If you’re looking for a new compact dust extractor vacuum or shop vac, don’t miss this Fein Cyber Monday 2023 deal.
The Fein Turbo I is discounted to $249.95, which is a great price for an excellent vacuum.
There are three reasons you should considering buying this Fein vacuum – strong performance, user-friendly design, and quieter operation.
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The vac has a 20-foot power cord and 13-foot hose, meaning you can clean a large area without having to move from outlet to outlet. It’s also convenient when attached to woodworking tools, as the long hose means less dragging the vac around as you move.
Fein says the noise level is rated at 66 dB(A), which is really good for any vacuum, let alone one that competes with shrilly shop vacs.
It offers wet and dry pickup capabilities and has a 6-gallon collection bin. There’s also an automatic activation port on the front that enable the vac to turn on and off when AC tools, such as sanders, are being used.
You’ll need to source your own attachments if you want this to be a cleanup vacuum, as it ships with hose, filter, and filter bag.
Sale Price: $249.95
Update: Acme Tools has another SKU that comes with cleaning attachments and is priced at $329.95. Amazon carries that vacuum with cleaning attachment set as well.
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Some of Acme Tools’ Black Friday and Cyber Weekend tool deals have already sold out. Check through the list real quick to see if there’s anything else you still wanted to buy.
Looking for something different? Amazon has a 6-gallon Vacmaster wet/dry shop vacuum on sale for $79.99 right now.
MoogleMan3
I bought this during the last sale at acme when it was the deal of the day. Great little vac. Very quiet, works great as the vac behind a dust deputy 2.5. I bought this specifically for use with a CNC.
Two downsides:
1. The hose isn’t antistatic, but you can upgrade to one.
2. The included filter isn’t a HEPA one, but again, you can upgrade to one.
Also a minor ding, but no variable suction.
If you’ll use the vac as-is, it’s a great deal. However, adding the anti static hose and HEPA filter puts you at or above the price of a festool CT15, which has both of those included, along with variable suction.
Blocky
Great insights, thanks.
fred
My 2 Fein dust extractors (a mini and a full-sized one that looks like a Dalek) are both over 20 years old. They get lots of use, still perform well and are very quiet.
Bill
All good points to consider.
In addition, the Fein has almost 50% more capacity than the Festool and a bit quieter at 66 db vs 70.
With your setup, using the dust deputy, the extra capacity might not mean much.
MoogleMan3
With capacity, you have to dig a bit to get the true numbers; most vacs have bag capacities of 1/2 or less than the bare tank capacity. The festool vacs are very efficient in this area. For example, the CT15 I mentioned has a tank capacity of 3.96 gallons, and bag capacity of 3.3 gallons. The fein turbo I has a tank capacity of 5.8 gallons, but a bag capacity of only around 2.8 gallons. But yeah, like you said, tank capacity isn’t as important when using with a dust separator. Ideally, I want the smallest, most powerful motor behind the dust deputy.
The fein is definitely a bit quieter than my Midi I, not by a ton though. Both are leagues ahead of my dewalt and vacmaster vacs.
Bill
Sorry, my post above was supposed to be in response to the post from MoogleMan3.
Matthew
Hey Stuart,
I had posted on a previous article that I’m considering more compact replacements for my 14 gal 6hp Ridgid Shop vac, currently in use with my Sawstop CTS. This Fein looks great, with two slight caveats. It’s 151 cfm vs 165 cfm, a small difference but not nothing. And it uses a much smaller diameter hose vs the ridgid which naturally mates with the Sawstop 2.5″ opening.
You’d also mentioned that if I were okay spending more, there are some Festool models worth looking at. Do you have any advice on Festool models to consider, and the pros / cons between all these vacuums?
One other note: quieter is always nicer, but it’s not a big concern given my table saw is fairly loud regardless. My understanding though is that any of these will be quieter than a shop vac by a fair margin.
Thanks!
MoogleMan3
Not Stuart, but I’ll throw my $.04 (inflation) in the mix. I have the Fein Turbo I, festool CT Midi I, Dewalt 16 gallon vac and a 5 gallon vacmaster beast. If using strictly for the table saw, I’d use the most powerful, smallest motor I could find, like the AC powered milwaukee with the smallest tank option.
Side note, but I’d be using a dust separator regardless.
Another side note, CFM ratings are often inflated/tested under mega-ideal conditions. Independant tests show that the festool, fein and dewalt 14+gallon vacs are quite powerful.
If I wanted a quiet vac and didn’t need HEPA filtration, the fein all the way. Otherwise, the festool CT15 is an excellent vac that provides HEPA filtration, anti static and variable suction.
Also note that you can use standard shop vac hoses with both the festool and fein, so you’re not locked to the hoses that come with the vacs.
Matthew
Thanks for the feedback! I really want dedicated dust collection, but there’s just not the space for it right now. So I do the best I can, have air filtration, and wear a respirator if I’m making especially dusty cuts.
When you say they can take any standard shop vac hose, does that mean they can be fitted with a 2.5″ hose?
MoogleMan3
Yep, standard hose will fit right in.
Matthew
Awesome, thanks for the advice and I’ll add the Milwaukee to my list of vacs to check out!
Koko The Talking Ape
Also not Stuart, but I got the Fein Turbo I recently. You say you want it to use with your table saw? I do find that because the Fein is so quiet, I use it more often with more tools than I might otherwise, because I don’t have to put on ear protection just because of the vac (I think.) It’s nice not to have to wear protection when I’m just using my ROS, for instance. Just my two cents!
Matthew
Thanks for the feedback! This will be primarily for use with a table saw. If it works well with my track saw and ROS that’s an added benefit, but I don’t want to compromise on effectiveness with the table saw.
On a side note, I’m still using a basic Ridgid ROS and it’s so loud on its own I find it more comfortable to wear hearing protection. That will probably be next in line for an upgrade.
Stuart
I love my Festool CT 26, and they have a new no-frills CT 25.
On a budget, Fein’s vac is really good.
Most dust extractor vacs have an industry-standard hose connection where you can attach a 2-1/4″ hose between it and a portable table saw.
It comes down to what else you want the vac to be able to handle. Sanders? A router? Track saw? The Fein will be better for all of them.
A shop vacuum is meant for cleanup purposes but can handle light dust extraction-type duties. Dust extractor vacs like the Fein are often better suited for connecting to tools, but can handle cleanup duties when equipped with the right accessories.
The CTS isn’t designed for efficient dust collection. The best setups have a large port on the bottom and a small port built into the blade guard. You can then connect either port to a vac or both if you have a splitter and powerful enough vacuum or extractor.
With a vac connected to the main dust port, I’m not sure Fein vs Festool vs shop vacuum will make a huge difference in performance, but there will be a difference in user friendliness and versatility with other woodworking dust extraction tasks.
Let’s say you’re attaching the vac to a sander. The Fein doesn’t have variable suction controls (the Festool CT 26 and certain other models do), but it does have a rudimentary control built into the end of the nozzle where you can open a sliding vent to release some pressure. This can make the difference between a sander sticking to a workpiece at full power or gliding effectively with reduced suction power.
It’s a hard call.
Do you have the budget for a dust extractor vac? What’s the anticipated work ratio between on-tool collection and workshop cleanup?
Shop vacuums can be improved, but there are limitations, especially with respect to the filters being used. Suction power can drop off quicker depending on the task, making on-paper spec comparisons difficult to judge.
If you don’t have the cash for a dust extractor vacuum, you can make small changes to a shop vacuum to improve its dust extraction performance, such as adding a Cleanstream filter.
If you do, a dust vac will perform better than a shop vacuum, as it’s designed for such purposes. Some of it might come in the form of filtration, but there are big differences in usability.
A lot of people experiment with dust separators to help with shop vacuum performance. There are ways to close the gap, but it can still be a hassle.
Matthew
Thank you! That clears up a lot of my decision.
This vacuum will be used for dust collection as I’m designing my table saw workbench to hold whatever vacuum I go with. Currently that’s the Ridgid, but I’m hoping to reclaim some space for storing jigs, accessories, etc. I have plenty of other shop vacs (including a cordless one) for clean up duty. I may occasionally use it with a track saw or sander but those are secondary use cases.
I’m aware I’ll never get a compact jobsite saw to collect dust as well as a cabinet saw, but my goal is to do the best I can with the space I have.
Budget is a lower concern. If I can spend the money to get better dust collection in a compact package, I will. I’m young and have enough respiratory problems already, so it’s the one place my budget is essentially “until there’s diminishing returns.”
I think I’ll research more of the differences between the Festool models you mentioned and the Fein and see if those convenience features are ones that matter to me.
Stuart
This is a fantastic vac, but might not be the one for you.
Unless you specifically want *this one* and at *this promotional price*, there’s no need to rush, especially if you have a shop vacuum in place already.
I don’t know how long this deal will be valid for, but it’s unlikely to last very long.
I feel it’s a great choice for users who kind of want a dust extractor vac and also need a compact cleanup vac. And, it’s quieter than a great majority of shop vacuums on the market.
Would I choose this over the Festool CT 26 that’s now $799? No. There’s also the Midi at $679, I’m just more familiar with the CT 26.
Matthew
Awesome, those are all models I’m cross-shopping based off the comments here. Thanks for the replies!
MoogleMan3
To piggyback on what Stuart said, and based on your most recent response, I’d be leaning towards the festool CT 15. Mainly because it has built in HEPA filtration, variable suction (once you use it for sanding, you won’t want to go back to one without) and anti-static hose. Use that with a small dust separator like the dustopper pro or dust deputy low pro, along with the included filter bag, and you’ll be set for literally a few years between filter/bag changes as long as you remember to empty the collection bucket.
The fein HEPA filter is around $130 right now. The anit static hose isn’t as important IMHO, but nice to have, and like I said, the variable suction is an excellent feature when sanding. It really helps you end up with less “swirl” marks form overly aggressive suction to the workpiece.
In regard to differences in the festool vacs (I researched the snot out of these things when I bought my own), the CT 15 and Midi I have the same tank size (the number being the tank capacity in liters), but the Midi I has a sleeved hose vs the unsleeved one on the CT 15 (nice to have but not a necessity), a wheel brake, filter cleaning lever and bluetooth capability. The CT 15 does not have those features, but to be honest, I’ve never used the filter cleaning lever or wheel brake. The bluetooth activation is an excellent feature though, but along not worth the bump from $419 to $679.
The CT 25 is identical to the CT 15, just with a larger tank. Oh, the CT 15/25 also do not have the integrated systainer docks on top of the vacs. The midi I, 26/36/48 etc. do.
The CT 26, 36 and 48 all have the same features, just different tank sizes. They’re very slightly more powerful than the midi/ct 15/25 (137CFM vs 130, not really noticeable) and have larger HEPA filters, but that’s not a big deal if using a separator. If you’re really interested in going down the festool vac rabbit hole for differences/uses, look up the festool live comparing them.
There’s also the auto clean 36 and 48, but those are more for drywall guys.
Hans
The autostart outlet on this unit routinely fails. Maybe if you only ever plug a sander in you’d do alright.
Stuart
There should be limits specified in the manual – most vacs with auto activation have such limits.
Peter
Is the difference between this and the Fein Turbo I 9-20-28 just the attachments?
Also are they any good for drywall sanding/clean up?
Just bought a smaller Rigid but that is unbearable for me without hearing protection.
Thank you.
Stuart
Yes – as far as I can tell.
Ooh – that model looks to be a good buy too.
$330 – $30 today.
For primarily used for drywall sanding, you might want an auto-cleaning model designed specifically for that purpose.
Ravi Varma
I just got another $30 off with the code CYBER on Acme tools. At $219 it’s almost as low as the $199 deal in October. Will replace a loud and terrible $50 shopvac I regret buying.