Which vac, festool or nilfisk

[zukinut]

New to the festool game but not new to spending money on good, quality tools.

I have a couple festool sanders, am about to order a track saw and before long I'll be getting a planex easy.  I can deceive the type of work that I do if needed. 

I need a vac that can run my sanders including drywall sanding, do general cleanup on jobsites, and if needed collect dust from concrete grinding and drilling.  I keep finding places where the latter is needed. 

I currently have a dust deputy that's used with the big rigid vac on my routers and saws. 

I think I could get by with a 26 and the dust deputy and have hepa for when needed. I could get a 36 ac and not have hepa, or I could get a nilfisk 33-2 with auto clean AND hepa.  Grow is staring to be a big deal in my area.

What do y'all have and use, what do you reccomend? If you had your vac purchase to do all over again, would you change your setup?

Thanks in advance

Will

 

[TinyShop]

I recommend Starmix (via Metabo, CS Unitec, etc.). See the following for a lengthy and recent discussion on exactly the topic you've raised:
http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tools-accessories/help-with-choosing-extractorsander-combo!/msg541350/#msg541350

 

[nvalinski]

My perspective comes from owning two CT 36's, one AC, one not, and being in the U.S. in an area where I have multiple outlets for parts/bags/etc. I love them, but I'd still probably go for the Nilfisk due to it being cheaper and satisfying the silica dust application. You may miss out on a better hose, systainer integration, and bluetooth activated starts, but the first two of those items could be added on to the Nilfisk.

 

[rst]

92030060090, Fein Turbo II X AC Wet/Dry Dust Extractor from Feintools-online.com, comes with accessories  $560.00.  I just bought the non hepa version for the same price and with the $150 powered brush head for in our house.

 

[zukinut]

I've read some on the starmix, but didn't know to read further, thanks for the link.  I'm not necessarily concerned with blue tooth.  Thr nilfisk can be had with an AS hose and I'm sure that other size hoses could be adapted, but I need to do more reading on that as well. 

I'll check into the fein, but from reading lately I thought they had gone downhill quality wise?

Thanks for the help, and keep the opinions and ideas coming. 

Will

 

[rst]

I have three of the older ones and I don't see any lesser quality of this one, I also have four Festools...Midi, 26, 36 AC, and sys vac

 

[Brice Burrell]

If you are using the vac professionally you might want to take a look at the new silica dust requirements.  As I understand it Festool vacs don't meet the requirements.   

 

[zukinut]

I just studied the table 1 guidelines. I will only use a 4.5" angle grinder to cut dry inside, any bigger than that im gonna use water. With that said it looks like a hepa vac with a cyclone is compliant.

 

[rst]

There are differing requirements for various uses and whether the operation is out or indoors, and also for the time the operation is performed.

 

[zukinut]

Yea, according to the chart its 25fm per inch of blade or a cyclonic adapter. Osha seems to have made this chart easier to use than most of their charts.

I grabbed a ct26 to try, it was local enough and i HAD to have something to sand some drywall on Monday. Customer is undergoing chemo and radiation for brain cancer and dust is an absolute no no. Ill hook it to the dd and hope for the best. But i have a suspicion that itll go back and ill get the nilfisk or the starmix.  I really like the nilfisk, but the starmix has a switch that "dials in" what hose you are using,27,35 and i believe 50mm.

Have any of yall used the nilfisk or the starmix with drywall or very fine sanding dust? I read a post about someone using the nilfisk but cant remember if it was here or the contractor talk forum.  I do know that his name was tom.

Thanks again

Will

 

[ColossusX]

I'm currently looking into a dust collector for wood that will also handle OSHA silica rules.  That rules out a Festool.  I'm looking at the Bosch VAC090AH, comes with the hepa filters and offers good results. Protoolreviews has a nice review article shootout and the Bosch rates fairly well, especially for the price 

 

[zukinut]

call me an idiot, but why doesn't festool meet osha regulations, the cfm is there and the 36ac has auto clean.  I'm not doubting anyone's knowledge, just curious. 

 

[zukinut]

That Bosch looks like a starmix, hmmm.  I'll
Check into it as well.

 

[zukinut]

[member=64030]TinyShop[/member] why do you recommend the starmix?  They look like great machines, I'm just wondering what you like them the most. 

Thanks again
Will

 

[Mike S]

I never knew that efilnikufesin made vacuums.  ;-)

[/TH]

 

[Mike S]

If you are using the vac professionally you might want to take a look at the new silica dust requirements.  As I understand it Festool vacs don't meet the requirements. 

As you understand?  How about a source to back up your assertions.

 

[Mike S]

call me an idiot, but why doesn't festool meet osha regulations, the cfm is there and the 36ac has auto clean.  I'm not doubting anyone's knowledge, just curious.

The 36AC does not come with the HEPA filter installed.  The filter that comes in the AC is the "High Performance" filter, i.e. 1 Micron, vs the HEPA filter which is .3 Micron.

I believe that would be the rub for the 36AC.

 

[TinyShop]

[member=64030]TinyShop[/member] why do you recommend the starmix?  They look like great machines, I'm just wondering what you like them the most. 

Thanks again
Will

The big advantages for me (at the time I bought my vac) were a) the dual HEPA filters which remove 99.995% @ .3 micron (more effective than Festool vacs) and are waterproof, meaning that they can be easily cleaned with a hose (and the filter cleaning system which in my experience completely prevents loss of suction during use), b) the ease of using the vacuum in wet-mode (as easy as any shop-vac) and the ability to use the vac sans bag, c) the standard 35mm (as opposed to 27mm) hose and the ability to use Bosch-branded hoses, tubes & attachments which, at least at the time, were less than half the cost of Festool's (and still German-made), d) the 3-year warranty and, finally, e) the cost - I shopped around and the CS-Unitec-branded iPulse vac that I sourced was the least expensive option.

 

[zukinut]

On the starmic, from what I'm seeing, the one that is recommended for drywall does not have adjustable suction.  if that's the case, I think it's a no go.  I hope it isn't the case, I like that you said it can be cleaned with a hose. 

 

[TinyShop]

On the starmic, from what I'm seeing, the one that is recommended for drywall does not have adjustable suction.  if that's the case, I think it's a no go.  I hope it isn't the case, I like that you said it can be cleaned with a hose.

Which branding/model are you referring to?