Replies

1. 
   john_c2 | Apr 13, 2023 04:09pm | #1

   I've had a bunch if shop vacs over the years. Shop Vac, Craftsman, Rigid. One or two others. I was never impressed.

   I have the Festool CT-36 now, and impressed by it. It just does a really nice job.

   I have heard very good things about the Fein, but have no experience with it.

2. 
   jim_hall | Apr 13, 2023 10:22pm | #2

   I had a Fein for years and used Festool's green (anti-static?) vac hose with it for all of my tools including my Festool tools. The Fein vac had good suction and was quiet. The green hose connector is the same size as the Fein vac opening and plugs right in no problem. The Fein vac's auto switch went out about a year ago and a replacement part was no longer available. So I replaced it the Festool ct-36 which has close to same storage capacity. The store owner said contractors prefer a smaller one (ct-26?) because its easier to transport. The owner said there's no difference in capabilities between sizes except for the amount of sawdust it can hold. Mine lives in the shop and I thought it might save a few bucks on bags to get a larger one. I have a small hose clamp that I use on the end of the green hose to snug up on my porter-cable tools' vac port. The hose plugs right into my Makita miter saw.

3. 
   johnpendery | Apr 14, 2023 09:01am | #3

   I have the CT 36 along with the midi dust extractors. The 36 stays in the shop and really doesn’t move, and the midi moves around the shop and comes along on installation days. The midi would fill up fast with constant use, but it sure it nice when you need to pick it up and move it around. The 26 might be a good balance between the two, but I’m happy with my setup. The anti static hose is a big improvement from the bare plastic corrugated hoses. A big reason its so much nicer is simply that it covers those ridges that seem to catch on any edge right when you don’t want them to.

   I also have a few rigid shop vacs that are used mostly for cleanup and dirty jobs. Before purchasing the Festool extractors I thought they were overpriced shop vacs, but now I see them as two very different tools.

1. 
   weymouth2 | Apr 14, 2023 11:36am | #5

   > I thought they were overpriced shop vacs, but now I see them as two very different tools.

   Can you elaborate a bit? I have the same setup as rusty_tools (below), it seems to work well with my random orbital sander and as an attachment to my TS blade guard. I like that you don’t have to mess with filter and it seems to be good at handling large amounts, but it’s very noisy, clunky to move around, and the long hose required with my setup (because I don’t move the vac+dust deputy) always seems to be in the way. Is the Extractor “more” than a better solution to my situation? (I too think/thought they were overpriced shop vacs, but I’m certainly open to change that view)

1. 
   johnpendery | Apr 15, 2023 10:11am | #7

   Hi Weymouth,

   Sure, I’m more than happy to share my thoughts. I don’t think brand makes a huge difference, so I’ll stick to dust extractor vs shop vac setups. Makita, Bosch, Fein, Festool, etc… all seem to make comparable dust extractors, I just happen to have Festool. In my case I’ll occasionally be doing some sort of installation on a job site that requires HEPA filtration, so right off the bat my hands are tied. The vast majority of my work is in my shop however, and I still prefer these over a shop vac. They have automatic actuation, adjustable “suction” flow, have better motors that last longer, and are just built a little better. I adjust the airflow quite often as it works much better on a lower setting while sanding and a higher setting while using a domino or something of that nature. The wheels are a bit bigger and roll over little obstacles better than most shop vacs.

   None of this might matter to you and how you work. I see nothing wrong with a shop vac with a dust deputy cyclone attachment if you don’t need to move it around a bunch and isn’t seeing continuous use. If in constant use shop vacs become kind of disposable objects that burn out. If not they will probably last longer than us.

   Downsides to dust extractors are the very expensive bags they use that aren’t realistically reusable. This is my job, so I build consumable stuff like this into my operating costs, but if its a hobby those bags aren’t cheap. Whichever route one goes the addition of an overhead boom or hose/cord support is a game changer.

   So to sum it up in use I find shop vacs to be more flimsy, loud, clunky and awkward than the much more expensive dust extractors. To me its well worth the added cost, but I would never try to convince anyone that they are a necessary purchase. We can all decide what works best for our own uses.

1. 
   weymouth2 | Apr 16, 2023 08:02am | #8

   This is great feedback John, I understand perfectly. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

   It probably doesn't "make sense" for me, a very low-volume hobbyist. You probably make more dust in a week than I do in a year. On the other hand, I'm looking at 30 years of retirement ahead of me, a pretty good chunk of it I'll spend in my workshop. I don't have expensive tastes generally, but I really do enjoy well-made tools. They're such a pleasure to use. A quieter (or less noisy), more compact machine with better features and performance sounds appealing. It would complement my Jet 1.5HP cyclone DC nicely (the Jet works great for me).

   I'll stew on it. Thanks again!

4. 
   rusty_tools | Apr 14, 2023 09:19am | #4

   I have a Ridgid with a Dust Deputy and use an anti-static hose. The dust separator keeps the filter clean. With that set up it will almost suck screws out of a board and it's cheap. What I don't like is the ridiculous amount of noise and once in a while it would be nice to reduce the suction. I have a handle that has a valve to allow air in that kind of does that when necessary. It really comes down to how much you want to spend to do the job.

   I have a friend that has a Fein. We used it on a kitchen install I helped him with. It did a great job but cost about three times as much as I spent and didn't have a separator to keep the filter clean. Personally I can't see paying price for the Festool or Bosh when the Fein has the same or more compacity.

   Good luck, Be Safe and have fun

5. 
   _mj_ | Apr 14, 2023 11:47am | #6

   5 years old, but these guys did a pretty deep dive:

   https://www.toolboxbuzz.com/head-to-head/best-dust-extractors-head-to-head/

   I would love to see the same thing done with the units out there today.