Shop-Vac 9551600 6.5-Peak HP Ultra Pro Series Wet or Dry Vacuum, 16-Gallon

We bought our first Shop-Vac, a 10-gallon, 4HP unit, back in 2005 and it served us well for 6 years, sucking up water quickly off the basement floor - sorry to say but we get a little bit of flooding from time to time when it rains a lot. And, believe it or not, we also used it to get the sand out of our pool filter a couple of times - several bucketfulls. Well... a couple of weeks ago that unit kicked the bucket, so to speak and we immediately ordered its successor. This one.It's bigger and more powerful which, when it comes to Shop-Vacs that are expected to suck in water and sand, translates to 'better'.Some things worth noting and which I like about this vac include:- 6.5 HP, quiet motor- 16-gallon capacity- Simple construction - it's basically a bucket with an electric motor on top, a big hose and some accessories.- Easy to take apart and reassemble. The hose comes off easily and so does the top.- Nice drain, it would empty the 16-gallon bucket in less than half a minute.- Easy to move around on 3 little caster wheels.- Great suction power - when it comes to water, it fills up the 16 gallons in less than a minute and would remove the water off the floor literally to the last drop.It comes with accessories - and all the accessories from our retired 10-gallon vac fit - and a convenient accessories bag. You also get a cartridge disposable filter and a disposable filter bag but filters are not needed when dealing with water. I liked the fact that the filters that fit this model - their part numbers - are on a sticker on the vac's body so, even if you misplace your manual, which I often do, you'll know what to order.The manual, by the way, it's not the best written one but assembly and operation are so easy, you don't really need one. Some assembly, by the way, is required. It involves attaching the caster feet to the vac's body and then snapping in the casters. You will need a flat head screwdriver.One thing that could be improved is the length of the power cord. I could use more than 18 feet. And it would be nice if the cord could be detached from the vac, making it easier to move it around when the bucket needs emptying._______________________________________Last year, when I wrote a review to mark our first Shop-Vac's 5th anniversary I wrote:[In spite of the little shortcomings, it still gets its 5 stars (translates into "I love it" on Amazon's stars scale) because not only do I love it but I'd probably buy a replacement if the one we have now stopped working. But, 5 years after we bought it, it did NOT stop working. Therefore the endorsement.]Well... that one did stop working and we did buy a replacement. And we did use it today when some heavy rains brought a little bit of water into our basement. We were glad to have the proper tool to address the emergency.

I own a cleaning business and here are my thoughts on this vac, its strong, the acceries work fine, its not that loud, its a good shop vac and gets the work done when needed which i only used a handfull of times and if that where it it get a 4 star rating. Here's the problem and the reason for the two stars. Not one, two, or three, but all four wheels fall off all the time "could be embarrassing in front of a new client" and tried to glue them on but to much space for glue to adhere too and so in the end i had to duct tape them on. And why? Because every company is in a race to china and craps on quality in the process.

Works good, just felt the construction would be stronger. The connector hose comes out of the attachments while vacuuming. It doesn't screw on, just slides in.

I bought this Shop-Vac 9551600 to replace an ancient SV "2HP" (8 amp motor) that finally gave up the ghost. This unit is quieter, has a lower center of gravity, and has a nice 2 1/2 inch dia hose with a lock. This unit sucks about as hard as my old 2HP unit, but, of course, electric appliance horsepower ratings have no basis in reality. This motor claims to be 12 amp, and the advertising claims 6.5HP, which is laughable, of course. If the motor truly draws 12 amps, then it is very inefficient.Everything works so far, so I guess I have nothing to complain about, but the entire unit is very cheaply constructed. This unit won't be lasting 30 years, that's for sure. I had originally hoped to buy a higher quality vac, but I wanted a unit that handles a 2 1/2 inch hose without adapters, so it can swallow debris from a table saw, and all the higher priced units seem to have ports of 1 1/2 inches or so.The manual is excruciatingly bad. It doesn't even mention warranty registration, but you *do* have to register the unit on the Shop Vac website. The Shop Vac website is also terrible. I defy anyone to find the correct replacement filters armed with only the model number, the manual, and the SV website. The website "filter guide" has a comprehensive list of model numbers which are apparently used in Tralfamadore, or perhaps Mars, since they bear no resemblance to model number on the carton (9551600) or the model number on the unit (16RHT650C). The "request support" button on the website is a circular loop that brings you back eventually to where you started without ever encountering a method for actually contacting someone. The website must have been designed by someone who was fired from the DMV.All this grousing aside, I am reasonably satisfied with the product, as you can see from my 4 stars. It works, and has a few functional improvements from my old Jimmy Carter era model. I just wish that the unit didn't have such a cheap feel (for example 2 latches that almost don't lock over center right now), and a hopelessly disorganized manual and website, which altogether give me the feeling that this thing will be falling apart before long.

I used to love this shop-vac, but it died this week. I bought it here on Amazon Dec 9, 2012 to replace a little 1hp shop-vac that still works. Looks like the brushes have gone out. I do not use it everyday and when I do it is intermittent usage in my home garage. My garage is not commercial business. Now the vac emits a burnt electronic smell with traces of black soot coming out from around the motor. Sometimes it will not start unless you tap on the on/off switch. For a top of the line shop-vac I expected it to last a lot longer than this. I don't know if I will by another shop-vac after this one.

Everything I wanted and more! This is the perfect size. I bought this one for my upstairs pellet stove area. With the fine-dust bags, I can clean out the stove and never have any dust & ash in the air. Very rarely use any of the attachments, but they are handy once in a while. The size is the best part about it, the canister still holds plenty yet I don't have a huge bulky piece sitting around. Works great, good power.