Does anyone have a recomendation for a central jobsite vacuum with auto start and multiple tool feeds – I want to be able to exhuast at least 3 machines to 1 central vacuum and collection bag. Semi portable also – from job-site to job-site every few months
Thanks
Miles
Listeners write in about low-cost kitchen designs and ask questions about insulating deck and porch columns and the right location for vapor retarders.
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
For whatever its worth... after several days of nothing... I use a tool actuated Fein Turbo II dust extractor for one tool at a time. You can get a "Y" connector to run 2 tools but the machine doesn’t want more than a combined 19 amp draw plugged into it.
In any case, it’s a great shop-vac. Its so quiet that you can hear the suction over the motor. I use it for dust collection with a 10 inch Hitachi miter saw and a DW random orbit sander. It will stick the sander to a wall and get practically 100% dust collection and I suspect its somewhere around 98% with the saw. The 10 inch Hitachi has inherently good dust collection anyway. I used to have a 12 inch Makita. I loved that saw but it was hopeless at dust collection
I assume you want more of a dust collection system than a vacuum like a shop vac or festool or fein. If so, check out the penn state industries ones and delta make some smaller ones.
I'll second the Fein Turbo II vac for a jobsite dust collector/vac.Of all the tool-actuated vacs - the Fein has a higher amperage rating for the connected tool than the others, save for maybe the festool.The Fein vac is one fine piece of goods and works well for any dust collection needs as well as a great quiet vac. As stated, best used with one tool at a time, although you could use y's and gates to hook up multiple tools used individually.JT
Ditto, I cringed at the price and especially the attachments. Some of the best money I have spent. I have at least five other shop vacs. I probably will not service three items at one time though. You are still plugged into a 15amp outlet (normally) so I believe the max is 15 minus the vac.
It is a client impressor. It is very quiet and clean. You can use one of the remote switches with a small load and turn it off and on while up on a laddder or where ever.
You are probably in the market for a dust collector rather than shop vac. You can branch shop vac hose to smaller tools and have larger flex hose for things like a chop saw or table saw.
The little 3/4 horse Delta is somewhat portable and works okay for most things, although it's not up to the task if more than one tool is working. It also doesn't spin up as fast as a shopvac so it takes a bit of getting used to in order to turn it on before it's needed. A floor foot switch sometimes makes more sense than an auto start.
Personally, I'd rather pick up two of these for the table saw and miter, but use a shop vac for smaller tools that would benefit from a faster start up speed and stronger suction in the small hoses. There are auto start switches that run about $25 that turn any shopvac into an auto start.
If you want to supercharge a small dust collector simply run a flex duct exhaust to the exterior of the house and don't use the collection bag. Probably creates twice the air flow.
Good luck
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.