Decently priced filters & bags for a vacuum?

[ian maybury]

I've a Bosch GAS 25 vacuum which is a UK/European model, and have been looking about buying more bags and a new BIA M filter for it. Also a replacement nozzle. The UK/Irish prices for the Bosch stuff are pretty shocking if the example I looked at is anything to go by - UK£94 for filters, £44 for the nozzle and £25 for a 5 pack of bags.

How long do you get out of filters? How well do they clean? (the unit has a vibratory cleaner, but I mean taking them out and blowing them clean)

What in general do you guys do to buy stuff like this? Is there reasonably priced and good quality pattern stuff around out there? (if it exists in the US then it's probably to be found in Europe too) This is presumably why lots go for mini cyclones for their vacuum?

ian

[Bill ThompsonNM]

I sometimes think purveyors of vacuums are adopting the ink jet printer model. All the money is in the supplies!
Sounds like Bosch supply pricing is comparable to fein and others. It's why I'm thinking of adding a dust deputy or equivalent.... So far I'm resisting because of the added bulk of building a cart for a vacuum and a cyclone.
In the meantime, you might see if you can get a Cleanstream filter that fits your vacuum since its washable. They only make ones for a limited set but, for example, the shopvac filter fits the Fein vacuum as do some of the Shopvac bags. Perhaps you might find similar for the Bosch. You could probably email them with dimensions and get something close enough. ordering, of course will just depend on which companies are willing to ship to the UK or stock them there.

Too bad someone doesn't make a shop vacuum capacity, Fein quiet small cyclone machine with wheels.

[Bill Joslin]

FWW recently had an article evaluating shop vacs. They made a strong case for adding a chip separator and a HEPA filter, and doing without the bag. Their studies show that the chip and dust separator will remove so much that the HEPA filter works well for a long time. I followed this advice for my FEIN Turbo II, and am amazed how little material gets into the shop vac and/or onto the filter.

I had an extra FEIN filter bag on hand so am using it, but wonder if it will ever be filled up.

The FWW article makes a strong case for spending the extra $$ for a true HEPA filter since it removes the fine particles that are the worst for our lungs. It was a gulp, but hopefully a very rare purchase going forward. This system makes it nearly a "one time" investment -- as opposed to the ongoing cost of bags and filters. And cleaner air (yes, I can tell the difference) to boot.

fwiw, I added hoses to each major tool to facilitate easy switching, and use a Rockler Vortex ($69) chip separator because it is mounted on casters and is transparent (easy to see when to empty). Since I cannot have a real dust system, this so far seems like a real upgrade to what I had before.

Hope this helps. If the cost of bags and filters is the issue, this might be an alternative to a cheaper source.

Bill

[J.R. Rutter]

Added Dust Deputy to my Fien with HEPA and it is making a big difference. It is used 100% for ROS, so very fine dust, and the little cyclone works really well.

[ian maybury]

Thank you very much guys. It's something I'd not taken much notice of as I use it for routers and for a Festool rail saw - none of which I do large amounts of work with. I'd even figured out a that I could slit the bottom of the bag to empty it, and seal it again with tape.

It sounds like it's off down the cyclone and dust research road again, and that there's no magic source for low cost consumables.

ian

[Lloyd Kerry]

Another idea for vacuum bags is a cleaning supply store; they tend to sell wholesale and might take a liking to an entrepreneurial type like a woodworker!

[J.R. Rutter]

I think that I saw somewhere a D.D. installed into a Festool Systainer lid.