Need to get wet/dry shop vac mainly for basement leaks. Home Depot, Sears, or Amazon?

[Dennis S]

My unfinished basement leaks after heavy rains. I have banked the dirt against the sides of the house, put sheet rubber in the obvious places to run the water off, and put up gutters.

There is a trench under the house around the inside wall next to the basement where water collects and seeps through where the concrete floor and cinder block walls meet. There is a spring on our property and I've been told that rain makes the water table rise to fill up the trench. It then seeps in by hydrostatic pressure.

So right now, before I spend any more money or hassle with a sump pump, I just want a wet/dry shop vac to get the bulk of the water out right away after a rain.

I will spend up to $100 and will be in the big city Thursday, so I can pick one up at Home Depot or Sears, or order one from Amazon. I have no idea how many gallons or horsepower I need. I may also use it to vacuum the car, vacuum miscellaneous indoor water leaks, or clean up after a future reflooring project. There is a drain hole in the middle of the basement floor I can discharge the water into. What do y'all suggest?

[Ombligo]

Any should be fine.. really comes down to how many gallons are needed.

Though I'd just put the sump in with a float valve, run the line to the drain and be done with it. You can do that for around the $100 you want to spend on the wet/dry van.

I've been using this pump without the float for more than a year with no issues. That is $61, add in another $20 for either PVC or a garden hose. Simple easy and will do the job.

[space-time]

what happens when you go in vacation, who will vacuum when you are not there? maybe a sump pump is better. what do you do when power goes out? do you have a generator?some sump pumps have battery backups, or you could use an UPS. I don't think you can run a shop vac on a UPS, at least not long.

[thermarest]

For that kind of product I kind of doubt Amazon will beat the Depot on price. HD has 90-day return vs. 30 at Amazon, plus you'd have it in hand immediately.

[cbelt3]

I've always liked the Sears shop vacuums. Their line of filters now are washable, so you can use it for both wet and dry. Be sure to get one with a drain plug, so you can just drain it into a drain without having to lift up 10-20 gallons of water.

[Dennis S]

I don't go on vacations and it's not a disaster when it happens. I just want to dry it as quick as I can to cut down on the mold and smell. I want to get a shop vac anyway so I'd like to decide what to get before tomorrow and worry about a sump pump later.

It doesn't "flood," it just gets wet with about 1/8" of water covering up to about 40 square feet - usually less. I can't visualize how many gallons of capacity I need with some to spare.

I'll start a sump pump thread later.

[Dennis S]

OK. I've ruled out Amazon. It's head-to-head between Sears and HD.

[rgG]

Dennis S wrote:
OK. I've ruled out Amazon. It's head-to-head between Sears and HD.

Go with whoever has the best deal. Either one should stand behind their product.

[DRR]

For your use, especially with a drain nearby, I would get a smaller portable unit.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-4-Gal-...gv6pmTXTak

The larger ones with higher HP and larger gallon capacity are great, but their large size makes them more "shop" vacs. I have one for example, that I use in the garage and around the yard, but I can't carry it into the attic to service my AC drains. Using it for any purpose inside the house is unwieldy. If you have a drain nearby and it only rains occasionally, I'd get the light duty vac I linked above, and vac up 4 gallons at a time, and then just empty it into the drain and start over.

[Ombligo]

Dennis S wrote:

It doesn't "flood," it just gets wet with about 1/8" of water covering up to about 40 square feet - usually less. I can't visualize how many gallons of capacity I need with some to spare.

40sf @ 1/8" (.125) deep = 5cf
1cf = 7.48051948 gallons
5cf = 37.4 gallons, so you would need a 40 Gallon wet dry to do it in one trip. They don't make those

16 gallon are the largest wet/dry's, so you'll dump a few times.
These are both 6hp, and similar.

HD - 14 gallon: $99
Sears - 16 gallon: $79.88

So Sears looks to have a very slight edge. just depends on the build quality.


But an idea --Maybe a bucket head vacuum for $22 and a pool vacuum hose. Just put the pail over the drain (with the bottom cut out), attach the long hose to it, put the floor attachment to the other and vacuum away. the water goes straight down the drain.

Buck head
Pool hose (this is 24')