Buying a dust extractor, what to look for?

[Jrboulder]

I'm looking for a quiet, stable, smaller wet/dry dust extractor for general home use. Everything from hooking up to power tools to cleaning the car. I currently have a 1 gal Stanley wet/dry that's a total POS. Slightly larger ShopVac brand ones I've used have been similarly bad.

Auto clean/semi-auto clean? Is this something I want?
Automatic on/off outlet?
Other features?

So far the Fein Turbo I looks pretty good for my needs. This will be a buy once cry once kind of deal.

 

[tarbellb]

Biggest reason I bought a "dust extractor" type vacuum is for the Auto On/Off feature when a tool is plugged in. For woodworking it is a must have feature if you are serious about reducing air borne dust.

After owning one now for about 12 months I can say its been a huge improvement for dust. But there are some downsides, mostly size and power. Almost all have a 35mm hose vs a 2 1/2" (67mm?) hose, smaller tank, and arguably smaller motors?

So it really depends on what you are using it for, woodworking, small clean up, tight spaces, high performance dust collection, its excellent. Remolding, huge jobs, water, general DIY, maybe not the best bang for the buck.

If you can afford a model with Auto Filter cleaning, go for it, super nice feature that keeps suction levels high.

I went with a model that has the Auto ON/OFF feature and manual button actuated filter cleaning, Karcher WD5-P, pretty nice and only $125-150 vs $4-600 Fein or Festool.

Actually on sale right now-

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BL7J5M4/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[hangfirew8]

How loud is that Karcher? I kick around paying for a Fein or Festool just for something quieter.

 

[tarbellb]

That was a feature I was looking for as well when shopping for a new vacuum/DC.

The Karcher was a little more quiet then my "5hp" Ridgid, maybe 5-7 decibels? But the tone or frequency is much more pleasing if that makes sense. Plus it has variable speed/power so you can dial it down for some jobs.

 

[hangfirew8]

That was a feature I was looking for as well when shopping for a new vacuum/DC.

The Karcher was a little more quiet then my "5hp" Ridgid, maybe 5-7 decibels? But the tone or frequency is much more pleasing if that makes sense. Plus it has variable speed/power so you can dial it down for some jobs.

Thanks. I'm looking for something more than a little quieter, so I'll keep looking.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

 

[fourjeepin]

That was a feature I was looking for as well when shopping for a new vacuum/DC.

The Karcher was a little more quiet then my "5hp" Ridgid, maybe 5-7 decibels? But the tone or frequency is much more pleasing if that makes sense. Plus it has variable speed/power so you can dial it down for some jobs.

I bought the silly little muffler for my Ridgid vac and it works surprisingly well. Note - all my dust collection is done after the fact, but have been exploring options.

 

[tarbellb]

Thanks. I'm looking for something more than a little quieter, so I'll keep looking.

If you got the money the Fein, Festool, Nilfisk, are worth it (also even less decibels). Just watch out for the accessories cost on top...

 

[mhejl]

I have an older Fein Turbo I (round canister) that parts are no longer available (needs a switch). It has blown all the degraded sound deadening foam out of the top portion for the last several years, making more of a mess than it cleans up. Also have an original Multi-Master with similar parts issues so I stay away from Fein now.

Replaced it with a Festool Mini (I like smaller!) which is much quieter, variable speed, and tool activated. Added a Bosch 35mm anti-static hoes with a Festool end way cheaper than a Festool hose. I've used both with a Dust Deputy for many years but may get the Oneida systainer-style one for the Festool.

I have an old noisy shop-vac (or some such) stored in the attic as wet duty backup.

 

[Grant Gunderson]

I have a festoon midi. IT is amazing! In fact it has over double the suction power of the rocker 4inch extractor that I was using and is a hell of a lot quieter!