with it…but don’t expect 45 years of service.

I loved it when Sears would take back tools and fishing rods. Dad was a manager and when returns would come back, they used to put it in back and offer it to the employees at a fraction of the cost. If careful, you could get some mighty fine items at a great price. All my rods and reels were returns. Sometimes we had to find a replacement screw or bolt, but they worked fine. Still have my Mitchel 300 that was my first open faced spinning reel, which was a return. My first fly rod - an all glass Ted Williams with Pflueger reel - I also still have. Since he was manager, he also was issued a special card which gave him/us an extra percentage off - can't remember the percentage. Could use it for all but gasoline. His store had gas pumps. My uncle who managed the appliance department, furnished his whole shop largely with returned tools - and he had almost every tool that Sears sold.

 

[Big Ry]

I have the stainless tank version of that vacuum. I got it probably 4-5 years ago direct from Stanley Black & Decker. I bought that one cause it was the top rated by Project Farm. Though my real world experience is somewhat underwhelming. It works, don't get me wrong, but it just doesn't feel like it has the sucking power that the Sears Craftsman vacs I've always ran have had. One of my biggest annoyances though is the lack of swivel in the hose. It makes using the vac a royal pain cause you're constantly fighting the hose.

About 2 years ago i dedicated it to dust collection in my shop. I was using a dust deputy, so it wasn't seeing much dust until i filled my bucket. Then came time to swap filters. I got a couple high micron DeWalt branded filters for free . There made for this exact model. I put one on and after only a couple minutes of use the motor cooked itself. There was no warning, and it never came back to life ever. In fact it's still laying on my basement floor lol. I'm certain the filter killed it.

The upside is that i contacted SBD and got sent a free replacement despite being out of warranty.. It's actually not SBD that handles it. They get their vacuums made by a third party (name escapes me at the moment). So i really should credit that company for honoring the expired warranty.. That was very nice. I still use it for dust collection, but it's dedicated to my belt sander and oscillating spindle sander only, so it doesn't see much use. I took off the high micron filter.