Looking for a new Shop Vac

[Tony Falotico]

to replace the old sears (the only craftsman tool I have that DOESN'T suck!).

Is there anything out there to compare with the Festool or Fein ?? Lowes has a Shop Vac with a Stainless Steel Tank, but other than looking neat I question if it's any better then what I have. The filters on my current model do not work well and have extremely short life spans. I really want a vacuum that collects the dust particles and does not redistribute them.

I've noticed from searching the forum that the Festool seems to be favored, as a matter of fact there is one post selling a Fein to purchase a Festool. Any negative comments on either machine?

[Charlie Plesums]

Everyone says the top of the line shop vacs you listed are great, but I haven't invested. They are quiet, but at the demos where they were used, they haven't seemed that much better than what I have.

If you are interested in very good but relatively inexpensive units, look at the Ridgid line at Home Depot. I had a big Craftsman that didn't suck, like yours, and was always in the way. Then I had a small one that was too small. Finally I got the Ridgid, and it has worked VERY well for the last several years. I think it is about 5 gallons (as big as I wanted to kick around the shop and have in the way), uses a pleated filter (gives the big filter area you need) and costs about $75.

[Jason Roehl]

Tony, there's a couple things you can do to improve upon the sub-$100 vacs. Get the HEPA pleated filters with the "slippery" media. Dust doesn't clog them up and they cost about $20. In addition to that, you can use a disposable dust bag, of which there are several grades. I use the ones specifically rated for drywall dust--I can sand drywall all day w/o a mask using one of these; nothing in the air, nothing on the floor. I think I pay $12 for 2 of these (there are some that are also about 3/$10, but they don't filter as well, IMO). Any of the QSP ShopVacs are relatively quiet and have good suction (they've done everything I've asked of them within their size limits). Just don't hook a vac with one of those bags up to a planer.... Can you say, "Full in no time?"

[Phil Winn]

I have a Festool vac, the 33E, the larger one-I love it. I had a Fein before
as well as the newer Bosch---the Festool is by far the nicest of the bunch.
Little noise, high suck, auto on/off, and you can stack the systainers
on top for storage. Its a GREAT system. The 22 and 33 have the same guts,
but only differ in size....
Phil

[Tyler Howell]

I have to 2 Feins and the Festool CT. I really like them all. The CT is a great place to stack and store your Festool Systainers .

The auto start is a great feature available from both suppliers.

[Greg Griswold]

Tony,

I have a Festool CT22 and a ShopVac 6 Gallon. The Festool works GREAT with my Festools and will do some vacuuming up, but does not compare with the 6 gallon ShopVac for general vacuuming. The ShopVac uses a larger hose and has more "suck".

Greg

[Ted Daigle]

I've got the Ridgid. Well-priced and does a good job of cleanup without a ton of maintenance. Doesn't compare with Festool in performance, of course. But, then again, it doesn't compare with Festool on price either. I guess it all boils down to the same old tool questions:

1. What are you using it for?
2. How much can you afford for the need (or want )?

[Jack Hogoboom]

Given the price of the Festool, I'd want to have a ShopVac for general cleaning and save the Festool to hook up to machines.

Jack

[Dave Brandt]

I have the small Fein and one of the Shopvac QSP machines. If I were doing it again, I'd have two Shopvac QSPs. Not only are they cheaper, they're just as quiet (I ran them side by side), and they take standard fittings.

[Lloyd Robins]

I love my Festool vac for small machine extraction. I also have a large QSP by ShopVac. The ShopVac is not as quiet, but it is quieter than other shop vacuums that I have been around. It has great suction. In fact I have one of the small dust collection (2-1/2") systems, and it gets the dust from all around the shop. I have had it for about 12 years, so it has paid for itself.

[Jim Guy]

I have the Festool CT22 and also the Ridgid. I use them both for different jobs. If you're thinking of getting the Ridgid, be sure you have some kind of ear protection. It's the loudest thing in my shop. What it does, it does well - I just hate the sound of it. The Festool is of course a pleasure to use.

[John Gregory]

I do not know how accurate my information is, but I have heard that Home Depot will have a special on their 12 gal $69.95 shop vac on sale this Friday only for $29.95. Since this Friday is the biggest shopping day of the season.

[Mark Stutz]

Tony,
I just replaced my 20 yo Craftsman vac with a Shopvac brand. I got the 16.5 gal version. The old one still ran, but I was getting tired of the noise and the filter clogged easily and was expensive. I wish I had done this years ago. The old one sounded like a jet engine by comparison. I second the use of the filter bags. Cleaned up MDF dust without problems, but emptying the canister was even easier! I have the Hepa filter as well and plan to try it without the filter for standard ships and such.

Mark

[Tom LaRussa]

I've noticed from searching the forum that the Festool seems to be favored, as a matter of fact there is one post selling a Fein to purchase a Festool. Any negative comments on either machine?

Both are WAAAYYYY too expensive, IMHO. Other than that I suppose they are fine.

Personally I would not bother buying one even if they were cheap as I'm very happy with my 1.5 HP Delta.

[Jim Becker]

The Fein has a slight edge on noise level over the Festool, but the latter is a "more convenient" design, IMHO, for tucking away in the shop during or after use. WAP also makes a similar unit, but I don't know much about it. All of these are definitely a larger investment than the more traditional "shop vacs" but they have excellent designs, great filtration, both standard and optional, and are very quiet. Both are available with integral tool/vac switching, too, although they are not unique in that. If you plan on using your vac for dust extration from small tools, you can't go wrong with the Fein or Festool vacs. If it's just for general cleanup around the shop and garage, then there is little incentive to go with these more expensive machines...pick up a replacement Sears/Ridgid/ShopVac or similar...and wear ear protection.