The time has come for me to buy a HEPA vacuum for a RRP project that we are about to do. I have been holding off because of the expense of these types of vacuums as well having as much of a “shake down” period as possible for the new HEPA vacuums that just came into the market.
I am looking for feed back from those who have bought them.
What are the pros and cons of your HEPA vac?
Would you buy it again?
Is the one you bought worth the money?
Does it have the features you want and/or like?
What one would you buy now?
Do the filters easily clog?
Other comments?
Thank you for your feed back.
Replies
HEPA is BS
Normally I am all about compliance and performing my job beyond the legal expectations but these new RRP rules are ridiculous, if you ask me (or just about any other professional remodeler). We're talking about lead here, not radioacticve plutonium.
Having noticed that ever since the new RRP rules anything commercial that says HEPA on it has went up in price quite a bit, I just buy a good filter and write HEPA on the vac in sharpie. I suppose you could print a label and make it look more official but doesn't really matter since nobody really has a clue anyways.
Or you could go the distance and buy a unit that claims to already be official, just don't forget to pass all the costs on to the client. I have a good notion that the RRP rules will be repealed or just fade away soon anyhow.
Good luck
DC
DC,
I agree with your opinion. As much as I think that the EPA is a necessary regulatory agency, I feel that the RRP rules are ridicules. Trying to follow them is often very impracticable, and at times simply unrealistic. I further believe that people should have the right to opt out under certain conditions, as it was in the original EPA rules. What this boils down to, all things being equal, is that those of us who sincerely follow the present RRP rules are going to have higher job cost, and therefore are more likely to lose a bid as compared to those contractors who do not follow the law. All that aside, I feel that the RRP rules are over the top. Unfortunately, for most of us, we struggle to make an honest living and do not have the big bucks to pay lobbyist to fight on our behalf, or have the money to make large "donations" to the campaign coffers of the politicians who ultimately write the laws or who have influence over the regulatory agencies. Perhaps a forum at sites such as this would allow us to voice our opinions collectively to our respective legislators.
All responses are welcome.
I have the little Dewalt 2 gallon portable, which comes with a HEPA filter (though I don't know that it's "certified" as a HEPA vac). It's not real powerful, but really handy (and would be handier still if I spent the $$ for a battery for it). On that unit the HEPA filter hasn't been a problem -- still on the original filter, which can be washed.
Hepa.
Jake, there's alot of mis and usable info out there on hepa vacs. Festool is offering two new vacs that are listed as EPA compliant. Whether any testing has been done I do not know. The EPA is not to my knowledge telling anyone that these: are the vacuums we approve. The only thing I can tell is that the air released back into the atmosphere must have gone through a "hepa" filter 99.97% .
I have a Festool MIDI and purchased a HEPA filter (99.97%) for it. At this time-no one has tested this model with this filter that I know of. The 30.00 filter for it from Festool won't break me if in fact it will not be recognized. I do believe though that It might keep me compliant until the flush out those approved or not........
Those vacs that are compliant should have a tool actuated switch in the event you are doing any cutting etc. Further, this type of vac is handy as all get out when you want to run your table saw etc through it to contain dust. I would look for that in any vac I buy.
The festool has a bag-about 5.00. The bag has a closiing tab to contain the dust in the bag b/4 you pull it out. I would still remove it outside, a tear could surely suck if removed inside. I think there are some vacs from other manufacturers tha have a sealable / removable container that might be larger volume that might be more appropriate if you are doing large work and want to pick it up with a vac.
My building supply co. is offering all the goods necessary to be used by those certified and needing those things we learned about in the class. They offer 3 vacs, one shoulder carrying and two more shop vac style. They run from high two hundreds to high 4 hundreds. The beater bar being extra (75.00) for each model. They made the class available. One thing I would have thought a nice thing to do would have been for the company that gave the instruction in the class and issued the certification to have updated us regularly on EPA changes and updates. Seems like it would have been easy to at least sent us links to pertinent information via the emails we gave them on the application.
That's all I got, there's loads of discussion going on (just rcvd an email from FHB about a current one available by them) and I try to read many, but at least half come from those online companies wanting to sell you the compliant goods. JLC and Remodeling has been good about keeping the discussion going, but evenso, there's a lot of "non - official" information presented.
Best of luck.
Hepa vacs
I have an older Fein turbo III. THis is the larger model with the 2" hose. You can plug tools into it and it becomes 'tool activated' and is a fantastic dust collector.
It came witha cloth filter that I've been using since I got it 3 years ago.
When the RRP rules came out and we needed to get a hepa vac, I contacted fein and they sent me, in an email, what I need to convert mine to hepa--a dust bag, and a hepa filter.
Done.
NoW I have a vac, one vac, that will suck up antyhing, works as a tool actuated dust collector, and has a hepa filter option.
I don't think an inspector is going to argue the point if I show him fein's email, with part numbers and all.
I'll bet you could get a new turbo III, with the hepa filter for about what you'd pay for one of the 'recommended' models and be wayyy ahead, more useful
Cheers,
Pat
How do you attach a dust bag and HEPA filter to an emai?
hepa vac
I see we have the writing mechanix police out early today.
Read, 'Fein sent me a LIST of what I needed by email.'
Otherwise, you must simply compress the file, but you need the fein reader to open it.
;-)
Pat
HEPA? Been there for years. Sort of.
I started using a HEPA bag on my ordinary $25 Shop-Vac, and backing it up with a HEPA canister filter. I did this simply to catch drywall dust. (Ordinary filters will let the fine dust through- killing the vac in no time at all!)
When this site did a blog on the topic, we were told that this arrangement was somehow not acceptable under the EPA rules. Go figure.
Been there for years.
Yes.
But there are varying degrees of "hepa" filters, rated according to the size of particulates they trap. And in the case of the EPA guidelines, it's the under the condition that all air goes through that filter b/4 being expelled and the required size trapped-.03 microns (I think). All hepa vacs or those with add-on hepa filters are created equal.
That there is at this time, no independant lab ratings is the clincher.