Your shop vaccum suggestions please!

[Dan Zemcik]

I am looking for anyone's suggestions and personal experience with shop vaccums..I am looking to use it for dust collection with my sander and router. I am considering the Bosch airsweep or the Dewalt D27904. But seem to interest me because of the automatic filter cleaners. I would also like to use a HEPA filter in the vac as well. I am also open to anyone's suggestions on other models. Thanks to any replies.

[G Douglas Fowler]

You can spend a lot of a little and get pretty much the same functionality. The best vac I ever had in terms of suction was a 30-year old Craftsman and I finally replaced it with a Shp Vac. It does the same job although a little quiter. I use mine with routers, ROS, belt sanders and pretty much anything that it can fit on. You can puy HEPA filters to fit in any vac; some may include one or it is an $30 option. One thing I would really recommend is an Oneida Dust Deputy hooked inline with the vac. This pint-sized cyclone will extend the life of your vac and filter as well as almost eliminating cleaning the vac canister. One of the best buys around.

[Van Huskey]

Certainly add the Festool and Fein vacs to your list.

[Thomas Hotchkin]

[ One thing I would really recommend is an Oneida Dust Deputy hooked inline with the vac. This pint-sized cyclone will extend the life of your vac and filter as well as almost eliminating cleaning the vac canister. One of the best buys around.[/QUOTE]

1+ What G Douglas, said about Oneida Dust Deputy. I have yet, needed to clean filter on my Fein vacuum, with the Oneida Dust deputy hooked up inline. Tom

[Ashwini Kaul]

I have considered the Dust deputy many times for my shop van but the have deferred the option because of the cumbersomeness. I have to move my shop van around the sop floor and having to lug the dust deputy seemingly makes it look like a PITA.

[Jerome Hanby]

I have considered the Dust deputy many times for my shop van but the have deferred the option because of the cumbersomeness. I have to move my shop van around the sop floor and having to lug the dust deputy seemingly makes it look like a PITA.

Check out Shopnotes (also in one of their newsstand collections). Simple little cart that holds teh vacuum, collection bucket, and secures and stabilizes the DD. I've got the pieces collected and the article on my workbench to build when I make time.

[Rod Sheridan]

Dan, I have a Festool vacuum and it's fantastic.

quiet, HEPA certified vacuum (not just HEPA filter, the vacuum should be HEPA certified).

It also has variable speed, and auto start (some other machines have those features as well), and I like the onboard tool storage.

It's the first vacuum in 35 years that I'm happy with.

Fein and Nilfisk also make very good vacuums................Regards, Rod.

[David Hawxhurst]

if your considering hepa its my feeling that you should get the festool. others like the fein, bosch, and nilfisk you can add hepa filters to but would be an additional cost. i looked at the bosch air sweep but by cost of the vacuum plus the cost of the hepa filters would have costed more than the festool. i bought the festool.

[Prashun Patel]

Ridgid shop vac + dust deputy or clearvue mini cyclone.

If you mount yr 5gal bucket for the DD on a rolling dolly, the whole thing is remarkably mobile. It's a must-have for sanding.

On any shopvac for sawdust, I'd get a hepa filter (whether or not yr sanding with it).

[Bill White]

I have the big Ridgid 16 gal. with hepa filter and muffler.
Bill

[Bruce Mack]

I've bungee'd the Dust Right Vortex side by side with my Ridgid 16 gallon vac and added the expandable hose linked to the standard 7 foot long 2 1/4 inch diameter hose. Placed a dust bag in the vac for the first time. Suck is excellent, noise bearable, rolling stability good using vac handle to pilot the beast (though big footprint). I have good hose reach and power enough to serve my lunch box planer. Most use is removing hand plane shavings and small cut offs. I haven't had to change the dust bag and the filter has needed no cleaning even after fine dust from random orbital sander. I'm very satisfied. Total cost for the accessories ~$125.

[Sam Layton]

Hi Dan,

It looks like you are looking at high dollar vacuums. I have an older Fein vacuum. It is quiet. I mostly use it in the house for projects. I have a rigid vac for the shop. I have it connected to an Oneida Dust Deputy. A few weeks ago I purchased another Rigid vac. I purchased their best, and quietest vac. It is a 16 gal unit. I think I paid $149.00. It has excellent suction, but not as quiet as the Fein. I will be connecting this one to an Oneida Dust Deputy as well.

I don't know much about the others mentioned. Quiet is a very good feature. I am comfortable operating my Rigid with no hearing protection. However, when I operate another tool with the vac, I use hearing protection. I think improved filters are available for most vac's.

Like G Douglas, I also had an old (30 years) Craftsman vac. It was uncomfortable loud. The Rigid is much improved. So, because I ware hearing protection anyway, the quietness of the more expensive vac's is not necessary.

Ashwini,

I also move my shop vac around the shop a lot. I have the vac, and Oneida Dust Deputy on a quick built cart. Makes for easy moving.

In conclusion, I think the Rigid is a great vac, especially for the price difference.

Sam

[Craig Michael]

Anything will work for a router or circular saw, etc. With sanders you will want a variable speed on the vacuum, you need to dial it in to get it right. I use shop vacs like rigid, craftsman, etc for general clean up, vacuuming the car, etc. I would not want to use one in the shop often, they are generally much louder than a woodworking vac like festool, fein, etc.

[Mike Henderson]

Rigid makes some vacs that are pretty quiet. If you really want to slow it down, you can use a router speed control on it since it uses a universal motor. If you want the vac to turn on and off when you power your tool, use an iSocket (http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2005855/18215/ISocket-Vacuum-Automator.aspx). I use the iSocket and it works well.

Mike

[Cary Falk]

I have a 12 gallon Ridgid $25 after Thanksgiving special. I have had it for about 5 years. I use it ro general clean up and for my Makit 6" ROS. It does everything I need it to.

[scott vroom]

I used to own a Fein but when the motor burned up I pick a Rigid from the Borg for ~$100. No drop off in performance from the Fein.

[Dick Mahany]

I replaced a 25 yr old Shop Vac about 5 months ago with a Borg Ridgid 16 gal, 6.5HP shop vac and wish I'd done it sooner. I do use filter bags in the drum and replaced the stock pleated filter with a HEPA and it works GREAT. It is also VERY QUIET compared to what I used to have. I have no experience with the Festool, Bosch or Feins, but wouldn't trade this one. ( I never thought I would be saying this about a Ridgid vac !) The price point was less than than half of the higher end units, but I have seen zero problems with this unit. I do use a DC system for larger tools but when I connected my ROS to this guy, I was thoroughly satisfied with its exceptional performance.

[Glenn Kramer]

Last weekend I completed the Shop Notes cart with a stainless steel Rigid vac and an Onieda dust deputy. The end results are outstanding. Far exceeds the reults of my Fein vac. I changed the Rigid vac filter to a Hepa version to increase filtration, it sees virtually no dust after the cyclone does it's job. The Rigid is quite quiet, has plently of power and is quiite resonably priced. I would not buy another Fein. Cheers!

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Another vote for the cheap Rigid. The best thing to get for it is the Cleanstream filter. It's "HEPA" but I think dust makes it through sometimes. Could be going around the filer also. It happens when I bump the vacuum about. It's washable, reusable. I bought one a few years ago and still have it. Beats replacing filters every few months.

If you want true dustless, get the Festool. Amazing vacuum.

[Don Morris]

I'm happy with my relatively quiet and very functional Rigid. Plus the One227102ida dust deputy which I attached moves with it very well.

[Don Morris]

Sorry for posting last reply too quick before editing it. I think it's self explanatory. There is a caster under the front of the dust deputy which you can't see that aided it's mobility.

[Phil Thien]

I replaced a 25 yr old Shop Vac about 5 months ago with a Borg Ridgid 16 gal, 6.5HP shop vac and wish I'd done it sooner. I do use filter bags in the drum and replaced the stock pleated filter with a HEPA and it works GREAT. It is also VERY QUIET compared to what I used to have. I have no experience with the Festool, Bosch or Feins, but wouldn't trade this one. ( I never thought I would be saying this about a Ridgid vac !) The price point was less than than half of the higher end units, but I have seen zero problems with this unit. I do use a DC system for larger tools but when I connected my ROS to this guy, I was thoroughly satisfied with its exceptional performance.

This.

If you aren't generating tons of debris (from a planer, for example), then a Ridgid vac with bags and upgraded filter is a pretty hard combination to beat. The bag will keep the filter clean, and it will take a long time to fill bags with a router/sander.

AFAIC, the only reason to get a separator is to spare the cost of bags if you're using a planer.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I have a 12 gallon Ridgid $25 after Thanksgiving special
I have four of those....
The cost of the filter alone is $15.00.
Two years in a row, HD ran that Black Friday sale & the vac included an extra filter.
That meant for the price of two filters, I got a free vac.

[Larry Edgerton]

I am buying a Fein just because they are quiet. Noise bugs me.

Larry

[Bill White]

I go back to my post about having the Ridgid vac MUFFLER. It just pops into the exhaust port. Sure makes a difference.
Bill

[Mike Tekin]

As others have pointed out - the HEPA filter doesn't give you a HEPA vac for vacs that are uncertified or HEPA rated, you don't know if there are leaks of unfiltered air and dust that find its way around the filter into the air.

With that said I have both a Ridgid professional unit (around $100) with the silencer, with a good filter and use the bags and its great for clean up in the shop. I used to also use it for my router and sanders and thought I was doing myself justice because I thought Festool were overkill for me.

I researched this a little, especially what it means to be HEPA certified. THere is a big difference to me, thus I purchased the Festool CT26 and its been nice:). I just plug it in and go to work without wondering if those tiny particles are going through my shop vac.

So, spend $160-$200 and get the Ridgid with a separator and a aftermarket filter and trust that they put them together to allow no leakage around the filter or spend double that and get a certified "dust extractor" not shop vac that is engineered and tested to be used for extracting dust from power tools.

OH, and also. I looked at the Dewalt, Porter Cable, Bosch also. They have nice features but why pay that price when they are not HEPA certified? That was my conclusion. The HEPA label on Festool is what made me make the plunge, otherwise I would have never even bought the Festool and just kept using the Ridgid.