shop vac, festool or ?

[tombuhl]

Looking for some thoughts from the community. I have a very old Craftsman wet/dry vac, 2.75 hp. It sucks. Which is a good thing. Bad things are that it is so noisy I frequently hesitate using it when it would offer benefit. Fairly wide base (therefore stable), but power cord seems to be magnetically (or spiritually) driven to get under, or wedged on the outboard wheels so mobility sucks (a bad thing).

Just read a bit about the revised Festool lineup. Much higher cost, I think, than decent shop vac (especially the option of keeping what I have). I don't foresee adding other Festool items. [of course three years ago I never envisioned bandsaw, jointer, planer, multiple routers, drum sander, and on and on] Any thoughts on the Festool vac lineup. Or other brands that perform but at the low range of noise. Also, how is the noise level on Festool vacs, relative to others on the market. Appreciate any feedback or experiences.

[jmaichel]

There are a couple guys on here who have quite a bit of Festools and could probably give you good advice. I know Paul Marcel will chime in and is a great source for information especially when it comes to Festool. Good Luck!

[Beechwood Chip]

I know what you mean about not wanting to run a noisy vacuum. I hate the things. But then I got the Worktunes hearing protection. Normal hearing protection freaks me out a little - I find it distracting not being able to hear normally. But listening to the radio or my MP3 player in the Worktunes solves that problem, and I can run my vacuum and dust collector all day without it bothering me.

Personally, I went from a shop-vac to a 2 HP dust collector I bought used off of Craigslist for 150 bucks. For me, that was a better solution than a Festool. If you do get a dust collector, don't forget to budget for ducts, hoses, and fittings.

[tombuhl]

I know what you mean about not wanting to run a noisy vacuum. I hate the things. But then I got the Worktunes hearing protection. Normal hearing protection freaks me out a little - I find it distracting not being able to hear normally. But listening to the radio or my MP3 player in the Worktunes solves that problem, and I can run my vacuum and dust collector all day without it bothering me.

Personally, I went from a shop-vac to a 2 HP dust collector I bought used off of Craigslist for 150 bucks. For me, that was a better solution than a Festool. If you do get a dust collector, don't forget to budget for ducts, hoses, and fittings.

I do also have a 2 HP dust collector, from CraigsList of course. Use it for TS, band saw, planer, drum sander. So I use (or like to use) shop vac type for router (hand and table) and occasionally portable sander. And a bit of spot shop cleaning.

I only like muffs (music or plane) when running the big devices. Like my music without contraptions on my head. iPod with speaker system is most appreciated in my shop, but no headphones please.

[PaulMarcel]

There are a couple things that make your question interesting.

First, I have the CT-22 and find that it is pretty quiet. You can easily talk normally to someone while it is on full. With no exception, the tool noise drowns out the vac. The variable suction is really nice when you have it on a sander (any sander) as too much suction causes the sander to jump and skate (only took a year to figure that out... ).

My previous shop vac was a small 2 gallon banshee. It was literally painful to use for a long duration. I've sanded paint off a big storage box for a couple hours with the CT-22 right behind me with no ill effects other than never wanting to sand off paint again. The banshee wasn't necessarily a comparable size to the CT-22.

So, last week, I was installing flooring at a neighbor's house. He has a 5 hp ("five" sic) Ridgid shopvac. I wondered where the 220V jacks were... hmm. Anyway, holy crap... I was amazed at how terrible it was by comparison for picking up stuff. This could be a model problem or a unit problem or just the way it is. With a dust wand on it, you had to go pretty slowly for anything big. I routinely vacuum my shop with a floor sweep on the CT-22 and since I don't like doing it, I go fast. Never an issue.

Now, why I say 'couple' things is this: the CT-22 is being phased out right now because the CT-26 is arriving Oct 1. Larger capacity (26 liters vs 22 liters), self-cleaning filters, includes the hose garage on top, includes the handle. It costs more than the CT-22 by basically the cost of those options (the garage and handle). Once the CT-26 is released here, the CT-22 should be on the discontinued item list and you can get it for 10-15% off. You'd want to act fast, I think, as some forums are buzzing with that idea. If you find a dealer with one in stock after the discount is announced, you can get it from them (you will likely have to point it out, though).

Is it worth it if you don't have other Festools? Questionable. The auto-tool start is nice, variable speed nice, nice n quiet. If that's worth the premium, you'll definitely be happy.

CT-Minis are equally quiet (99cfm vs 120cfm IIRC). Lil "cheaper".

[jimmykx250]

Craftsman makes a muffler/silencer that goes in the exhaust port of the vacuume and works really well. I have one and am glad i bought it=dont get me wrong it's not as quiet as a festool but it helps.

[hhanger]

I've had a CT-22 for almost 3 years and it has been a wonder. Quiet, compared to my sears vac, and it does a great job. The auto start feature is worth the expense by itself. It will spoil you not having to walk back and forth turning on and off your shop vac. Now my sears is relegated to vacuuming out the cars. Rolls easily and doesn't tip over. Would like to have the 26 when it comes out but it would be hard to explain to the wife... among other things...

[Onboard]

You might look at a Fein shop vac. They are known to be quiet, but they are expensive.

[Lawrence Brown]

So, last week, I was installing flooring at a neighbor's house. He has a 5 hp ("five" sic) Ridgid shopvac.

There's probably something on the label of that ridgid that says "*peak horsepower", which is an instantaneous measurement taken under load. This of course is meaningless, but a good marketing ploy because people don't read.

Remember when you used to buy giant speakers? (I'm dating myself here) The rating was the same thing: instantaneous peak spike power reading. You could claim anything you wanted and mathematically back it up. That's why the RMS standard was introduced (Root Mean Square). It provided an average, not a peak rating.

[PaulMarcel]

There's probably something on the label of that ridgid that says "*peak horsepower", which is an instantaneous measurement taken under load. This of course is meaningless, but a good marketing ploy because people don't read.

Remember when you used to buy giant speakers? (I'm dating myself here) The rating was the same thing: instantaneous peak spike power reading. You could claim anything you wanted and mathematically back it up. That's why the RMS standard was introduced (Root Mean Square). It provided an average, not a peak rating.

Yuppers. I like the "3 hp peak developed power" table saws. My dad's Craftsman was one of those. Granted, I did a lot with it before getting a PM64, but I'm pretty sure my C12 drill could torque through 8/4 purpleheart easier.

Naturally when I sold that saw, it was a contractor in a big I'm-compensating-for-something pickup that bought it. Said he buys them whenever he can find them. So I asked if his workers destroy them or if they walk away. He said no as he was the only one who used them. But they break easily. So while you assumed I meant 'compensating' for something else, I meant IQ cuz he thought it was smart to buy 10 cheap saws that never really work correctly and need individual calibration rather than buying 1 decent site saw that will work like a champ. (Though he might have been compensating for that, too)

[Bobby Slack]

Probably I am the only one on this forum who went all out and got the CT33 which is fantastic. I own two of them, one is stationary in the shop and the second one is more mobile, I decided to get the second one because becomes very handy when needed. My home Miele vacuum broke and now I use nothing but my Festool for everything.

The other part is service. Festools service is amazing. You can't go wrong.

Take in account that all my power tools are Festool and I never used other brands because I said "why invest in something that you will replace and end up spending twice as much?"

[PaulMarcel]

It would be interesting if you could use the new CT-26 or -36 bags in the 33 (likely 36) so you get the 'self cleaning' and puncture-proof features without an upgrade. I may try it with my 22. Dang, two 33s. You suck; well literally

[Bobby Slack]

Paul I went all out, as I do in all my tools. If you are going for Festool, why mess around? I also use the reusable bags. The 33 has the problem of being heavier and bulkier but if I can't pick up 35 lbs (estimate) I better get a husband . lol.

It would be interesting if you could use the new CT-26 or -36 bags in the 33 (likely 36) so you get the 'self cleaning' and puncture-proof features without an upgrade. I may try it with my 22. Dang, two 33s. You suck; well literally

[DALSAW]

When I get a Track saw I'm getting this My link

It's pretty mutch the same as a Festool vac, but it's a Dewalt.

Nothings wrong with a Festool vac, I'm just a Dewalt "nerd".

[Onboard]

Aaron, the DeWalt D27905 looks like a great vacuum for the shop. I noticed that the db rating was 70. The largest Fein vac is rated at 58 db and the Festool CT-33 is rated at 62 db at the low setting and 72 db at the maximum setting. I know Tom is concerned about noise level. It sounds like his old vac is right up there with jet engines! But, that of course is not the only factor to consider in a shop vac. It will be interesting to see what he finally purchases. Decisions, decisions.

[Bobby Slack]

Amazing that DeWalt all could do was match Festool. Check out the new vacuums from Festool. You will not go wrong.

In the past I sold very very expensive woodworking machinery, starting at100K and is amazing that people never considered the support. Then one day the machine broke, or they had problems with software and ... it was too late.

When I make investment decisions I take in account service and support, and Festool is amazing. I can't say anything bad about anybody else ... nor anything incredible.

Think of this decision as a partnership and which organization would you rather go with. Festool is not a machine, is a system.

Good luck with your decision. Any way you go you will better than today

Aaron, the DeWalt D27905 looks like a great vacuum for the shop. I noticed that the db rating was 70. The largest Fein vac is rated at 58 db and the Festool CT-33 is rated at 62 db at the low setting and 72 db at the maximum setting. I know Tom is concerned about noise level. It sounds like his old vac is right up there with jet engines! But, that of course is not the only factor to consider in a shop vac. It will be interesting to see what he finally purchases. Decisions, decisions.