Good afternoon community and Happy New Year!! Quick question on dust extraction. I am wanting to have a dedicated dust extraction vacuum for my Pro. I will be using the Home Depot dust separator. I have added a picture below with what I have narrowed my choices down to. I do not have Festool money for a vacuum so I believe that is out. Really do not want to pay $588 for the Makita either but can swing it. Any input from users of any of these would be tremendously helpful. Or if you just wanna give me your two cents and do not have any of the machines in the picture this is also welcome. Thank you in advance.
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I would check reviews and choose whichever is the quietest.
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Will, I will be placing vac in an insulated cabinet for noise level issues. Should have specified, sorry sir. Just wanted to get a few opinions before spending that chunk of dough. Also would really like if I can have a consistent 2 1/2 hose throughout. Step downs suck (no pun intended) lol
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I’ve been using the Home Depot Dust Stopper for a year now, and it works really well. I have it on a small craftsman shopvac. That doesn’t work that great and it’s loud. I spent the last week looking into dust extraction. My requirements were quality, hepa filtration and quite.
I ruled out the Fein Turbo I because it doesn’t have HEPA filtration. That had me debating between the Festool line and Fein Turbo II HEPA. Then I found the Flex https://www.acmetools.com/shop/tools/flex-444251. It seems to stack up all around with Fein and Festool for power and sound level. It comes in at $499, and with both the fleece bag and anti-static hose. So it beat out both on price.
The Makita is right in the range an has the extras built in. It has a slightly lower listed than the Flex at Db rating at 60 vs 65-70. It also lists 10 fewer CFM at 148 to the Flex’s 158.
I don’t have either, but I am going to save the 90$ and go for the Flex.
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none of these have a 2.5" hose. They are all 1 1/4" - 1 1/3"
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I was thinking a zip tie, duct tape, hose clamp type of situation. 
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I’d just spring the $7 for the adapter.
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Or this! My father always told me I tried like hell to make things harder than they should be. #shopengineering. Lmao
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I am very prone to over engineering. The table I built could probably hold up 10 cnc’s and the walls to the enclosure are 5 inches thick as is the table and top. The only thing it is lacking is a solid dust extraction system. I surfaced my spoilboard and the dust escaping my suck-it had me thinking my spindle caught on fire at first.
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I also over engineer till I am positive that the wheel I have made is still round. I am liking the Flex. Will do more research. Really want a Festool, just know that pandora’s box will be opened and I will try to buy all of their tools, then I think about how much it hurts when my wife throat punches me!
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I have this vacuum on my Shapeoko XL.
I don’t require a HEPA vacuum but did require a unit that is quiet. It is comparable to a Fein Turbo I that I have had in my woodshop for over 12 years.
I use an Oneida Dust Deputy with both these units and they work extremely well negating filter clogging. Also for anyone considering a Dust Deputy please spend the $7.00 to $8.00 for a Gamma Seal Lid which makes emptying the bucket much easier than trying to pry off those snap on lids.
In addition this vacuum came with hoses that easily worked with my CNC configuration (an overhead swinging arm) as well as a remote control.
A final advantage is the design incorporates a 2 stage motor which is less prone to overheating - important for longer run times.
And at $130.00 it is much more friendly to the wallet.
Another option for your consideration.
Bill
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Bill, This Gamma Seal Lid deal will be here Wednesday!! Awesome product idea. Game changer. Thank you for your help sir.
I use the Fein Vacuum, with the following dust separator: Dust Deputy
I then run a 2.5" hose from the Dust Deputy to my dust shoe. I got sick of plastic buckets collapsing after a few incidents with some of my other tools, so I bought that steel drum kit, I did by it on clearance at a local shop though.
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There are differences between shop vacs, dust extractors and dust collectors.
Shop vacs aren’t really made for continuous use. Which is why they don’t have a lot of noise filtration and other features.
Dust collectors are designed for high flow of large chips, like from a planer or jointer. Which is why they have 4+ inch hoses and 450+ CFM. By reducing the hose down to 2 inches you are restricting the air flow, which will cause the motor to work harder and reduce it’s life. They also only filter down to 1-5 micron.
Dust extractors with are designed to catch the type of dust and debris that a cnc produces.
Without a HEPA filter, the exhaust will project the smallest particles, those below 1 micron into the air. Because they are so small, they will remain airborne until breathed in. And when they are breathed in they can go deep into your lungs. This is especially bad if you are doing plywoods and MDF as they contain chemicals and glue that will be aerosolized.
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Yeah, I can relate 100%. Festool is really slick. But unless I really start making a lot of money with my CNC, my wife would not endorse that rabbit hole. As it is, it seems like I am spending at least $100 on every project I make.
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Rockler has their dust deputy on sale fo $79.99. On my second one in 14 years with no problems. Just wore the top off after extensive use for 11-1/2 years. I use a rigid shop vac as well. Same unit for almost 20 years. I do use a supplemental inner bag in the vac.
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I know you said you want to put it in a cabinet, but this one works great and allows me to move it anywhere in the shop. This keeps me from running 4" PVC pipe everywhere (for now).
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I was using RIDGID shop vacs for a while around my shop and with my CNC but they were DEAFENING. I’ve got a small shop in my basement and it was such a pain to wrangle the shop vac, dust stopper / bucket and all the hoses between tools. I agonized over what the best solution was and punched above my budget and picked up a Festool CT-26.
If you are just dedicating it to the CNC maybe save some money and try a different more affordable brand but I will say that the CT-26 has been my best shop investment of all year. I own a bunch of other Festools but they came after the CT and none of have my life as much better as the CT has.
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I use the festool ct15, comes in at $349. It works really well as all festool does, but without the huge price tag. It’s quiet enough and it being a HEPA system is great.
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