Need new shop vac

[Joe Cowan]

My old shop vac has finally died on me. One thing I liked about this was the cloth filter bag it used as a prefilter. I would dump out the contents, shake the bag outdoors and continue on with the occasional blowing out of the paper filter. I am looking at the Fein Turbo II and see it uses paper bags for the content. Before I purchase this item, any thoughts on a better shop vac. I hate to have to stock paper bags but know it is not a big deal. One note, I use this 99% of the time for my mitre saw.

[George Yetka]

Ive been using a festool ct26 with the ultimate dust deputy. And its been really good for me im on the original bag after 3 years. It is hooked up to miter saw but i use it for all sanders/track saw/domino/etc.

[Rod Sheridan]

I also use a Festool Ct26 with a dust deputy, works great............Rod.

[Joe Cowan]

I also use a Festool Ct26 with a dust deputy, works great............Rod.

I have this hooked up with the boom arm and use it for sanding. Great set up.

[Lee Schierer]

I have an older model of the Fein Turbo II and like how quiet it is and the facts that you can adjust the speed and that it can turn on when you plug in a power tool and run that tool.

[Mark Carlson]

I've had a Festool CT22 for about 15 years. Still runs like new. I'd replace it with a CT26 if it was to fail.

[Greg R Bradley]

I have an older model of the Fein Turbo II and like how quiet it is and the facts that you can adjust the speed and that it can turn on when you plug in a power tool and run that tool.
The new Fein vacs are completely different than the older ones. Made by a different company in a different country. No more variable suction is the big issue if you want to use with sanders.

[Nick Decker]

I've been using one of the newer Feins for a couple of years, no problems. No variable speed on the vac, but I control that when necessary by adjusting a variable air vent on the hose I use. Very quiet and plenty of power.

What ever vac you get, you should think hard about a Dust Deputy (or similar). I'm still using the original bag and filter on my Fein, guessing you'd see the same on any vac you use.

[Bernie Kopfer]

I have used a old Fein as my miter saw vac. If I remember to replace the bag every 4 months all is well. I use a Fein1 as my shop vac. It has that nice flat place on top that is perfect for mounting the smaller Oneida dust deputy. With a bit of plastic pipe it wotks great and in several years I have yet to get anything into the bag.

[Brian W Evans]

I've been using one of the newer Feins for a couple of years, no problems. No variable speed on the vac, but I control that when necessary by adjusting a variable air vent on the hose I use. Very quiet and plenty of power.

What ever vac you get, you should think hard about a Dust Deputy (or similar). I'm still using the original bag and filter on my Fein, guessing you'd see the same on any vac you use.

+1 for everything Nick said.

[Jacob Reverb]

I have an older (~15 yrs?) Fein and like it a lot, especially how quiet it is.

[Doug Dawson]

Ive been using a festool ct26 with the ultimate dust deputy. And its been really good for me im on the original bag after 3 years. It is hooked up to miter saw but i use it for all sanders/track saw/domino/etc.

I have the Festool CT48. It's slightly more expensive than the CT26, and the bags are slightly more expensive, but it's also twice the size (as are the bags) which makes it substantially more economical to operate.

FWIW, a CT48 alone is significantly smaller and less awkward than the CT26 + Dust Deputy assemblage, if you care about portability.

There is a very good head-to-head comparison of a gaggle of "leading" shop vacs here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3OTFdvp000

[Andrew Hughes]

I have a cheap shop vac I bought from Lowe’s. It’s really terrible very load not good suction. The hose is short and not very flexible.
I have connected to my Bosch glide I keep telling myself it’s better then nothing.:o

[Greg R Bradley]

I have several of the old Feins, not the new square ones, and a Festool midi that works very well. My favorite cheap shop vac is the Ridgid 1450. It doesn't turn on when the tool plugged in is activated. It can be a semi-HEPA vac with a Cleanstream filter addition. The Ridgid Pro Hose is a nice upgrade. We buy a half dozen a year. We get 3-6 months life out of them in an industrial environment with the occasional failure in a short time. We can usually get them to honor their scam-ish "lifetime" warranty if they fail in a couple months. Lifetime warranty probably works OK for hobby use.

[Jim Becker]

While I also have a Festool extractor, it's not used for shop cleanup. I have an inexpensive Ridgid shop vac for cleanup purposes. It's messy to dump for sure, but I do that outside at the trash can and make sure I stand up-wind. :)

[Jack Frederick]

My old Fein gave up a couple years ago and I was left with the older Festool. I have been using the Festool for all around and know that I need to get a beater and limit the use of the FT. Picking the right secondary vac is incredibly confusing. FT and Fein are the leaders of the pack, but what secondary units are best?

[Derek Cohen]

Ireplaced a Fein with the Festool CT26E. They are fairly similar - both have automatic power and variable speed - but the Festool is easier to store (the Fein is an awkward shape), a little more powerful and a little quieter. I like the stackability of the Festool as I have Dust Commander on top, and the power source for a Mirka Ceros inside the tool bay. Note that the Festool is more expensive than the Fein.

The Dust Commander is excellent - as good or better than a Dust Deputy (had one before). The Festool also has a long-life bag rather than the paper replacements. I have not yet needed to empty it.

https://i.postimg.cc/TP8mgZzX/M1.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek

[mark mcfarlane]

...
There is a very good head-to-head comparison of a gaggle of "leading" shop vacs here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3OTFdvp000

Thanks Doug for sharing this. The article that goes with the video (https://www.toolboxbuzz.com/head-to-head/best-dust-extractors-head-to-head/) is much denser with information and I found it useful, but it is missing one critical measurement, how effective the vacuums are at removing the lung-clogging fine particles from the exhaust air.

FWIW, I have a couple Festool vacs for sanding/mitre saw and a tiny Rigid.

In the past I blew my shop out with a leaf blower. That practice stopped when I purchased an air quality meter. Now I have two overhead air filters and carefully vacuum at the end of the day. I'm having so much fun in the shop I don't want it to end prematurely due to dust related health issues.

I added a HEPA filter and a new hose to the small Rigid shop vac, which about doubled the total cost of the Rigid vac. IMO, the stock black plastic Rigid hoses are horrible. The orange replacement hoses are much better quality.

[Robert Engel]

While I also have a Festool extractor, it's not used for shop cleanup. I have an inexpensive Ridgid shop vac for cleanup purposes. It's messy to dump for sure, but I do that outside at the trash can and make sure I stand up-wind. :)

Same here. I think its a good idea to have a standard shop vac in addition to a higher quality unit for collecting tools. No experience with Fein, but the Festool extractor does an excellent job.

For the shop vac, I highly recommend a cyclone and make a cart. I use it for cleaning the shop as well as collecting router and miter saw. Even with cyclone, I use a HEPA filter.

[mark mcfarlane]

... I like the stackability of the Festool as I have Dust Commander on top, and the power source for a Mirka Ceros inside the tool bay.

FWIW, after a long sanding session I'd be curious how hot the Ceros power supply is in this seemingly contained space. I'm slightly paranoid about premature electronics failure due to operating at a higher-than-designed temperature.

[Derek Cohen]

Mark, so far I have only had one serious session of sanding with the Ceros. This lasted about 10 or 15 minutes. There was no change in the temperature of the power supply.

https://i.postimg.cc/vTm6GMV5/M6.jpg
Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Becker]

It would be relatively easy to put a small exhaust fan in there to help move cooling air through if you find it necessary.

[mark mcfarlane]

Mark, so far I have only had one serious session of sanding with the Ceros. This lasted about 10 or 15 minutes. There was no change in the temperature of the power supply.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Glad you had checked. As I said, I am paranoid about heat and electronics. Been bit before. Even some 1/2" holes in the sides, and then in the top right over power supply would allow convection to do some work.

[Randall J Cox]

I'm on my second Fein II, first one lasted 13 years, on about year 7 on my second one. I have a small cyclone Dust Deputy hooked up in line so I don't have to replace bags, just dump out the 5 gallon bucket occasionally. Very happy with the set up. Randy

[Paul F Mills]

After my dad gave me his Shop Smith DC I stopped using my too big shop vac. I have been using the SS for the table saw, sander, track saw, and router. I have considered getting something small like a Festool so I can move it around the garage easier and then get rid of the shop vac. The only thing I really use the shop vac for now is the car, and I guess the Festool can do that a few times a year. I need to get a dust deputy too.

[roger wiegand]

I like my Bosch VAC090. Quiet, reusable cloth bag, HEPA filter, switched outlet included, big wheels so it rolls easily, cheaper than the green ones.

[Mike Cutler]

I also have one of the older Fein Turbo II's and really like it. I have heard mixed reviews on the new model Turbo II, but it seems as if the comments here are favorable toward it.
I know this next comment might seem a little "low rent", but if you haven't checked out the new Rigid's, you should. Rigid has made some pretty significant improvements to their Vac's over the last few years. Specifically in the noise levels. I have an older Rigid "screamer" that I'm waiting on it to die, so I can buy a new one.
The "new"Rigid's are 1/4 the cost of a new Fein, or Festool, which leaves $$$$ left over to buy the Dust Deputy.