i disected the shop vac and figured out 1) aluminum oxide did not chew up the motor. the motor is isolated from the blower wheel, and the motor is clean. 2) the failure happened in one of the windings... there is a one-shot fuse hardwired into the winding. the fuse is shot. why the hell would they build it like that? why not a replaceable fuse?? why save the motor from burning up if it's still going to be shot or require a major undertaking to replace it??
can anyone recommend a shop vac with a continuous duty motor? because this was apparently not one of those.