Update - Cheap Fein Sorces

[john_l]

Just wondering if anyone would post the most recent source and costs they have found on Fein III's.

Thanks

[dubliner]

amazon, 349 free shipping, you might search for Amazon coupons too, I've never had much luck finding any except "free shipping" ones

[harryball]

Watch Amazon.com, look for the free super saving shipping and the "enter this code for $x off" deals. I've found they publish a lot of those codes in January.

If you are buying 2, don't be afraid to ask local vendors for a discount and tell them you are willing to take damaged box units etc... I asked and ended up paying about $600 + tax for two units. The boxes had gotten wet and come open, the two units were just fine... err fein. :-)

Robert

[harve]

I am considering a vacuum hold down system for my yet to be delivered benchtop. Probably a dumb question, but I am still new and can get away with it. What is the difference in the Fein III and say a RIDGID 14 Gallon Pro Vac WD1450? (Beside's $250.00 in price).

[ljdm]

I'm definitely not an expert at this(still new to alot of it), but after hearing a Fein run, it runs ALOT quieter than a shop vac. I also saw a quick test of vac hold-down power. I can't compare to shopvac, but the Fein hold very well.

[myxpykalix]

What i recall from a previous explaination is that besides being a lot quieter, the fein has some type of second cooling fan in it to keep it cooler to allow you to run it for hours with no adverse effects. So it will last a whole lot longer than a typical shopvac. I have 2 feinsIII and they are quieter than this very small craftsman shopvac that just SCREAMS!

[harve]

Thanks Lou. I did see the Fein in action and it was considerably quieter than a shop vac. It held the part very well. I was just wondering if it held that much better than a shop vac. I was considering putting the shop vac or Fein in the next room and running the hose to the Bot. So noise would not be a huge priority. The holding power is my primary concern.

[kivimagi]

The rigid vacs have secondary cooling as well, or at least it appears that way. I have one of the 6.5 hp units, and its working pretty well for my brady vac.

Regards,

[Brady Watson]

Contrary to popular belief, the Fein does not have a 2nd cooling fan - This is a myth, as illustrated by their parts breakdown:


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The difference in price buys you an industrial rated vacuum, not a homeowner grade vacuum. It is much, much quieter, pulls nearly twice as hard as my big Rigid vac (7 Hg" vs 4 Hg") and it will run and run and run. I've run mine on a number of occassions over 24hrs straight when doing large format 3D carving. It's still going strong after 4yrs.

You get what you pay for...BTW, ShopBot also sells these and has them in stock.

-B

[harryball]

I'm curious... has anyone found a way or tried to buy just the motor? Depending on its design it seems it would be a way to get what we really need. I don't know about the rest of you, but at 6" sustained vac my canisters are starting to show signs of buckling.

Robert

[harve]

I just called. You can buy the motor only. It costs $160.00 plus shipping. The part # is: 918M79A02U

[Brady Watson]

You NEED a filter too...or you can kiss it goodbye...and without sound deadening, it'll be as loud as any other vac.

Robert,
Sent Ed Lang an email about enclosures.

-B

[myxpykalix]

ooooohhh...wrong again, thanks for pointing that out. lol which proves the old saying "don't believe everything you read".

[harve]

It looks like there is the expense of the motor, three sound deadening covers and a filter to buy if you were to try to build your own hold down system. Given that expense, would it make more sense to buy a Fein for $349.00 and when it collapses the canister just build a new one around your existing Fein parts?

[jay_p]

At the Boise Camp, Bill showed pictures of someone who mounted the Fein motor housing on a smaller plywood plenum. Does anyone have any more info on that system?

Jay

[Gary Campbell]

Jay...
Robert Ball and I have both done just that. Robert used ShopVac type heads and I used Grainger replacement motors. There are posts that show both our systems. The vac pulls right at 7" Hg, and as Brady says above the noise is as loud as a shopvac. (And in my case times 4 heads)
Gary

[Brady Watson]

Who cares if the canister gets crushed? You're not losing any performance...

-B

[jay_p]

Thanks Gary,
I remember seeing the setups like you guys have, but this was a little different. In Bill's photos, the vacuum head was mounted to a plywood box, and then that box was connected to the pvc piping. So it really isn't that much different that a regular shopvac, except that you have reduced the size of the waste container, since there isn't any waste to contain. I suppose that the only real advantage to doing this is that then my Fein system would fit under the table since the whole assembly would be smaller. Does this make sense.

Thanks,

Jay

[harryball]

Brady,

I wouldn't care if it didn't loose performance, but one of my units pulled away from the plastic inlet for the hose. I've had to wrap tape around it. I also started having leaks underneath the head on one of the units. I added a gasket that is keeping it in check. I'm sure I'll be fine this winter but when we get another run of 100+ degree days the plastic softens. I can't keep the units inside due to the heat they throw off... I'd be in a 100+ degree shop. I do keep them under a cover for shade, but that's all I can do.

I'm not overly concerned at the moment, but I can see where it appears to be heading. I wouldn't be surprised on a 100 degree day to find the canister completely crushed.

There is also another possibility that could cause newer models to crush more than older models... material changes in manufacturing. I don't know if that has happened... but I can tell you my shopvac from 5 years ago is much more robust than any shopvac I've seen today.

Robert

[billp]

Guys,
I go those pix from Ed Lang so he can chime in and explain the process I am sure...

[harold_weber]

Gentlemen, the FEIN vacuum DOES have a "2nd" or separate cooling fan. I know because I've had occasion to take my Fein vacuum apart. My Fein uses an Ametek peripheral bypass blower, an Ametek drawing is shown below. On one end of the motor shaft is a two stage radial blower which pumps air from the canister. On the other end of the motor shaft is an axial fan which blows cooling air over the motor armature and stator windings. There is a common peripheral exhaust for both the cooling air fan and the vacuum blower.

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[harold_weber]

Here's a photo I took that clearly shows the cooling fan at the top, and the vacuum blower at the bottom (motor is in-between).

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[myxpykalix]

hmmm... so i was right after all !! lol

[Brady Watson]

The understanding was that it somehow had a separate motor than the motor that did most of the work...So no, just being an impeller connected to the shaft of the motor isn't the same story that we ALL heard in various circles. ("The Fein is super duty because it has another cooling motor that allows you to run it hours on end") Pretty much ALL vacuum motors on the market are totally enclosed fan cooled (TEFC), so the Fein is nothing special in this regard. I know in my post I said fan..but what I always heard was motor. Either way, it's a good vacuum whether it has another fan or motor is irrelivant at this point...


-B

[harold_weber]

Brady, if you mean "pretty much ALL (ShopVac, Ridgid, Fein) vacuum motors on the market" are TEFC motors, then I disagree. A TEFC motor mas a fan that blows air over the EXTERIOR of the motor housing. See the Siemens link below:

http://www.sea.siemens.com/step/templates/lesson.mason?motors:4:3:3

As is shown by the photo I posted, the Ametek motor used in the Fein vacuum has a fan which blows air through the INTERIOR of the motor.

Now, if you mean "pretty much all the industrial (Siemens, Becker, etc.) vacuum pumps have TEFC motors", then yes.

[beacon14]

Actually one of my canisters collapsed (after several hours on a hot day) in such a way that the seal was lost between the canister and the top. It could have been a much worse problem than it was, but I was not happy at the time.

[ed_lang]

My next article is on this exact topic. I have both of my Feins removed from the orange tank. I lost seal many times and had problems. I have fixed that now. I plan to have pictures and the text ready for ShopBot by Monday or Tuesday, but I expect they will be busy from the Make Fair this weekend. So, look for it in a few days.

Short story is, build a plywood box, cut a hole in the top, I put gasket around it, and set the motor on top. I cut a hole in one side so I could use my vacuum hose that came with the units. Now that the orange tanks are gone, it is killing me to bend over to turn on one unit. I have the second unit plugged into the first one. So, I added vertical parts to allow the units to stack. Now I don't have to bend over as far as I did with the stock setup. Lazy? Yeah, mother of invention.

Tell you what, I'll post a picture here and you will be good to go. Be sure to seal the boxes tight. I ran the units with the hole blocked and ran glue around each edge allowing any vacuum loss to suck glue into the cracks.

I will be working on a filter box next.


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[jd_graphics]

Looks like I need to come up and see you again...seems you've been busy since your camp...

[ed_lang]

Hi Justin! And everyone.

Sure, come on up down or over. There is always something different in the shop so maybe we should have a gathering here or someplace each quarter and share "stuff" and Ideas!

[jay_p]

Thanks Ed,
This is the photo that Bill had. I look forward to your write-up. I put a footswitch on the Fein and loacated it near my computer so that I can have the vacuum anywhere and not have access it to turn it off and on. I used something like this:
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/productIndex.shtml?operator=keywordSearch&search_t ype=itemnum&QueryString=2w808&submit.x=0&submit.y= 0
and this:
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/productIndex.shtml?from=Search&newSrch=yes&operato r=keywordSearch&search_type=itemnum&action=Go%21&Q ueryString=2W811&submit.x=0&submit.y=0

Jay