Affordable vac for home improvement

[Sanderxpander]

Hi all,

I realize FOG is probably not the very best place to ask about cheap tools but I'm still going to try; my brother in law lives in Estonia with his family and is in the process of doing some renovations on their apartment. It's fairly sizeable - two rooms, the hallway and the kitchen need redoing. A bunch of sanding, sawing and debris cleaning for sure so I imprinted on him the importance of a vacuum beyond his dog-hair-ridden household vac, for his working comfort and health, especially with a small child around. For now, they're not sleeping in there but they will have to eventually and I'm sure there will be work to do still. Incomes are lower over there and powertools cost more (smaller market I guess) so a Festool is out of the question. I'm hoping for a recommendation on an affordable vac that can do what he needs to without breaking the bank. The brands I've seen over there include Metabo, Festool, Flex, Makita, Nilfisk, Kärcher. Other brand recommendations are welcome too. I figure a tool connection, fleece bag and adjustable suction are requirements with the rest as negotiable options.

 

[ChuckM]

After selling my CT26, I've since used a dust deputy with a Sears shop vac for all my Festool tools (domino joiner, Kapex and sanders (as well as previously TS75), with excellent results.

This is also a more economical solution:https://www.homedepot.com/p/Dustopp...ia-with-2-5-in-hose-36-in-long-HD12/302643445

Ridgid, Sears and any good shop vac should do the job.

 

[Jiggy Joiner]

Hi all,

I realize FOG is probably not the very best place to ask about cheap tools but I'm still going to try; my brother in law lives in Estonia with his family and is in the process of doing some renovations on their apartment. It's fairly sizeable - two rooms, the hallway and the kitchen need redoing. A bunch of sanding, sawing and debris cleaning for sure so I imprinted on him the importance of a vacuum beyond his dog-hair-ridden household vac, for his working comfort and health, especially with a small child around. For now, they're not sleeping in there but they will have to eventually and I'm sure there will be work to do still. Incomes are lower over there and powertools cost more (smaller market I guess) so a Festool is out of the question. I'm hoping for a recommendation on an affordable vac that can do what he needs to without breaking the bank. The brands I've seen over there include Metabo, Festool, Flex, Makita, Nilfisk, Kärcher. Other brand recommendations are welcome too. I figure a tool connection, fleece bag and adjustable suction are requirements with the rest as negotiable options.

Hi there, not sure where in the world you are but, in the UK you can get the V-Tuf VTM1 MINI Dust Extractor M-Class for £90 they do a larger size too for not much more cost.

Got to be the cheapest M rated extractor I’ve seen. They work well too, I’ve seen a few in action on site.

 

[six-point socket II]

Hi!

Back in the day, and that vac still lives & works, I had a Kärcher for everything I did. Home improvement wise and/or around the house. It was not rated, just a multifunctional vac that could deal with dry & wet debris and water.

I fairly recently got me a cordless Kärcher VC5 for "in between" cleaning needs, especially the stairs ... What I want to say: I still have confidence in the brand - although people say overall quality is not what it once was.

Reading about your brother in law's needs, I'd say he wouldn't go wrong with this one: WD 3 P EXTENSION KIT ( 1.629-885.0 )

17l capacity, filter bags/ or no filter bags. Dry, wet, water, comes with socket for auto start/stop when used with tools. C35 Adapter for attaching tools. ...

Has a list price of 109,99 Euro including TAX/VAT when ordered directly from Kärcher, so should be cheaper when bought online/local.

Another point: It uses Kärcher's C35 System, which is Bosch Click'n'Clean compatible/ the same.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[Paul G]

If there is drywall sanding going on I don’t use anything but my shopvac with a cleanable hepa filter connected to a dust deputy cyclone. It takes up more space than a Festool vac but costs less, does an excelent job capturing dust and never needs a bag change. Change to a wet filter if ever needing to deal with water. Not elegant but it works.

 

[Sanderxpander]

Thanks everyone, all good suggestions to check out! I don't know that "V-Tuf" thing but I'll look. The Kärcher is probably available as I've seen they have a lot of those in general. And I like the dust deputy/shopvac combo too though it takes up more space.

 

[ChuckM]

You can find videos about stacking the dust deputy and a shop vac together. Here is one for the dustopper:

I think the Ridgid (when on sale $50 US or so)/dustopper set-up as seen in the video would cost about $100 US. A dust deputy alone would be about $120 US!

 

[Svar]

Stay away from red HD bucket connected to the cyclone. My Kobalt vac will collapse it in a second if the hose is blocked. Find a sturdier bucket.

 

[ChuckM]

Good reminder about the need to reinforce the bucket...someone has done so in one of these review remarks (or somewhere):
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Dustopp...ia-with-2-5-in-hose-36-in-long-HD12/302643445

I use a dust deputy, and glued one bucket to another with constructive adhesive to form a super-strong bucket.

Home Depot sells buckets, but you may be able to get some free from your local restaurants (they come in different sizes), which have been my source.

Another reminder: Shop vacs are noisy (80 dB+); Festool Dust Extractors (62dB-72dB):
http://www.relevantrankings.com/top-10-best-wetdry-shop-vacuums/

 

[Michael Kellough]

Simply nesting one bucket into another works to keep the main bucket from collapsing. In the process of “caving-in” the bucket must become an ellipse (in cross section) before distorting further, half-moon etc. The extra bucket prevents the ellipse.

 

[Dick Mahany]

Stay away from red HD bucket connected to the cyclone. My Kobalt vac will collapse it in a second if the hose is blocked. Find a sturdier bucket.

This happened to me without even blocking the hose.  The cyclone was simply connected to a router table.
[attachimg=1][attachimg=2]

 

[ChuckM]

Simply nesting one bucket into another works to keep the main bucket from collapsing. In the process of “caving-in the bucket must become an ellipse (in cross section) before distorting further, half-moon etc. The extra bucket prevents the ellipse.

That makes sense. If I make a second set of the cyclone/shop vac system, I will try that. The "double-skinned" bucket has last forever so far.