Thanks for your insight Van. Test parameters are important. I can understand how they can have significant impact on test
Guess I should buy one and see what my ears tell me in my environment.
Thanks for your insight Van. Test parameters are important. I can understand how they can have significant impact on test
Guess I should buy one and see what my ears tell me in my environment.
George
Making sawdust regularly, occasionally a project is completed.
That really is the most important thing as none of these types of vacs are safe to run within a few feet of your ears for extended periods of time so the actual SPL is not that meaningful, how stressful they are running 12-15 feet away is where the value is at.
I would have no issue returning a vac that was advertised as being quiet if it didn't meet my expectations of quiet and I don't see this as taking advantage of a retailer. One thing you could do is test and report your SPL findings. While the app based SPL meters have poor absolute accuracy they are decent for direct comparison. Just place each vac in the same position in your shop and leave the phone in the exact same spot (and stand in the same place behind the phone) and while this still leaves variables it has some value. Report the SPL numbers as well as your subjective assessment of how irritating the sound is.
Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.
Deep thought for the day:
Your bandsaw weighs more when you leave the spring compressed instead of relieving the tension.
Well I went out and actually looked at shop vacs today. Went to one store that had both Fein (1) and Festool. The sales guy right away tried to push me to Festool. I do not like sales people who try to tell me what I want ,last time I checked I am pretty sure that was my decision to make lol.Anyway my question is for those of you who know Fein vacs are the 'older style " ones more rounded in shape ? I remember the one difference being that the older style had variable speed airflow vs. fixed. How does the filter bag perform in these compared to the newer cartridge style. The prices were high,Festool was 850-1000 depending on what one. Fein was 400? Next I went to Home depot and looked at Rigid. The quietest one was also the biggest. I used to think big was good ,now I realize that smaller sometimes is better. Rigid was 180. So I started to think maybe I should buy the Fein now. Anyone have any suggestions ? All prices are Canadian dollars.
I had a Rigid (still have it) and made a cyclone and added a HEPA filter (is over 11 years now).
cyc4.jpg
Then bought a Festool but wasn't impressed for the price, so returned it (have several other Festool tools).
I have one more larger Rigid that I bought. With life time warranty it is hard to beat these. Get a good hose for it and you can use it with other Festool tools if needed.
image_90890.jpg
I have been happy with the performance of the filtration in my Fein vacs. I have the cloth bag type filters in all three. I have a hepa cartridge for my Turbo II but have not used it in years. Not since I started using dust deputy(s) in conjunction with my vacs. I use the DD whenever I'm collecting the really fine debris. If I do something that may be hazardous like lead based paint remediation, I use the DD and my Festool which has HEPA filtration.
Essentially, normal shop vac tasks are handled well by their cloth bag filters. My two cents.
I combined a 12 gal Rigid vac with a ClearVue mini cyclone and put both on a cart. In two years of heavy use (mostly connected to a Ridgid oscillating spindle sander I have not had more that a few specks of dust make it past the mini cyclone dust bin and into the Ridgid vac itself. Combined cost: Under $200, without the cart.
One more alternative is this:
[URL="https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007ULBA4W/ref=mp_s_a_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1484515344&sr= 8-10&pi=SL75_QL70&keywords=Vacmaster[/URL]
It has a relatively quiet 2-stage motor (approximately 72db) with HEPA filtration. CFM rating of 125 and a water lift of 112".
And the best part is that it costs less than $200!
"I've cut the dang thing three times and it's STILL too darn short"
Name withheld to protect the guilty
Stew Hagerty
I own the Rigid vacuum as well as an older Fein unit. The Fein gets used far more often than the Rigid. I like that it has the outlets on it that allow it to automatically start when the tool you are using gets turned on. The filter also has superior qualities when compared to the Rigid. That said, anything trumps not using anything at all.
Fein- small, tough; quiet, tool trigger, variable suction (older one); poor ergonomics/tool storage; skip the newer one imho, unless you want a flat top to hold your tools.
Nilfisk- quiet; super tough; quiet (about same as Fein IMHO); better ergonomics/hose storage; the Attix AS/E version has tool-trigger and filter clean. I like my Nilfisk Attix 8 AS/E over my fein Turbo 1 (but I had to chip out the 5 mm of concrete inside before using it; mine was from a pawnshop in Las Vegas, via ebay). Bags and filters are cheaper than Fein/Festool. Stihl SE122 is a rebranded Nilfisk Attix30. Makita is a rebranded Nilfisk Attix50.
Festool- quiettish (newer version); excellent integration with systainers; nice system but pricey; great as a festool platform (vac + dolly), but accessories get expensive fast.
Bosch- made by Starmix (industrial maker of vacs for Festool, Metabo, Mafell, etc). I've never used a Starmix, but they have an excelllent reputation for being darned near indestructible. I think there's a systainer doc accessory in the works.
FWIW, there's three Nilfisk Attix8 on ebay for $269. It doesn't have the filter clean or tool trigger though.
There's a broken Nilfisk Attix 50 hepa (just splice new power chord, easy fix).
There's a broken Fein Turbo 2 (9 55 16)-- I wouldn't get it since housing is cracked, but it'll probably still work.
Anyways, I almost always buy used.
Ran into this review today:
http://www.toolsofthetrade.net/power...hepa-vacuums_o
Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.
Deep thought for the day:
Your bandsaw weighs more when you leave the spring compressed instead of relieving the tension.
Something to keep in mind.
The Festool EQ sander has a feedback circuit that turns a light on when the hose is off{?}, and the feedback loop runs a small amount of current all the time. Its enough that my Porter Cable drywall vac will not shut off. I have to unplug or use the manual switch. Makes no difference if you shut that off, only shuts off the light.
I bought the little suitcase Festool vac and mounted to the ceiling for this reason. So, if you are using an EQ, check that the auto switch on the vac in question will work.
Van thanks for that review. It kind of confirms what I have figured out, I will probably end up with two vacs eventually. I am going to buy a Rigid for now and use a dust deputy. I have to get my main dust collection installed and payed for and figure out air filtration devices also.
Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.
Deep thought for the day:
Your bandsaw weighs more when you leave the spring compressed instead of relieving the tension.