Looking for a new Shop Vac

[Tony Falotico]

to replace the old sears (the only craftsman tool I have that DOESN'T suck!).

Is there anything out there to compare with the Festool or Fein ?? Lowes has a Shop Vac with a Stainless Steel Tank, but other than looking neat I question if it's any better then what I have. The filters on my current model do not work well and have extremely short life spans. I really want a vacuum that collects the dust particles and does not redistribute them.

I've noticed from searching the forum that the Festool seems to be favored, as a matter of fact there is one post selling a Fein to purchase a Festool. Any negative comments on either machine?

[Charlie Plesums]

Everyone says the top of the line shop vacs you listed are great, but I haven't invested. They are quiet, but at the demos where they were used, they haven't seemed that much better than what I have.

If you are interested in very good but relatively inexpensive units, look at the Ridgid line at Home Depot. I had a big Craftsman that didn't suck, like yours, and was always in the way. Then I had a small one that was too small. Finally I got the Ridgid, and it has worked VERY well for the last several years. I think it is about 5 gallons (as big as I wanted to kick around the shop and have in the way), uses a pleated filter (gives the big filter area you need) and costs about $75.

[Jason Roehl]

Tony, there's a couple things you can do to improve upon the sub-$100 vacs. Get the HEPA pleated filters with the "slippery" media. Dust doesn't clog them up and they cost about $20. In addition to that, you can use a disposable dust bag, of which there are several grades. I use the ones specifically rated for drywall dust--I can sand drywall all day w/o a mask using one of these; nothing in the air, nothing on the floor. I think I pay $12 for 2 of these (there are some that are also about 3/$10, but they don't filter as well, IMO). Any of the QSP ShopVacs are relatively quiet and have good suction (they've done everything I've asked of them within their size limits). Just don't hook a vac with one of those bags up to a planer.... :D Can you say, "Full in no time?"

[Phil Winn]

I have a Festool vac, the 33E, the larger one-I love it. I had a Fein before
as well as the newer Bosch---the Festool is by far the nicest of the bunch.
Little noise, high suck, auto on/off, and you can stack the systainers
on top for storage. Its a GREAT system. The 22 and 33 have the same guts,
but only differ in size....
Phil

[Tyler Howell]

I have to 2 Feins and the Festool CT. I really like them all. The CT is a great place to stack and store your Festool Systainers :D.

The auto start is a great feature available from both suppliers.

[Greg Griswold]

Tony,

I have a Festool CT22 and a ShopVac 6 Gallon. The Festool works GREAT with my Festools and will do some vacuuming up, but does not compare with the 6 gallon ShopVac for general vacuuming. The ShopVac uses a larger hose and has more "suck".

Greg

[Ted Daigle]

I've got the Ridgid. Well-priced and does a good job of cleanup without a ton of maintenance. Doesn't compare with Festool in performance, of course. But, then again, it doesn't compare with Festool on price either. I guess it all boils down to the same old tool questions:

1. What are you using it for?
2. How much can you afford for the need (or want :rolleyes: )?

[Jack Hogoboom]

Given the price of the Festool, I'd want to have a ShopVac for general cleaning and save the Festool to hook up to machines.

Jack

[Dave Brandt]

I have the small Fein and one of the Shopvac QSP machines. If I were doing it again, I'd have two Shopvac QSPs. Not only are they cheaper, they're just as quiet (I ran them side by side), and they take standard fittings.

[Lloyd Robins]

I love my Festool vac for small machine extraction. I also have a large QSP by ShopVac. The ShopVac is not as quiet, but it is quieter than other shop vacuums that I have been around. It has great suction. In fact I have one of the small dust collection (2-1/2") systems, and it gets the dust from all around the shop. I have had it for about 12 years, so it has paid for itself.

[Jim Guy]

I have the Festool CT22 and also the Ridgid. I use them both for different jobs. If you're thinking of getting the Ridgid, be sure you have some kind of ear protection. It's the loudest thing in my shop. What it does, it does well - I just hate the sound of it. The Festool is of course a pleasure to use.

[John Gregory]

I do not know how accurate my information is, but I have heard that Home Depot will have a special on their 12 gal $69.95 shop vac on sale this Friday only for $29.95. Since this Friday is the biggest shopping day of the season.

[Mark Stutz]

Tony,
I just replaced my 20 yo Craftsman vac with a Shopvac brand. I got the 16.5 gal version. The old one still ran, but I was getting tired of the noise and the filter clogged easily and was expensive. I wish I had done this years ago. The old one sounded like a jet engine by comparison. I second the use of the filter bags. Cleaned up MDF dust without problems, but emptying the canister was even easier! I have the Hepa filter as well and plan to try it without the filter for standard ships and such.

Mark

[Tom LaRussa]

I've noticed from searching the forum that the Festool seems to be favored, as a matter of fact there is one post selling a Fein to purchase a Festool. Any negative comments on either machine?
Both are WAAAYYYY too expensive, IMHO. Other than that I suppose they are fine.

Personally I would not bother buying one even if they were cheap as I'm very happy with my 1.5 HP Delta.

[Jim Becker]

The Fein has a slight edge on noise level over the Festool, but the latter is a "more convenient" design, IMHO, for tucking away in the shop during or after use. WAP also makes a similar unit, but I don't know much about it. All of these are definitely a larger investment than the more traditional "shop vacs" but they have excellent designs, great filtration, both standard and optional, and are very quiet. Both are available with integral tool/vac switching, too, although they are not unique in that. If you plan on using your vac for dust extration from small tools, you can't go wrong with the Fein or Festool vacs. If it's just for general cleanup around the shop and garage, then there is little incentive to go with these more expensive machines...pick up a replacement Sears/Ridgid/ShopVac or similar...and wear ear protection.

[Tim Sproul]

Both are WAAAYYYY too expensive, IMHO. Other
Personally I would not bother buying one even if they were cheap as I'm very happy with my 1.5 HP Delta.

shop vacuums and dust collectors have similar but separate functions. Sorta like many tools. You can rip with a crosscut saw....but you're much better off in most instances ripping with a rip filed saw.

DC have high flow rates - CFM - but cannot suck much air against any appreciable amounts of resistance. Shop vacuums have much lower flow rates but can maintain that flow rate even against lots of resistance. Also, I know my shop vacuums don't care if I suck up some errant metal fasteners or rocks or such...while the DC will put those sharp and hard objects right into the lower bag - especially bad when the lower bag is plastic but still not good for fabric bags either.

I have a Ridgid and a Festool - I really appreciate the adjustable speed on the Festool and the lack of filter clogging. When cleaning up after cutting a lot of MDF trim, the Ridgid filter clogs quickly while the Festool never has clogging problems. The adjustable speed is necessary if you use small tools - finish sanders are what I'm familiar with - as less suction still captures the dust but doesn't pull the sandpaper tightly down onto the work. Also, the hoses for the Festool are much more flexible than that for the Ridgid. The large rear wheels on the Festool also get over cords and other objects more easily. Neither have good on-board tool storage.

[Jack Wood]

One thing I will definitely check on is how well it will roll over it's own power cord or other small items on the floor, fatigue mat's etc, with out getting hung up or tipping over. I bought a low end "Shop Vac" and it's a real pain when your trying to sweep the floor with it and it tips over if you pull it over the cord. The ball in the cage gets sucked up and you have to turn it off and let it drop back down in order to continue!:mad: So the next one I get will have to have the ability to stay upright rolling over its own cord.

[Thomas Walker]

Fine Woodworking has a tool test on shop vacs.

They rated the Fein as best overall. I think it rated the same as the festool but the fein is costs less. The fein is rated as 65 db, the festool as 58-68 db depending on the speed selected.

They rated the craftsman 12 gallon 17922 as the best value because it's rugged, has good mobility and is stable. It is 76 db. The ridgid and shop vac ultra were about the same noise level.

-----

I had a shop vac that was tolerably quiet but I hated it because it was constantly tipping over every time I tried to move it.

I bought the festool as part of a package deal. It works great. It has a very long cord and long, flexible hose. It is quiet, incredible stable has a flat top which is great for setting tools on while working on something. You can purchase a larger diameter hose for it. The only complaint I have is that it weighs so much. It makes me hesitate to carry it upstairs unless I have to.

[Paul Dwight]

I have the 10-gallon Porter Cable vacuum. I'm not sure why this unit doesn't get more attention. It uses a filtration design that appears to be copied almost directly from Festool -- a flat pleated filter mounted above the tank and a system to knock the cake off the filter without opening the tank. Filter bags are available and are a little less expensive than the ones Festool sells. It has auto on/off. Suction power is great and thanks to the well-designed filter system, it stays great even when put to hard use. And it's much, much quieter than my old Ridgid vacuum. I did an in-store noise comparison between the P-C and the Fein. The Fein was quieter, but not by much.

Amazon sells the 10-gallon P-C vac for about $230. I think they're also offering $25 off the price of P-C tools, which would get you down to just above $200 (with free shipping). At this price, I think it is a smokin' deal!

The only complaint I have about the P-C vac is the 1.25" hose that ships with the unit doesn't fit ShopVac or Ridgid accessories. I with manufacturers would standardize these things.

The Festool hose for my 150/5 sander does fit the P-C vac, though. Bob Marino supplied me with a hose that has a 2.5" connector at the vac end, and it slips into the P-C vac without problem.

Hope this helps. -- Paul

[Frank Pellow]

Also, the hoses for the Festool are much more flexible than that for the Ridgid. The large rear wheels on the Festool also get over cords and other objects more easily. Neither have good on-board tool storage.
With the use of one or more systainers the Festool can be made to have excellent on board tool storge. :) Now, the fact that it does not a retractable or removable power cord is another matter. :(

[Tony Falotico]

I'm leaning toward a shop vac (or Ridgid) unit, I'm looking for general shop cleanup, vacuuming the cars, the garage -- that kind of stuff. I'll save the Fein or Festool for a later purchase when I'm looking more for dust collection and matching tools. Can't decide if I want the roll around floor model or the wall mount unit, or how big a unit I really need. I'll look around a bit this weekend and let y'all know what I end up.

Again, thanks for all the great input.

[Tony Falotico]

After looking them all over, buying one, bringing it back and trading for a bigger and more powerful one, I finally settled on the Shop Vac. Again, thanks for all the input, the Festool will come later when I'm ready for some Fes - tool's to go with it.

[Jason Roehl]

Tony, now that you have that beast of a ShopVac, I suggest trying it out for dust collection (such as on an ROS, not for any big tools), with the HEPA filter and/or dust bag installed. You may find you don't need a Fein or Festool in addition.

[Clint deal]

Very nice! I have a 10 year old Shop vac. I think it's a 12 gallon. I out one of those canister filters on it and it works great. not too load, great suction. It's been dragged around and beat on for 20 years and still going strong. if it ever dies I'll get another just like it

Clint