Hi guys;
Just got a Fein Wet Dry Vac. The small model. Works very well and nice and quite. Now the problem. The paper dust bags are so darn expensive. Like $9.00 a piece. That’s right. $9.00 each. I didn’t know that at the time when I bought it. anyway, do any of you guys have a source for getting them cheaper. Or making another brand work. Thanks in advance for your info. BTW, E-Bay doesn’t have anything listed.
Replies
Wouldn't know about the paper bags, only use the cloth one it comes with. You working in a hospital?
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Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Calvin:
I too was suprised at the cost of the bags. I try not to vacuum anything that will fill the bag up (dust pan and brush first) and if it gets too full I take it off and empty most of it through the fill hole. Just make sure not to get any dust or such on the outside of the bag. This may not work for what you are vacuuming but it works for me.
Later
Mike
I'm sucking up sawdust, drywall dust, plaster, all the crappola on a remodel and the table saw exhaust. I pull the top off and pour out. Bang the bag gently on a tree. Not bad, stand up wind.__________________________________________
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
The bag I have is paper and very small incomparison to the hopper itself. For drywall dust and such it isn't feasible to just fill it up and dump it. I was thinking of modifing a paper trash bag ( like the ones from the supper market but most of those are plastic) but it is even hard to get those.
Neil, what model do you have? When you mentioned bag, I assumed that yours like the Turbo II I own had a cloth "filter" bag. All the sucked up debris lands in the bottom of the canister. Looking at the accessory page for mine I find the paper bag you mention, at 7.90 ea. (which your supplier should be able to beat that price-however I agree, way too much). I don't use a bag and don't mind dumping the debris outside. Heck, after work I've got more dust on me than blows away dumping the canister. Best of luck.__________________________________________
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Hey Calvin;
I have the Mini Turbo Vac model 9-11-20. It only came with one paper bag. I got it a Woodworker Warehouse, they have bags but are expensive. I have been doing just what you are doing, using the entire canister to catch the dirt. But drywall dust is a pain in the [email protected]#. Maybe we can put our minds together and devise a bag so we don't look like snowmen. lol
Neil, I am serious bout the dumping. I go to the edge of my "making it flat" hillside and improve the soil with brick, concrete pcs, tile, plaster and any sort of bio degradable or not bio hazard debris. The contents of the vac goes to the same place. I tip it over, out it slides, no dust flys. Take the cloth filter bag, tap gently on the tree and I'm done. Sorry, but this works well for me. If you're getting white, you might be too enthusiastic with the dumping. Best of luck.__________________________________________
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Calvin
I think I may be missing something here. Just what type of bag do you have. Obviously it is not paper.
Neil, the cloth bag of which I speak is actually a filter bag. The crappola is sucked into the canister, the bag keeps it from coming out of the canister. The debris just lands in the canister (base) of the vac. I believe a paper bag might be an optional dust catcher for cleaner disposal, but it unneccesary for debris containment or disposal. I have included a link to the page on the turbo II so you can look at the parts list etc to see what I mean.
I assumed the smaller vac was the same, maybe not.
http://www.feinus.com/dustfree/dustfreeimages/new955.htm__________________________________________
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
I see someone else has mentioned the ShopVac bags from the big box. There are actually two kinds, the yellow ones for drywall dust are amazing, I use them in an old Genie 5-gallon and they really do stop the drywall dust.
These are the ones I use http://www.shopvac.com/dev/catalog/dept.asp?id=22, but Lowes doesn't charge that much for them. I think the 5-8 gallon ones are ~8 bucks for a two pack.
These guys http://www.shopvac.com/dev/catalog/dept.asp?id=21 are great for regular dusty pickup, and a whole lot cheaper.
I've been considering a Fein and wondered if the cheaper ShopVac bags would work, so if anyone tries them I'd love to hear about it.
The idea of buying $8-9 paper filter bags sort of put me off the Fein.-
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"The average player must be allowed to theorize to some extent. It is a necessary concession to him as a thinking animal… On the other hand, if he does not recognize hitting the ball as his main business, and theory as a recreation, he becomes so bad a player that he nearly gives up." Sir Walter Simpson, The Art of Golf
I use Shop-Vac brand bags #906-62 in mine,they are a little bigger than the Fein bags but work. Home Depot has them.Price is $7.00 for a pack of three.
Ted
Buy some dust collector fabric... 1 or 5 micron is readily available, about $35.00 a yard (72" width). If you don't know how fabric is sold ask your wives.
Anywhoo.....have someone sew up some bags for you if you can't sew 'em yourself. Simply empty the bags and reuse. They can be washed out and hung to dry. I think my wife made 3 bags out of 1 yard of fabric....never buy another throwaway bag again.
Ditch
Thanks to you all. I appreciate all of your help. I will be trying several brands and I ordered the type like Calvin suggested. Now I'll have a [email protected] load of bags to use.
Neil, what the heck did I recommend? I don't remember suggesting other than dump the damn cannister. No bag, no problem. The cloth bag in my TurboII is to filter the air going out, nothing ends up in the bag, it hangs over the cannister, keeping the dust in the cannister. Don't want you to be wasting your money.__________________________________________
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Neil,
I Hear you about the price of the bags. We have a few of the fein vacs and primarly use them hooked up to the Paint Shaver stripping tool to capture the lead we remove off of houses. They work great as well hooked up to the dust port on an orbital sander, it really captures alot of the dust. We use the HEPA filter as well so that we get nothing coming out of the exaust, this is espically great for cleaning up on inside jobs. The way we work them is we put the bag in, put that mesh filter thing back in and put the top on with the hepa filter. On a typical colonial we will go through about 8 to 10 bags stripping the house bare. We probably catch 95% of what we take off. That's alot of cash on bags, but the customers and the g-man loves how clean everything stays. When the bag is full we pull them out and get all the debris to the bottom. We then cut the bag open all the way around and empty the contents into another container. We then duct tape the bag back together and use it again. Works like a charm. I love these vacuums, they keep sites really clean, they are quiet, take a beating and they last a long time. I wouln't trade them for anthything else. The price of the bags is worth every penny.
Jay
Interesting thought, cutting the bags and re-using them like that, thanks for the idea.