Thread: Which ShopVac

If you don't mind second hand Festool CT26 vacuum | eBay Only the 26L version, but still...

If you can afford it, get the Festool CT26E. You know that you will regret not doing so

I have had one for about 5 or 6 years now - after a Fein - and never regretted the expense. Well made, relatively quiet, and great design.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Yeah that model of Makita looks promising, I'm in the market for an L class shop vac too.
As far as I can tell it's a Nilfisk Attix 44 made in Hungry to Makita specs, the Attix 33 and 44 seem to be the base for quite a few tool company vacs ( Mirka, Gerni, Milwaukee and Flex, probably others too). The only videos I could see on it are Russian, in one them the guy compares it to his Bosch Gas 35 , the Makita is much quieter. The bags are half the price of Festools and available at the Green shed.
Interested to hear from anyone who has used one.

Originally Posted by derekcohen

If you can afford it, get the Festool CT26E. You know that you will regret not doing so

I have had one for about 5 or 6 years now - after a Fein - and never regretted the expense. Well made, relatively quiet, and great design.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Yeah I am destined to get the CT26 however not there just yet.

The purchase price is the first hurdle which I can almost jump but then there is the ongoing cost of bags $$$$.

I have the CT17 dedicated to my Kapex and am still using the original bag as I use the FEIN to empty it. So potentially my bag costs double!!


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Originally Posted by Damienol

The purchase price is the first hurdle which I can almost jump but then there is the ongoing cost of bags $$$$.

If you add a Dust Deputy cyclone your original bag will last for years. Mine is now well out of warranty and its still on its first bag.

I got one of the big Ryobi units with a Duty Deputy secondhand from a forum member a few years back and it's still running very well....

1500W 30L Wet & Dry Vacuum

Originally Posted by Bohdan

If you add a Dust Deputy cyclone your original bag will last for years. Mine is now well out of warranty and its still on its first bag.

I was just thinking that and researching the Festool cyclone. Makes it a large unit.

Was also looking at getting an Ozito to empty the expensive festool bags [emoji12]

I like my 40L Shop Vac (actual name). It has a good capacity, HEPA filter, power outlet for my orbital sander and easy to empty. The stated flow is a bit less than the Festool (2830 vs 3900 LPM) but I paid less than $300 for mine so I can deal with that.

Originally Posted by Damienol

I was just thinking that and researching the Festool cyclone. Makes it a large unit.

Was also looking at getting an Ozito to empty the expensive festool bags [emoji12]

A friend of mine in the USA has both the Festool cyclone and the Dust Deputy box (discontinued), and says the cyclone is not as good as the DD.

Festool vacs really need antistatic accessories, and the plastic DD is not antistatic and can invalidate your warranty. I went for a Dust Commander, which is antistatic and works as well as the DD did on the Fein I had. It is set up on a small sustainer, which empties into a sealable metal paint bucket. The dust is collected in a plastic bag in the bucket. Easy peasy.

I also have one of the long life bags in the vacuum cleaner, and have yet to find more than a dribble when I check once each year.



Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by barramonday

Yeah that model of Makita looks promising, I'm in the market for an L class shop vac too.
As far as I can tell it's a Nilfisk Attix 44 made in Hungry to Makita specs, the Attix 33 and 44 seem to be the base for quite a few tool company vacs ( Mirka, Gerni, Milwaukee and Flex, probably others too).

you do know that "L" is the lowest class of workshop dust?

"L" class extractors (vacuums) are really only designed for low risk, large particle household dust. "L" class extarctors are rated at 99% efficiency. Your typical household vac even if fitted with a HEPA filter is very unlikely to achieve 99% efficiency.

"M" class is where I'd start with an extractor. 99.9% efficiency.

"H" class with it's 99.995% efficiency might be a bit over the top for almost all home workshop applications.

It's my understanding that the M class vacs are the same as the L except that they have a few features built on to make M class rating for sites that require it.
The M class have pressure sensing alarms that are notoriously sensitive ( think vac beeping incessantly ) , a cap to cover the hose outlet and a hose size selector switch. Apart from those things they are the same units as the L , happy for someone to correct me if I'm wrong/confused about this.

Originally Posted by barramonday

It's my understanding that the M class vacs are the same as the L except that they have a few features built on to make M class rating for sites that require it.
The M class have pressure sensing alarms that are notoriously sensitive ( think vac beeping incessantly ) , a cap to cover the hose outlet and a hose size selector switch. Apart from those things they are the same units as the L , happy for someone to correct me if I'm wrong/confused about this.

Correct.

The ones sold in AU are all fitted with a HEPA filter and are HEPA certified to be much better than dust class L. The L and M vac class ratings really only apply to EU regulations.

The extractors are certified by L, M, & H "class" but the dust is certified by "dust class" which unfortunatly use the same letters. The M in dust class means medium risk, small particles but in vac class means that it will warn you if the hose is blocked or bag is full,
which is an EU workplace requirement.

Originally Posted by ian

"L" class extractors (vacuums) are really only designed for low risk, large particle household dust. "L" class extractors are rated at 99% efficiency. Your typical household vac even if fitted with a HEPA filter is very unlikely to achieve 99% efficiency.

"M" class is where I'd start with an extractor. 99.9% efficiency.

"H" class with it's 99.995% efficiency might be a bit over the top for almost all home workshop applications.

I pulled the extraction efficiency -- "L" - 99%, "M" - 99.9% and "H" - 99.995% -- from this source: Dust Extraction Explained: From Dust Classes to Dust Extractors

Perhaps I was a little too enthusiastic with my recommendation to start with a Class "M" extractor.
On reflection, a Class "L" extractor should do for most home shops.