Best replacement for old shop vac

[Steve Catts]

Hi all,

New shop underway and planning on ducted DC system (probably CV1800). I have just given myself the gift of setting my 25-year-old Sears shopvac to the curb. Glory days!

I will still want a smaller unit to connect to my router table and sanding work as well as general clean up. I would like your inputs for what I should consider. I know a little of the Festool dust extractors (pricey but manageable) but also want to consider other solutions. Priority is not to have 100db out of the unit. What criteria should I look for? Is there a specific benefit that comes from the Festool machines that I'm not aware of? Are there machines that are known for low noise?

Many thanks for your thoughts.

Steve

[Mike Kees]

Steve I did the same thing with a 25 year old Craftsman vac about 2 years ago. First thing that I have ever thrown away that still worked. I bought a Rigid to replace it for general cleanup work at the shop. I also installed a "Cleanstream" filter that works very well. I am looking for a dust extractor type vac as well for use with sanders and my tracksaw. Recently I found a comparison on Youtube that showed about 8-10 of the best dust extractors tested against each other. Very good info . I am considering some of the offerings from Makita now because of this review. Noise was one area tested. I will be watching this thread to see what others that have taken this plunge have to say.

[Jim Becker]

I use a small Ridgid shop vac for general cleanup and a Festool extractor for hand-held electrics like sanding.

[Pete Taran]

Steve,

Festool is the coin of the realm and the standard by which all others are judged if you ask me. They have a ton of features. They are quiet. You can plug a tool into it and when you turn on the tool it turns on. You can buy them with a blue tooth module that you attach at the end of the hose that allows you to turn it on where you use it, at the end of the hose not on the machine. They are made to pair with their tools and when used with any of their tools, they capture almost all the dust. Particularly their routers and sanders. You just won't believe how well they work. I'd recommend the CT26.

In the attached picture on the floor is all the shavings that the festool dust extractor didn't collect after making finger joints on a 12" wide pine box. 8 edges of the 4 boards worked (8 linear feet) and that is all it didn't collect using their router and the attachment that come with the router.

Fair warning: If you buy their extractor you will be soon buying all their tools to go with it which is not an inexpensive proposition.

festool.jpg

[Stan Calow]

I think you can still buy a muffler for the Ridgid that helps. But I also have a couple of small (1.5 gal) Craftsman's that I bought at garage/estate sales that I setup to use a dedicated dust extraction at certain machines. That way I dont have to roll the big ones around and fight with the dust deputy and hoses.

[Randall J Cox]

I'm on my second Fein Turbo II (German I think) and love it. First lasted 13 years and had a ton of use. Relatively quiet, not as pricey as Festool and you can plug in a tool for auto on when sanding, etc. Randy

[Dan Friedrichs]

I bought a Rigid to replace it for general cleanup work at the shop. I also installed a "Cleanstream" filter that works very well.

+1. I have a Festool for sanders and such, but for "General shop cleanup" there's no better value than a 14gal Rigid with a Cleanstream filter.

[Dave Sabo]

Fein is no longer made in Germany.

Festool is a great vacuum, but the prices start at $550 and go up from there. A bit over priced in my view ( and I own 4) especially if you aren't mobile and can't utilize the systainer system. Which is in a state of flux right now because they've changed generations and sizes.

Nilfisk makes really good tool triggered vacuums under their own name and OEM'd for others.

Makita's vac offered a lot of performance and features for the money, but has been discontinued for an entirely different model that hasn't made the rounds yet so.......... If you can find the older style for a cut rate, I'd jump on it.

Karcher's 6 gallon vac a under $200 is a worthy consideration for a general shop vac replacement.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Karcher-...97-0/300262391


I also recommended it the previous shop vac thread :

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....bo-noise-level

[Marc Fenneuff]

I like my 14 gallon Ridgid so much that I bought a second to keep one in the shop full-time. I’ll never buy another Shop-Vac brand, that’s for sure. 2 motors replaced under warranty and then the third started screaming too. The Ridgid is fairly quiet. I do use a little Dust Deputy with mine.

[Terry Therneau]

I really like my Fein Turbo II. It is quiet by design; mostly for my sander, and I don't need earmuffs when it is on. (I have a used cyclone for the big stuff.)

[Curt Harms]

I really like my Fein Turbo II. It is quiet by design; mostly for my sander, and I don't need earmuffs when it is on. (I have a used cyclone for the big stuff.)

Fein Turbo II here as well, I've had it since the mid-late '90s. The foam in my 'bell' top deteriorated, I was able to get acoustic foam off Ebay and reline it. That foam lined enclosure is responsible for a lot of the noise abatement. I ran the vac for a few minutes with the top back in place but without the foam. It wasn't much if any quieter than a commodity shop vac. There was a thread somewhere about Fein motors, I didn't save it, should have. At least some of them use an Ametek motor which is available though not from Fein. Other than the motor there's not a lot to fail on a shop vac.

[Brian W Evans]

+1 on the Fein Turbo II. I love the auto-on for sanding, Domino, etc. I use mine with a dust deputy.

For general shop cleanup I have an old Ridgid that I also use for dust collection (I use that term loosely) on my SCMS. I recently added a CleanStream filter to this and it seems to be doing a good job.

[Jim Becker]

Fein is no longer made in Germany.

Festool is a great vacuum, but ...and can't utilize the systainer system. Which is in a state of flux right now because they've changed generations and sizes.

The current and past Systainers still stack and lock together. You just need to have the older ones on the bottom of the stack when mixed.

[Andy D Jones]

I see several recommendations for the Fein Turbo II.

Is the Turbo I the same unit, just with less dust bin capacity? The specs seem the same otherwise.

I don't need/want the bin capacity of the Turbo II.

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[Rod Sheridan]

I only have one shop vac, a Festool CT26, I use it for everything, why would I want 2 vacuums and 2 sets of accessories and hoses?

The dust is packed so tightly in the bags it is like lifting a block of concrete when it's time to change bags......Rod.