Review on Heavy-Duty 20 Gallon 6.5HP Wet/Dry Vacuum By CRAFTSMAN - Includes Attachments! by Gregory Braddock

Anyone buying a any product should assess his/her own needs, applications, and budget before making a purchase decision. The right product for one person isn't the right product for another. I read a lot of product reviews before making a purchase decision, and I read a lot of one and five star reviews from people that I don't think know what they're talking about, so the reviews aren't much help if you cannot assess the reviewer.So here's my two cents. I'm a serious home hobbyist wood and metal worker, formerly did it for a living. I had a Craftsman heavy duty 20 gallon shop vac that just died after 40 years of incredible service. In shopping for a new vac, I was appalled at how cheap everything now is, and from all vendors: plastic instead of metal, lower cost materials, and less durable. Unfortunately, most of the local stores do not carry 20 gallon shop vacs, but cater to the lower end smaller products. I bought a Rigid 14 gallon heavy duty vac as the replacement, and was immediately disappointed. The vacuum was anemic, and the 14 gallon canister was entirely inadequate. The canister is so short that the filter soon becomes surrounded by debris and begins losing suction when the canister is only half full.So I began an online search. Many of the mainstay vac companies don't even make a 20 gallon vac, but Craftsman had two or more models. I compared all the specs between the Craftsman models, and ended up buying the CRAFTSMAN CMXEVBE17596, which has significantly more suction (measured in CFM) than the other models. I've now had the opportunity to use is extensively, and it has the same strength of vacuum as my dead vac (critical performance for me), and matches it for other performance features as well. Here's what was finally important to me: wet/dry capability, 20 gallon canister, 20 foot power cord (anything less is a joke if you really want to use this as a shop vac), and high suction (190 CFM according to Craftsman, and HP or peak HP is really a meaningless measurement since air movement is the only thing that matters). The only remaining question is the unit's durability. I'm happy in every other regard.From my perspective, the optional dust bag that lines the canister is worthless. It simply does what the canister itself already does: collects whatever your vacuum sucks up, but you pay each time you use one and throw one away. It's a completely unnecessary expense.