I should have got a Festool

[Woodster]

I bought a Nilfisk Dust Extractor quite a few years ago and it’s been worth every penny of the £115* I paid for it. But - it lives in the workshop 99% of the time. Moving it about the house recently for cleaning up after some plastering work and the really, really irritating lack of proper cable and hose storage has raised its head again. If I had to move this thing on a regular basis it would drive me nuts. I would definitely splash out and get a Festool with onboard hose and cable storage if I were a tradesperson.

https://www.tylerbrownwoodworking.com/a ... comparison

* It was on special offer at Screwfix, normal price for the Aero 26 was £160 at the time.

I’m tempted by a Festool but £600 is a bit steep for workshop use. :lol:

 

[Malc2098]

Festool DXs are often on Facebook Marketplace, especially when tradespeople upgrade from 240v or 110v to battery powered.

I've known DIY people buy a 110v transformer to buy second-hand Festool equipment.

 

[Pete Maddex]

The cheap ones from Aldi/Lidl have hose and power storage an are very cheap.

I was given Festool vac that wasn’t working it had a break in the middle of the mains cable, new 3m one from Festool £60 that’s just a plain length of cable, probably why they cost so much.


Pete

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I told a friend that when we had faulty vacuums at work I always checked for 230v at their switch before getting them repaired. 90% of the time there was a break in the lead somewhere, usually an inch or two away from the grip in the plug - it was so common in fact that I usually rewired the plug before even checking anything else. The favourite fault in Henrys was broken copper connectors on the winder. My friend repaired white goods etc. for a living and said I'd be amazed how much of his income came from broken leads.
We used a Hoover for several years that a relative threw out .......... because the fuse had gone, and we had an old BVC that was a gem - I bought it for pence, sold as not working. We used it for years until swmbo burned it out using it for plaster until it nearly split its seams. It came with a broken lead.

 

[AJB Temple]

I use a Festool vac (the large trade one with ultra filtration). Also have a couple of Lidl ones, a cordless stick thing (useless) and Miele house vac. The Lidl ones are not at all bad and so cheap that I bought a spare.

Festool easily and by miles outperforms the rest. Huge capacity and does not tail off as the bag fills. Sucks like a demon and it is the only thing that stands a chance of coping with the SMS. Indispensable with Mafell track saw, Festool Domino and Mirka sander. I use mine with extra long smooth hose, ideal for breaking down sheet goods totally dust free. Highly recommended.

On mine the cable does not unplug from the machine, and is about twice the thickness of normal cables. You would have to really try hard to damage it.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

The Lidl ones are not at all bad and so cheap that I bought a spare.

I did the same with the Scheppach at £50 from Aldi.

 

[AndyP]

I told a friend that when we had faulty vacuums at work I always checked for 230v at their switch before getting them repaired. 90% of the timer there was a break in the lead somewhere, usually an inch or two away from the grip in the plug - it was so common in fact that I usually rewired the plug before even checking anything else. The favourite fault in Henrys was broken copper connectors on the winder. My friend repaired white goods etc. for a living and said I'd be amazed how much of his income came from broken leads.
We used a Hoover for several years that a relative threw out .......... because the fuse had gone, and we had an old BVC that was a gem - I bought it for pence, sold as not working. We used it for years until swmbo burned it out using it for plaster until it nearly split its seams. It came with a broken lead.

i would bet that the number of people who could and would rewire a plug has dropped significantly over the past decade or so.

 

[Woodster]

I don’t have any issues with the performance of my Nilfisk. They’ve been making vacuum cleaners since 1930 so I expect they can at least match anything else on the market. Suction is very good and it’s quite quiet for a shop vac. Not needed very often but the push & Clean feature is handy.

The ability to put the hose on the exhaust side to provide a blow function is also handy.

My only real gripe is the hose and cable storage.


.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Yes. I had a discussion with a younger person one day about education and I said at school they should spend half an hour every week teaching general useful life skills - things like what to do if you see someone having an epileptic fit, how to use jump leads, how to rewire a plug/change a fuse etc. He said something like that would be a good idea but no one needs to know how to change a plug any more as they're moulded on.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I don’t have any issues with the performance of my Nilfisk. They’ve been making vacuum cleaners since 1930 so I expect they can at least match anything else on the market.

We used Nilfisks at work until someone realised they could buy and throw away Henrys cheaper than paying the maintenance contracts on the Nilfisks.

 

[Lurker]

Yes. I had a discussion with a younger person one day about education and I said at school they should spend half an hour every week teaching general useful life skills - things like what to do if you see someone having an epileptic fit, how to use jump leads, how to rewire a plug/change a fuse etc. He said something like that would be a good idea but no one needs to know how to change a plug any more as they're moulded on.

I would say that this sort of thing is the parent’s responsibility.

 

[Woodbloke]

Yes. I had a discussion with a younger person one day about education and I said at school they should spend half an hour every week teaching general useful life skills - things like what to do if you see someone having an epileptic fit, how to use jump leads, how to rewire a plug/change a fuse etc. He said something like that would be a good idea but no one needs to know how to change a plug any more as they're moulded on.

This is just one of the many and varied strands discussed in Simon Winchester's latest book wot I've just finished reading: "Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge". In this simple case, knowledge is lost (ie: what's inside a 3 pin plug) possibly forever and has been replaced by 'technology' :eusa-whistle: which ultimately, with due process he argues, leads to the encroachment of AI into our lives with all it's ramifications, for good or nae.

He's unquestionably my favourite writer and this latest book is an absolute gem - Rob

 

[RogerS]

I don’t have any issues with the performance of my Nilfisk. They’ve been making vacuum cleaners since 1930 so I expect they can at least match anything else on the market. Suction is very good and it’s quite quiet for a shop vac. Not needed very often but the push & Clean feature is handy.

The ability to put the hose on the exhaust side to provide a blow function is also handy.

My only real gripe is the hose and cable storage.


.

Thank you for this. I've got one of those as well and I agree that it is very good. I've always wondered what that gizmo was for

 

[RogerS]

...... but no one needs to know how to change a plug any more as they're moulded on.

:eusa-doh:

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I would say that this sort of thing is the parent’s responsibility.

You are of course presuming the parents give a damn - many don't.

 

[RogerS]

I would say that this sort of thing is the parent’s responsibility.

You are of course presuming the parents give a damn - many don't.

Or that they even know how to change a plug !

 

[Doug]

I would say that this sort of thing is the parent’s responsibility.

You are of course presuming the parents give a damn - many don't.

Or indeed if they are still around to give instruction

 

[Woodster]

I’m not really in the market for a new shop vac but it hasn’t stopped me looking, just out of interest.

One of the Fein vacs looked quite interesting but the hose storage issue isn’t any better. :lol:

I also saw this video which showed that even some of the Festool vacs have issues.

[youtubessl]xBIyQFRQ7eY[/youtubessl]

I also had a look at some of the other Nilfisk units. Unlike some other manufacturers, they make L, M, and H class vacs. If you work with a lot MDF or other fine dust then this Nilfisk seems to be extremely good, quiet too.

My Nilfisk Aero is about 7 or 8 years old and still working well but if it does pack in then I’d probably get the M class version of the Attix 33. Just a shame about the hose issue …

 

[AJB Temple]

I vaguely remember reading somewhere that Nilfisk make a good few of the vacs branded Mirka or whatever. I've got a 6 year old Nilfisk that is OK. Rarely used now as I have large shop vac installed. But the small table saw is in the garage not the w/s and it works OK with that. Both need selling really along with my Startrite farm t/s. :shock:

 

[Woodster]

At one time there were three or four other brands with identical cases to one of the Nilfisk vacs, just in different colours.

 

[Weekend_Woodworker]

I’ve got the attix 33 which is an M class vacuum. Not cheap, but cheaper than Festool and very good. I have seen a mirka variant of it in yellow rather than blue, but definitely the same cleaner.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Woodster]

As mentioned earlier it appears that Nilfisk may make vacs for other companies. The first three all look pretty identical. The last three have a slightly different top but the bases look the same as the others. The bottom two also have variable suction. Not sure if this is available on the Nilfisk model or not.

 

[Windows]

When I was looking at vacs recently, the non-Festool vacs ended up being within £100 of the Festool equivalents, so I went with Festool because of the better hose, Bluetooth switch, and brand trust. It was more expensive, but I figured I’d be less likely to be annoyed by the level or quality of the noise it produced. I like it and I don’t expect to have to think about vacuums again for another 10+ years, so I’m happy.

 

[Woodbloke]

I've got this thing: https://www.axminstertools.com/numatic- ... d1c0da4d67 which will suck out your wisdom teeth if you get too close to the nozzle :lol: - Rob

 

[Phil]

The wife is a serial killer of vacuum cleaners

Over the years they always end up in my workshop for 'repairs'.

Move on a few years-cleaners ............

This Electrolux arrived. Son had already replaced the cable once.
My verdict - cannot be repaired.

Stripped it down, cleaned it, new filter, new power cable.
That was about 25 years ago.
The adverts were "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux"

It is still going strong, gets a new filter every 10 years or so and wife made me some new filter bags.



It has fallen off the work bench, some cracked plastic on the top, repaired with material strips and contact adhesive.

The black drum next to it was a previous victim which is now an off-cut bin (Another bin!!!!)

Then I also have a 3000W MEC (3 speeds) which my late son gave me ex a factory that was relocating to new premises.
This hooks up to the router table and the thicknesser.



This is serious sucking power via 40mm pipe.

When I turn it on with the planer the lights tend to dim. :shock:

I now need to watch what time I use machines in the late afternoon as they tend to suck a lot of power from our batteries, and we then run out of power at night and switch over to the grid which costs R's.