junk said:
What you say is correct but if your using the sanders you will also need a way to adjust the suction and a good set of hearing protection.
John
Until I owned a CT vacuum I never really knew what I was missing. Now that I have a CT, I call my old Shop Vac the “noise machine.” But you’re right, you CAN make a conventional shop vac do a pretty decent job if you’re budget conscious. And, although it’s a bit Rube Goldbergish, you can add some of the Fes-features separately.
If you’re interested in varying the suction on your conventional, inexpensive vacuum there are some inexpensive options. The cheapest may just be bleeding extra air into the hose somewhere along its length…like with a chunk of pvc pipe with holes drilled in it inserted between the hose sections.
But the path I ultimately took was to simply connect the Vacuum to a universal “Router Speed Control” and just slow it down via a dial. Such a device gives you variable speeds with any brush-type motor. They install simply by plugging the speed control in between the wall outlet and the vacuum. You can dial the suction back and suppress the noise by an amazing amount. But, again, it’s an externally located device that adds to clutter. Such switches can be had in the $20 neighborhood at the el cheapo tool stores.
There’s also no reason you can’t “daisy chain” a tool-triggered automatic on/off switch between the control mentioned above and the wall outlet. The speed control/vacuum plugs into one outlet and the power tool into the other. When the tool is triggered the vacuum starts and runs for a few seconds after the trigger is released. But with this switch AND the speed control switch hooked together to the vac the setup starts to get really clumsy. Throw in a preseparator cyclone, exhaust muffler, HEPA bags, copper wire around the hose for static, and so on and the whole contraption takes on the appearance of a bad 7th grade science fair project.
My point is that a Shop Vac can be rigged to do a pretty good impersonation of a CT vacuum. And I used to do that very thing with better-than-satisfactory (and expected) results.
One thing that my Shop vacuum does not do is draw as deep of a suction as the CT series at wide open. The published values for the CT indicates it pulls up to 90” of static water pressure. My fairly powerful shop vacuum only lists 60”. When dragging air through a small hose the extra pressure capability might make a difference in maintaining airflow in some instances.
Hey, my first FOG post!
Steve
