Damn I hate ’em. I have an old 16 gal. crapsman that looks like the “DAnger, danger Will Robinson..” robot on Lost in space..Louder than a F/A 18 on afterburners..always falls over instead of rolling, the filter is never any good..you know the type.
Now, I am NOT going for a 600.00$ drywall type thang..I just want a MIDSIZE GOOD vac. I am leaning towards a (gulp) Ridgid..
Anyone have a decent vac they would buy again? I need it now..or atleast in a week..so howsaboutit?
oh, this will be a household vac for awhile..y’all seen the place. Gonna be a mess made daily..and has to be cleaned up daily..the dreaded tear the place up while living there syndrome.
Replies
FEIN 9.55 with out a doubt the best vacume ever .Wet or dry ,very powerfull ,super quiet . I use mine at home and at work ,worth every penny!.
still a little too pricey..cheapest I could find was 250.00...
good vac for sure..
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Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
Fein -- powerful and quiet. Worth every penny. We use ours for a household vac as well. I think there is a smaller version now that costs a bit less.
that's 2 votes...how about filter cleaning? and cost of accessories?
where did ya get it?
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Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
Make this a third vote for the Fien and one of my sub could be counted as 4. The new Bosch is nice too.
Here fishy fishy....
Relatively cheap, quiet and (so far) durable, is the QSP line of Shop Vac.
I bought a big one for the shop, liked it so much that I bought the small one for the house.
Norm
The Fein filters are OK in my view. I actually have two Fein vacs. I bought one on line (Amazon/Tool Crib) the other one from my local lumber yard in Maine (Viking Lumber). One downside of the Fein is that the attachments and hose don't seem to be a standard size. So when you lose the brush attachment ...
I think the old ear busters were made for sears by rigid?
I'm still waitin to join the class action suit.
I evan took a rubber maid 32gal gcan at one point and put a hose hole in the side of it so I could cover the vac to shut it up a little.
I have a collection of the Craftsman versions. I also have one of the smaller Ridgid ones. I like it the best. I do not think the 16 gal is worth the space it takes up especially in the truck or on small jobs, I think that my latest one is 9 gal/3.5hp short & squat and does not want to turn over. Emerson made most of the Sears vacs and you can see identical versions in gray and orange at HD. The main difference is that the Ridgids had/have a lifetime warranty. They also have a good filter available for a reasonable price that beats most of the oem styles.
I have one of the "mufflers" that came with my sister's craftsman (goes in blow hole, looks like a gutter strainer), does not do much unless you put a good heavy athletic sock over it. One of the better parts of their design is a seperate fan for motor cooling. It does not use the filtered air from the can like I think Shop-vac brand does.
I have a 5 gallon Rigid and it works great. It's not real loud and has lots of suction. Drywall sanding dust stopped it up a little quick but the proper filter fixed that. I say, get the Rigid.
~ WebTrooper ~
"But don't take my word for it. I was wrong once and it could happen again!"
Homeowner on one of my current jobs has a Ridgid... Fantastic machine. Far better than my two year old Craftsman (biggest model I could get back then)
The Fien is money well spent. The Rigid is is a fair compromise but I still consider it noisey but not as noisey as a crapsman and has very good power. The stock filter in the Rigid leaves a lot to desired when it comes to fines.
Here fishy fishy....
Glad I checked all this out..only Fein I can fien is 244.00, probly no attachments. That is amazon..can't find it else where. I may get the ridgid and upgrade the filter? I am not doing that much sheetrock sanding, and I dont sand it that much..( I'm good with a knife, very little sanding)..but the major stuff in the house will be sawdust and old time grime..ridgid with a lifetime garuntee? sounds good..maybe do the muffler too..I was there getting my saw stand and saw the mufflers..10 bucks for that. I also have all the attachments from ol crpsman..fien looks smaller ..1.25 inch instead of 2.5 inch..decisions , decisions..HD is in town, no wait, no shipping..will check it out.
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Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
Go with the rigid...
Get the one with the built in hand truck and it makes life so much easier. The ones with the plastic bases break just because they can or are suppose to.
The muffler IMO is a joke. It cuts air flow and power and not motor noise. The motor is most of the noise anyways. Most of 2.5" stuff off of a crapsman will fit the rigid and the Rigid already comes with attachments. Make sure you get the come along hose feature. The take off blower option is - well - a take off blower attachment.... ROAR!!
Gotta do sump'in about the filter. The cheapo pleated ones that come with it are CHEAP. Mix it up with constuction crud, clean it a few times and you see where this is going. After a while it doesn't want to stop any thing smaller than a 1,0000 microns, or so it seems. Those cheap diposable covers are about all that is needed.
Here fishy fishy....
sounds like a plan..whatever I get it will become the DW's house vac. as well..she wants the smaller wand and hose set up tho, so I can get the reducer for her. I don't think the Fein would take a larger hose and wand (which is what I need for what I'm suckin up..chunks of rotten logs..LOL. A small hose would just plug up on me.
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Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
for filters: I use the yellow bags that shopvac makes. when the vac slows down from a clogged filter.... the bag is full. the yellow bags are fine enough that they can filter DW dust.
I have a shop vac brand that I like. It's fairly loud, but not too expensive. I like the top handle and stainless steel canister.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0001FFLQM/qid=1078168200/sr=1-6/ref=sr_1_6/103-0959216-1412615?v=glance&s=hi
First say to yourself what you would be, then do what you have to do. [Epictetus]
filters any good?...how loud is it?..I'm half deaf, but those things still kill me. does the stainless get static ele. build up like plastic..? ( i've gotten some serious zaps from the sears, and it picks up as much dust ON it as in it)...good price fer sure.
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Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
Another vote here for the Rigid. I've got the big one (forget how many gallons). It's surely not the quietest thing on the market, but is definatly ain't my old Craftsman either. Plenty powerful. During a bath remodel I was sucking wads of blown in insulation along with golf ball size chunks of a mortar bed that got mixed in. Sized right for me too....hose fits my portable router table and my Rigid jobsite table saw without any attachments. Also came with plenty of attachments. Fairly tough hose and on board cord storage are nice too.
The filters seem fine to me. Has to be cleaned fairly frequently if you pick up fine stuff with it. It's a "cartridge" type filter, not just a paper sleeve like on cheap shop vacs.
It's fairly noisy. I've never owned a quiet one, so I don't have a lot to compare it to though.
It definitely builds up some static electricity. But it only zaps you if you touch the handle. The switch is plastic so you don't get zapped when you turn it off and on.Isn't Disney World just a people trap operated by a mouse?
I also have two of the Shop Vac brand. I've had the larger one for quite a while. Like it enough that I bought a tiny one for taking out on my Handyman jobs.
Yes, the filters are junk. But there is a HEPA filter available -- you can probably get them at Walmart if not at blowes or homey's. And the HEPA filter is amazing.
I use the small vac, with the HEPA filter, whenever I sand drywall. I have one of those hand sanders that attaches to the vac hose, and uses sanding screens. Because all of my jobs are in existing homes, dustless is imparative for me. And the water-vac things just seemed like too much of a hassle (not to mention risk of spillage).
The HEPA filters keep all of the drywall dust in the vac. It's what you should expect if someone comes into your home to do some drywal repair.
Vast projects should not be founded on half vast ideas.
I own a Festo CT-22 and tools that attach to it.
However, for household and project cleanup we use a 16-gal ShopVac QSP (2.5" hose) that looks like the lost in space robot.
Very powerful even with six 6' hose sections.
The noise level is not as you describe - loud but without the screeching howl of the older shop vacs.
Equipped with the pre-filter bag and HEPA catridge filters, it's the next best thing (for us) to a central vac system.
The Festo works ok and is quieter but it uses the smaller diameter hose.
It's works better when hooked up to the tools and the pickup velocity is greater with the smaller nozzles of the tools' dust collectors.
When the 2.5" Shop Vac hoses are used, it's a lot weaker then the ShopVac.
Two totally different creaters.
The large Fein that uses the 2.5" hose may be more powerful.
still lookin for more fein dealers..not much luck.
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Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
Well I guess I'm the odd man out.I got a craftsman about 5 years old and the thing just picks up everything I throw its way.The cannister filter seems to catch a lot of fines ,like sheet rock dust and sand.Wouldnt hesitate to buy another one though they are loud.The one thing I did do was buy 4 ten foot lengths of (1 1/4"or 1/12"commercial hose) and a bunch of attachments at a maintenance supply house.Set the vacuum on the porch,connect the 20,30,or 40' of hose and then get to work.I call it a poor mans central vac.Just my 2 cents worth.
Stay Safe Greg
re - Set the vacuum on the porch,connect the 20,30,or 40' of hose and then get to work.I call it a poor mans central vac.
----
That is exactly what I do.
The cannister is far away from the area I am cleaning or near or outside an open door.
For cleaning the house, which is mostly for dust pickup, about 30-40' of hose doesn't slow it down.
I even have a PVC pipe section that is attached under the basement stair handrail for those times I want to keep the cannister upstairs while cleaning the basement.
The key thing is the filter bags and pleated cartridge filter combo, which cleans up the exhaust.
However...I've always wondered how much dust comes out of the motor itself. (Carbon dust, etc. ?)
Yeah dust just seems to come out on start up of most vacs once you abuse them a while, all the more reason to keep it out on the porch.
I just blast the filter with compressed air and power wash the unit once and a while and the thing just keeps on ticking.Works for me.
Stay Safe Greg
Woodcraft sells all three models. The are usually in stock at their stores but they are not cheap.
Okay, stupid question here while we're talking about shopvacs. My Craftsman apparently exhausts straight down through the handles (the vacuum exhaust, not the cooling fan), which means great big clouds of dust get kicked up whenever I try to vacuum my shop. I'd like to have something that exhausts straight up. Any suggestions?
If you have a 2.5" hose vac, get several extra hose sections and connectors and keep the cannister near an open door or in another area.
6' hose sections and connectors for ShopVac are available at Lowes.
You will stil have more then enough cleaning power with up to 5 or 6 sections.
I do this all the time for debris cleanup, the last time this weekend.
You can call Fein at 412-922-8886 or go to their web site and look up that way. Its a great vac. you won't regret buying one. Good Luck
http://www.feinus.com/
well, the votes are in...I have made up my feeble mind to kill a whole slew of birds with one checkbook.
I am ..getting a Ridgid..with the 2.5" piping TOMORROW..that and the crapsman can double up the wands and hose...
Then, I am ordering the Fein, with the skinny pipes and using it in the part of the house we are actually occupying..keep it kinda not so heavyduty pickem up tool..
so when my new shop is up..there will be two..'cuz the sears is going AWAY..I will donate it to a local HH or a good cause..(Bob Walker, they need them in Haiti?)..
Thank y'all for the good advice...My DW thanks ya as well..
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Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
I can live with that decision!Jake Gulick
[email protected]
CarriageHouse Design
Black Rock, CT
sure it ain't your $$$$....<G>...
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Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
Hey, it's exactly what I have! OK, I have a Fein, and some yellow thing, but you get the idea!Jake Gulick
[email protected]
CarriageHouse Design
Black Rock, CT
roger that..can't wait actually...never thought a shop vac would make me happy...must be gettin senile. Does that happen at 43?..oughta hooken up hose to hose an see which one sucks the eyeballs outta the other..or which one starts smokin first..or better yet, all into one hose and see if I can do chin ups from it stuck to the cieling..oooopps..theres that brain fade again..
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Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
Fein.
But get that cheap 5 gallon bucket attachment and all the big debri and sawdustgoes there. The Fein comes with a cloth filter that can be washed, (or shaken, blown, or whatever!), and bags, which you toss. This way, when you're doing some real crap work, you use tha outboard bucket, and DW gets a clean unit.
Quiet, well made, and no stream of air kicking up dust comes out of it.
Mine's attcached to my tablesaw most of the time.
I wish the Bosch was available when i bought mine...worth a consideration.
Finally, I have gone cheap with shop vacs, and still regret it. You'll forget the extra 50, but you'll regret not spending it.Jake Gulick
[email protected]
CarriageHouse Design
Black Rock, CT
While we're talking about shop vacs -
I've been eyeing those lids you put on garbage cans or 5 gallon buckets between a shop tool and a shop vac. They're supposed to capture something like 80 to 90% of the stuff so you don't have to empty your shop vac so often.
Anybody try these things out? Do they work, or they just a pain in the neck?Just the omission of Jane Austen's books alone would make a fairly good library out of a library that hadn't a book in it. [Mark Twain]
Yup, yup and nope.
Works well on heavier solids. Use a metal can and consider something in the 30 gallon range. Plastic collapses.
Here fishy fishy....
Do they have these lids that work with 2.5" shop vac hoses ?
Any particular brand that works better then others ?
I'll take a look at ToolCrib.
Yup. The one I'm familar with came from LeeValley.
Here fishy fishy....
Great when hooked up to a machine (NB, some brands are much better than others) and you're diverting chips/sawdust; PITA for clean-up work..
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
I've got the 6 gal Ridgid in my shop and am happy with it. Too big to lug around from job to job, but as a stationary, it works just fine.
Did you mean the 16 gal, 6 gal is pretty small?
I actually like the Craftman. Great suction, big hose. Tough.
Heck, you can use them to dig holes, like for fence posts and such. Just loosen the soil and rocks, and suck it up. Plaster chunks, mortar chunks. Try any of that with your Fein... Hose is too small.
Got a Gore-tex HEPA filter for it, which made a huge difference in both sustained suction and air quality.
Yes, I do wear ear protection.
I have been considering a Love Less for my next one. Has the big hose.
Have had the Loveless for about 5 years. Good machine.On a hill by the harbour
sphere
just puting a recomendation for the festo ct vac. I've got the ct-33 had it for about three years and has been an incredible vac. Quiet, poweful and clean. my wife used it for the house for a few months. Very stable, I don't think i've ever tipped it. The festo site has a special on the ct-11 under their sale/closeout area. the only real complaint I have with the vac is the small hose. I've only clogged the hose a few times, but i usually sweep up the big stuff first.
http://www.festool-usa.com/