Replacement Vac, Festool or New Fein

[Mac McQuinn]

I'm looking at replacing my old 6HP Craftsman Vac. I have it set up with a "muffler" and Hepa filter although it's still loud and I can't get bags for this old a model for preventing a plugged filter. I'm looking at the Festool or the new Fein Turbos. I believe the Festools have a smaller 1" hose and the Fein Turbo l & ll's have 1.25". The Tubo lll has a 2.25" I believe. I want to use the vac for both didicated powered hand tools and general vac type use although while the Tubo lll should work well, I'm concerned the small diameter hose models of Festool and Fein might not. Any feedback here?

thanks,
Mac

[Jason White]

The Festool CT22 is great and has variable suction and you can buy bags for it.

They also sell different diameter hoses. The rubber "boot" on the tool end of the hose fits all kinds of non-Festool sanders, routers, etc.

Be sure to get the grey-colored "anti-static" hose, as it's cheaper and is all you need for non-Festool machines.

Good luck.

Jason



I'm looking at replacing my old 6HP Craftsman Vac. I have it set up with a "muffler" and Hepa filter although it's still loud and I can't get bags for this old a model for preventing a plugged filter. I'm looking at the Festool or the new Fein Turbos. I believe the Festools have a smaller 1" hose and the Fein Turbo l & ll's have 1.25". The Tubo lll has a 2.25" I believe. I want to use the vac for both didicated powered hand tools and general vac type use although while the Tubo lll should work well, I'm concerned the small diameter hose models of Festool and Fein might not. Any feedback here?

thanks,
Mac

[Scott Coffelt]

I have both, I started with big ole Ridgid. Talk about loud. I upgraded to the mini-Fein, didn't need the capacity as much as the performance. This wa sbefore I learned about Festool. It has worked fine, but the one thing I always hated was the lack of speed control. Just got the Midi, the size is great, one draw back is no hepa. I wanted the smaller size over the Hepa feature. I do not notice any dust based issues as of yet. I can tell you the sound level is much lower than the Fein. I am very pleased with it. It now is being used whenever I use a Festool tool. The Fein, remains my shop cleanup vac and stays stored in a cabinet until use. The Ridgid is fast finding itself headed for Craigslist or donation pile. With my Fein I needed the small fein step adapters for all the Festool tools, obviously I don't now. Both are good, so it is down to what features you want, price and size.

[chris dub]

I'd have a very hard time justifying the Festool vacs over the new Fein's if you aren't putting together a Festool system, now that the Feins have a a variable suction. The Fein III you get 15 gallons, quieter operation 19 AMP auto start capacity and larger diameter hose for $30 or so less than a CT22. With the Turbo II you get all of the above except you get 9 gallon capacity (which is still more than the CT22) and same size hose for $100 less. And Going down to the Turbo I you get the same capacity as a CT22 and all of the above for $200 less.

And as I put this together I stumbled on this: http://www.amazon.com/Factory-Reconditioned-Bosch-3931A-RT-Airsweep-Cleaner/dp/B000NOMF60/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1232748769&sr=1-2 (http://www.amazon.com/Factory-Reconditioned-Bosch-3931A-RT-Airsweep-Cleaner/dp/B000NOMF60/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1232748769&sr=1-2)

I was looking at this choice earlier this month and went with the older Turbo I off ebay for $200. But I also don't use my tools for a living.

If that Bosch Recon was available then I may have gone that route.

[Eddie Shih]

I'm looking at replacing my old 6HP Craftsman Vac. I have it set up with a "muffler" and Hepa filter although it's still loud and I can't get bags for this old a model for preventing a plugged filter. I'm looking at the Festool or the new Fein Turbos. I believe the Festools have a smaller 1" hose and the Fein Turbo l & ll's have 1.25". The Tubo lll has a 2.25" I believe. I want to use the vac for both didicated powered hand tools and general vac type use although while the Tubo lll should work well, I'm concerned the small diameter hose models of Festool and Fein might not. Any feedback here?

thanks,
Mac

I did not have Fein vac so I can't comment on that. But I really recommand you get a FESTool CT22. Even though you may not use the tool from FESTool currently but think about you might one day buy a FESTool tool. I will suggest you go get a FESTool Sander. Using FESTool sander with the CT22 is such a joy, you can hardly see the dust from sanding.

[Vince Shriver]

I think the key is whether you will be getting Festool tools, in which case The C22 (or bigger) would be the ticket. If not, then the Fein would be a viable choice if you feel the power and features and price is better. Pretty simple I would think. Either way, you are not going to go wrong with those two machines.

[Keith Outten]

Mac,

You have another option. Check out Oneida Air's web site, they have a couple of vac options in their line up now.

http://www.oneida-air.com/

I own the Dust Cobra, it is a vacuum not a dust collector even though it has a cyclone. I must admit it is a pricey option but they do have another vac that may be in your price range and be the best value.
.

[Darl Bundren]

I own the CT22 or whatever it's called by Festool. I appreciate the big flat top so I can set my tools and stuff on there when I am working. Then I can simply roll my drill, hammer, level, screws, square, and whatnot down to the other end of the closet or whatever without having to load everything up.

It does a good job with dust collection, too, but with the stock hose it's only so-so as a general clean-up vac as the smaller diameter hose mandates more sweeping action.

The variable speed and tool actuation are nice.

I'd bet that either vacuum will please you.

[ron hokenson]

I'm looking at replacing my old 6HP Craftsman Vac. I have it set up with a "muffler" and Hepa filter although it's still loud and I can't get bags for this old a model for preventing a plugged filter. I'm looking at the Festool or the new Fein Turbos. I believe the Festools have a smaller 1" hose and the Fein Turbo l & ll's have 1.25". The Tubo lll has a 2.25" I believe. I want to use the vac for both didicated powered hand tools and general vac type use although while the Tubo lll should work well, I'm concerned the small diameter hose models of Festool and Fein might not. Any feedback here?

thanks,
Mac

I have both of the vacuums you are considering. The fein was new last year and the festool is newly purchased. I find that both do about the same job picking up dust and small chips. I only have the small hose as sold with the units as new. I will say that the festool vacuum system works as advertised with festools. It collects most all of the dust. When used as a pickup for a sander, make sure and get a speed control. I am happy with both products and if I only could have one, would probably purchase the fein over the festool. Not sure, but I bet the fein would work as well on the festools.

...ron

[Vince Shriver]

I have both of the vacuums you are considering. The fein was new last year and the festool is newly purchased. I find that both do about the same job picking up dust and small chips. I only have the small hose as sold with the units as new. I will say that the festool vacuum system works as advertised with festools. It collects most all of the dust. When used as a pickup for a sander, make sure and get a speed control. I am happy with both products and if I only could have one, would probably purchase the fein over the festool. Not sure, but I bet the fein would work as well on the festools.

...ron


You are probably right about the Fein working well with Festools. The only thing I would add is that the Festool vac has some pretty slick attachments that are proprietory with other Festools. Example the sustainer stack and the hose garage added to the sustainer stack. Also, and I don't know if Fein offers this, but the Festool Boom is very handy in keeping the cord/hose out of the way.

[doug faist]

Mac - I've had the Turbo II for almost 5 years now and it's been a great investment for me. I use it primarily for general shop cleanup, attached to my ROS and the occasional wet clean up (don't ask).

The vacuum performs flawlessly as a sanding dust collector; virtually no dust left and none in the air. The tool activated mode works quite well with the sander, my scroll saw and the drill press. Even bigger chips get sucked up.

I have used, not owned, a Festool vacuum and neither will disappoint you. But for the price, my vote would still go to the Fein.

Good luck with your purchase.
Doug

[Tom Cross]

I suggest you look at something different as well - the Alto/Wap/Attix industrial vacuum. I have had one for 15 years. It is ultra quiet, comes standard with a 2.5" hose, is much tougher than Fein/Festool and can operate for hours without a whimper. It is terrific for use with random orbit sanders, biscuit joiner and Festool Domino. It can also handle a chop saw and similar tools and clean up the shop. It is one tough vacuum and will outlast the others many times over in my opinion and experience. You can get a smaller diameter hose for the hand power tools.

[Mac McQuinn]

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts on this. My WC store carries both the Fein and Festool vacs, I believe it's time to do some tire kicking .....and I'll do some additional investigating on the other three vacs mentioned.

Thanks,
Mac

[Bruce Page]

You might be able to find the older T3 on closeout somewhere. It’s a great vacuum. I have a 1¼” hose that I saved from my old Craftsman “Tool Vac” POC that fits both my Fein T3 and all of my PC sanders, BOSS spindle sander, 557 plate joiner, etc., perfectly.

The last time I looked, you could still find the hose at the Sears website for ~ $25

[Joe Jensen]

I really like Festool and have nearly all their sanders, but IMHO the Fein is a better vac than the Festool. I personally have a 15 year old WAP (Now Alto) which is better still. The Fein is much quieter than the Festool. The Festool gives you a way to mount the systainers on top and it takes the boom arm, but to me a vac that you can't hear over the sander is the top priority. I think the Fein is 56db and the Festool is 72db. That a substantial difference. 10db is supposed to sound twice a loud. Since the store has both, it would be easy to see if the numbers are accurate.

[Jason White]

The one knock I have on the Festool vacs (if you can even call it one) is the plastic wheels.

The older Fein vacs had pretty beefy-looking metal casters on them. I bet they'll hold up better over 10-20 years than the Festool wheels will.

Jason


Thanks to everyone for their thoughts on this. My WC store carries both the Fein and Festool vacs, I believe it's time to do some tire kicking .....and I'll do some additional investigating on the other three vacs mentioned.

Thanks,
Mac

[Karl Brogger]

I personally have a 15 year old WAP (Now Alto) which is better still.

I've used Alto Wap vacs for a while now. They are really nice. I'm glad someone else pointed them out too.

[Rich Tesoroni]

I have the older model mini-fein and you can buy the clear (clean?)stream hepa filters that fit them all over for $30 instead of the $100 Fein filter. Is that still the case with the newer vacs?

Rich

[Mac McQuinn]

I have the older model mini-fein and you can buy the clear (clean?)stream hepa filters that fit them all over for $30 instead of the $100 Fein filter. Is that still the case with the newer vacs?

Rich


I believe the new Feins that just came out have the Hepa filter standard....

Mac