Shop Vacuum

[Steve_Honeycutt]

I am looking to get a shop vac. I would like to hook this up to my random orbit sander and contractor tablesaw to minimize dust. The plan is to build a seperator to go between the vac and the tools to minimize filter clogging. My shop is a two-car garage. Any recommendations?


Steve

 

[Mike Camp]

I am looking to get a shop vac. I would like to hook this up to my random orbit sander and contractor tablesaw to minimize dust. The plan is to build a seperator to go between the vac and the tools to minimize filter clogging. My shop is a two-car garage. Any recommendations?


Steve

I have a 5hp 12 gallon ridgid shop vac (2 1/2" hose) that works well on my router table with a 5 gallon bucket thien separator. Ridgid sells a HEPA rated filter as an upgrade to it as well. Since you didn't mention price obviously the dust extractors from Fein and Festool are really nice (I have a CT midi), but also come with a much higher price tag.

 

[CarvedTones]

I have a Dust Deputy. I got the kit, as it is a little cheaper to begin with and was on sale. I had a Thien before but it took up too much space. I had a dry box from the thrift store that worked perfect for this. The DD is translucent, so you can see when it is getting full if you have good lighting. Either a DD or a Thien will do a great job. I also use the HEPA filter on the vac, but it will clog if you don't have a separator. Anyway, the DD fit my space better and it is more fun to watch. I think I spent $40 on the DD, $7 on the dry box, about $20 for the HEPA.

 

[cpw]

Steve,

I have a 6.5 HP Ridgid vac from Home Depot that I purchased several years back. They've had a redesign since then, but it's comparable to this model. Along the way I got the Ridgid car cleaning kit with the 1 1/4" hose (can't find on HD site) and an adapter to hook it to the 2 1/2" hose. The small hose fits onto several of my tools including my Porter Cable sander and router, and I have bought adapters to help with some others like Bosch and Festool. You can also get 4" to 2 1/2" reducers for table saws, planers, etc.

I have a Dust Deputy cyclone for my separator. I also bought a Ridgid replacement hose kit to go from the cyclone to the vac.

I wanted something bigger than a 5 gal. bucket for collection when I hook up to my joiner or planer. My first collection container did not work out. It was too flimsy. So, I recently ordered a 20 gal. Rubbermaid Brute in white from Zoro Tools, hoping the white would be translucent enough to see how full it is without having to open it constantly. If you don't care about color, I think HD sells a 10 gal. and the 20 gal. in grey. I haven't had time to make a lid for the can yet, so I cannot report how well it works, but I am planning to do something similar to what PeteM did.

(FYI: In some of their literature regarding risk of fire Oneida says not to use a container larger than 10 gal., but the don't say why. Other places they say you can use any size container you wish.)

I hope this helps,
Charles

 

[Joe Scharle]

I have a Fein, a couple of Sears and a Ridgid. Fein is in a class by itself. But, a HF collector is 1/3rd the price!

 

[SteveColes]

I have fein and a festool. Both are the best I have ever had and I've had a lot over the years. The fein is a bit quieter.

 

[CarvedTones]

The little black Shop Vac on the shelf next to my DD in the picture in my earlier post is a Quiet Series Shop Vac. Its noise rating is almost the same as the higher priced vacs, but it has less suction. It is fine for sanders, rotary carving, turning past the roughing stage (I mean it isn't good for roughing; it won't keep up and large chips can clog it) and general clean up. I got it on a closeout, brand new for about $30.

 

[Jim M.]

+1 for the Fein. I have a wall mounted ShopVac for small clean-ups. On my bigger tools I use a Jet DC-650, but on my sanders nothing beats the Fein. I especially like how quiet it is, plus the auto-on feature is great. Jim

 

[Sealeveler]

You might not think it would work but I have a couple Electrolux vacs and a DD on a 8 gallon bucket that handles a small band saw and 8" sander great.
Tony

 

[CarvedTones]

You might not think it would work but I have a couple Electrolux vacs and a DD on a 8 gallon bucket that handles a small band saw and 8" sander great.
Tony

I have no trouble believing that. What seems to clog mine is mostly particle size - the curls from the planer and roughing on the lathe are the worst. Sheer volume is rarely an issue though 2x lumber on the TS can throw that heavy sawdust fast enough to cause problems. Most "failures" are just allowing too much fine dust into the air, like when turning dry wood or rotary carving a larger piece where I can't always keep the vacuum pickup right next to the tool.

 

[BSHuff]

I have a fein Turbo II, I would not trade it for anything except maybe a festool. I went through what seems like 10 home center 'shop vacs' before I bit the bullet on the fein. There is no comparison. The auto start feature and afterrun period is wonderful. You plug your tool into the vac, turn it to auto, and when the tool comes on so does the vac. Without that I would always forget to turn the vac on, or would do a 'I only have a little sanding to do' and not turn it on.

Klingspor was running a sale on them a while ago, last time I was in they still had the sign up. They were marked down to ~$300. The price is a big pill to swallow, however they seem to last really well and boy do they 'suck'!

 

[CarvedTones]

One more item I also have is this:

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-auto-switch/p-00924031000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

It isn't quite as convenient as the all in one solution but it has the same functionality as the auto start on the Fein, including the short after run.

Don't get me wrong; I am not saying my set up is as good as a Fein. It isn't; I would trade in a heartbeat. But there is a comparison, IMO. For 90+% of what I do there would be no difference in functionality.

 

[Steve_Honeycutt]

You might not think it would work but I have a couple Electrolux vacs and a DD on a 8 gallon bucket that handles a small band saw and 8" sander great.
Tony

Tony,

How do you have these two vacs connected? A picture would be helpful.

Steve

 

[Sealeveler]

The two are not hooked together.I only use 1 at a time with the DD while I have a new filter in the other one ready to go.I don't create much dust building model boats but I can go 6-8 months between filter changes with the DD.
Tony

 

[CarvedTones]

One other quick note - the Shop Vac HEPA filter that I have is washable, though usually I just carry it outside and use pressurized air to blow it clean. Anyway, if $20+ seems a lot for a filter, it isn't when it lasts a long time.