fein or festool vac?

[mqbernardo]

sorry for beating up this dead horse... i was thinking of buying myself a fein vac like this: http://www.axminster.co.uk/fein-fein-du ... rod806764/

but the recent thread on festool here on the forum ( cheapest-place-to-buy-festool-t69781.html ) makes the festool CTL midi ( http://www.powertool-supplies.co.uk/fes ... -240v.html ) in the same price league... i know the fein is wet/dry but that isn´t really important to me. overall fein specs seem to be a tad superior, but what i really value is long-term reliability, customer support and steady and quiet operation - so i was wondering if any of you could help me with comparing this two, specially regarding noise and airflow levels of the two units. i´m gonna team it up with an oneida deputy thingy, if it helps.

any help is appreciated,
thanks in advance,
Miguel.

 

[Paul Chapman]

i´m gonna team it up with an oneida deputy thingy, if it helps.

I have the Fein Dustex 40 and have recently attached it to an Oneida Dust Deputy. Brilliant I've not used the Festool so can't compare but I'm entirely satisfied with my set-up. Virtually no dust reaches the vacuum - it all goes in the Dust Deputy bucket, which makes disposal of the dust so easy.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[chippy1970]

The midi also does wet & dry you just change the filter for a special one , easy :grin:

 

[Waka]

My choice would be the Festool, but then again I'm a Festool nut.

 

[petermillard]

+1 for the a festool here too; the Fein is generally well regarded, but as I may have mentioned befoere, if you cart your gear around at all then the Festool + Systainer combo is unbeatable IMHO.

 

[chippy1970]

A real bargain right now too :grin: £165 with the £50 off voucher that's nearly half price compared to most dealers.

 

[mqbernardo]

yes, you all are making it very hard not to buy the festool (even if i really don´t like that festool green).

A real bargain right now too :grin: £165 with the £50 off voucher that's nearly half price compared to most dealers.

what´s theat thing with the voucher, if i may ask - i couldn´t find any info...

thanks,
miguel.

 

[mqbernardo]

never mind, apparently they won´t ship to Portugal. I sent them a mail to see if they could sort it out, though. fingers crossed.

 

[101wheeler]

Also a bit of a Festool nut, I have the mid vacuum and also the CTL33. I also have a nilfisk vacuum with power take off. The Nilfisk used to be my 'main' extractor for connecting to a sander and it is excellent however the Festools are in a different league. I use the midi as a dedicated takeoff for a Kapex saw and here it is pretty good although I still get dust around the saw (more a function of the saw than the extractor). The CTL33 is used with a boom arm attachment and is fantastic! When I finally open it to empty (perhaps every 2 months) it is completely spottless inside. I don't know how they do it but Festool have got dust management off to a tee particularly when paired with their sanders.

Expensive stuff but in my experience always worth it.

Hope that helps,

Paul

 

[mqbernardo]

ok guys, thanks - just ordered the festool.

 

[101wheeler]

Well done! Don't think you'll regret it. Just don't start looking at all the other festool kit or you'll be on a serious (but rewarding) slippery slope!!!

Cheers,

Paul

 

[Charlie Woody]

Is the Festool Midi large enough to cope with lots of routing work?

 

[chippy1970]

Is the Festool Midi large enough to cope with lots of routing work?

Yeah it should be fine, the only thing I find that fills it quick is planing.

 

[101wheeler]

Not sure if you can get it forte midi but my ctl33 has a reusable dust bag. Basically when it is full you can open it, empty and reseal. It is fantastic as it means no more buying single use bags! You will be ok with a router but you will still generate more dust than say with a chop saw so might want to consider this option if its available. As with all things festool, everything looks v. Expensive at first but once you start using you realise the quality.....

Cheers,

Paul

 

[Charlie Woody]

Not sure if you can get it forte midi but my ctl33 has a reusable dust bag. Basically when it is full you can open it, empty and reseal. It is fantastic as it means no more buying single use bags! You will be ok with a router but you will still generate more dust than say with a chop saw so might want to consider this option if its available. As with all things festool, everything looks v. Expensive at first but once you start using you realise the quality.....

Cheers,

Paul

Now that sounds like a very good idea! Thanks Paul.

 

[101wheeler]

Just had a quick look on the net and the type of thing I have is like festool part no. 456737. Can't seem to find one for the midi so it may not exist......

Hope you have fun anyway!!

Cheers,

Paul

 

[Charlie Woody]

Just had a quick look on the net and the type of thing I have is like festool part no. 456737. Can't seem to find one for the midi so it may not exist......

Hope you have fun anyway!!

Cheers,

Paul

Just looked that up on www.festool.co.uk and I noticed it says "use only for the extraction of dust that is not hazardarous to health" ..... don't think that there are too many wood or man made boards that would fall into that category. I wonder just what they intend this to be used for?

 

[101wheeler]

Remember, Festool is proper professional kit and hence they will be selling to companies that require the H&S advice. That's not to say that the risk is not real but they need to design and test their kit so that it really does perform safely. Hence the warning is there since they can't guarantee safe use with hazardous materials (If you look in their catalogue they sell 'special bags for hazardous materials -v. expensive and can't imagine who buys them but do you know of any other company that goes to these lengths?)

Whenever I have emptied my reusable bag it is a very clean process, yes there is a bit of dust but nothing to scare a woodie. When you open the dust extractor before removing the bag it is absolutely spotless (never seen anything like it!) with no signs of dust leakage at all.

Hope my post makes sense!

Paul

 

[petermillard]

Hence the warning is there since they can't guarantee safe use with hazardous materials...

This, exactly - they're just covering themselves. I have the long life bag for my old CTL22, and I do wear a face mask when I'm emptying it - why take the risk?

FWIW Festool have never made a long-life bag for the Mini or Midi, sadly.

Pete

 

[mqbernardo]

just wanted to give an heads-up to the aforementioned dealer ( http://www.powertool-supplies.co.uk/ ). supper quick replies to mails and fast shipping, besides a nice price he seems a nice guy as well. i´m a happy camper!