mattj
Junior Member
Posts: 58 
|
Post by mattj on Jul 2, 2018 10:55:55 GMT -5
My preferred vacumm wand and floor attachment just met an early demise so I'm looking for a replacement. What do you folks like out there? I use it mostly for remodeling projects in client's houses so it needs to be friendly to finished surfaces, but able to withstand a little rough work. Needs to work with standard (older style) Festool hoses.
The one that died was an older Bosch model with a metal tube and good quality plastic parts that worked quite well. Their current offering (at least that I've found so far) looks pretty crappy. The Festool one looks nice but I'd love to find something cheaper.
Any suggestions appreciated.
Thanks,
Matt
|
|
|
|
Post by aas on Jul 3, 2018 0:08:31 GMT -5
I try to avoid Festool where I can, overpriced for what it is... but their vacuum kits are good quality. Mine was free with a Midi, I wouldn't want to actually buy it at that price though!
|
|
|
|
Post by holmz on Jul 3, 2018 5:34:10 GMT -5
I have their (FT) plastic version, but I use an old Miele stainless from a 10-15 vacuum that carc'ed it.
The hose does not always stay in, which is the on,y bad part.
If I can find all the plastic bits for the FT wand, then it is not like I am using it...
The water, or wet head, would be the main reason for keeping it. it seemed like a good idea back when I got the CT26.
Or maybe a standard (Miele type) wand can be found at a pawn shop?
|
|
|
|
Post by huntsgemein on Jul 4, 2018 6:18:30 GMT -5
Surely you have tip-shops where you're living? You should be able to pick up an old 35mm "universal" curved or sectioned wand for a few pence. There's literally dozens @ my local. In this brave new world of disposable appliances, there's hundreds of thousands - perhaps millions - of dead vacuums being consigned to landfill every year.
These marvels of consumerism are carefully designed to last mere minutes beyond their assignated statutory warranty period, virtually guaranteeing their premature demise & early disposal, often with an accompanying suite of accessories & perfectly serviceable ancillary parts.
|
|
|
|
Post by kraftt on Jul 4, 2018 7:38:36 GMT -5
I’ve used everything from 1-¼” / 35mm bent electrical conduit to abs drain pipe, only because I so rarely need a floor extension, but got curious just after reading the replies here and did a search on ebay & amazon. Seems to be a wide variety of new & used telescoping, sectional, one piece, and aftermarket metal extensions available.
|
|
|
|
Post by aas on Jul 4, 2018 8:26:09 GMT -5
...mmm and the Festool floor head broke today - so much for quality!
|
|
|
|
Post by huntsgemein on Jul 4, 2018 9:13:27 GMT -5
I was given one of those Festo plastic wand & tool kits with the interchangeable "lips" as a freebie when I bought my CT22 in 2000. It's rubbish. I ended up giving it away to my ex-wife with a CTL-SYS (more Festool rubbish) as a subtle form of "payback" for all those years of angst... She DID get a few fairly good used sanders too, but.
The stainless versions, by contrast, are robust, reliable and all but universally fitting (or at the very least adaptable) to alternative brands too. In other words, all brands interchange: Wap, Alto, Stihl, Makita, Eibenstock, Starmix, Bosch, Festool, Nilfisk, Mafell, Metabo, et. al.
The more robust & reliable floor heads are the "fixed" ones with rollers that don't interchange between hard & soft floor covering functions. A full-bristle fixed hard floor brush with end rollers should last for years with a modicum of care in a domestic workshop environment. The switchable "carpet" floorheads won't, no matter how much you molly-coddle them.
|
|
mattj
Junior Member
Posts: 58
|
Post by mattj on Jul 6, 2018 6:45:58 GMT -5
Thanks everyone.
Yeah, the problem seems to be an overabundance of choices. I'm in the US, so Euro compatible wands aren't as ubiquitous here as elsewhere in the world. And online it's tough to sort out a good piece from the hundreds of mediocre ones. I stopped by my local Festool pusher and handled the plastic kit... I'll keep looking. If anyone has a favorite that they can link to I'd be psyched!
hunstgemein- what's a Tip Shop?
|
|
|
|
Post by thehandyman on Jul 6, 2018 9:19:49 GMT -5
The Fein and DeWalt metal wand kits aren't bad choices.
|
|
|
|
Post by kraftt on Jul 6, 2018 13:08:43 GMT -5
well now I’m looking in earnest too.
Client hired his own demo crew to remove tile in 4 baths of a brand spanking new 6500sq.ft. home (high property values in the city).
Got a call around noon yesterday and went over to house because clients wife was in tears. The crew used sledge hammers and oversized jackhammers to demo everything with zero plastic, no fans, no vacuums, only some ram board laid down here and there outside of baths (no goggles or masks, no ppe of any kind). The dust was choking your lungs as soon as you walked in the door and permeated the house. Heavy settled dust on every ledge of wainscoting, paneling, doors in all rooms (unassociated with baths) - all white paint.
Walls behind showers, in non adjoining rooms, all had their drywall screws popped either straight through custom paint color or wallpaper. Sprayed cabinets nicked, stone counter tops scratched and stair treads / newels - (that thankfully are scheduled for Monday to be remodeled) - are basically f***ed, laundry floor drains / tub & shower drains all filled with rubble.
I put them to work with my own vacuums, went through 4 large ‘wunder bags’ (I had just restocked through amazon) - must have added a good 40lbs each use. But the size of the crew didn’t allow me to be everywhere at once and their ignorance damaged both hoses, lost one vac wheel, one of them stepped on floor tool and cracked it, lost all magnets to fastcap poles & one end cap etc.etc. (all debris were being dumped into the beds of their trucks for back&forth trips to dump).
Finally kicked them out around 4pm and was there until 9:30 last night cleaning home by myself. Had nothing to make a wand out of so I had to reach down with the one cracked floor tool I had stuck on the end of the hose, cursing the whole time. It was so bad that for the family room I opened the sliding glass wall to the backyard and borrowed their electric leaf blower to make quick work of this yet to be furnished room. Still need a cleaning crew to go back over everything.
Client tells me he cut them a sizable check, because they were recommended by tile store where he selected material from and were also scheduled to do demo for exterior stone veneer and both interior veneered fireplaces. Doubt he’ll see his money back or damages paid for.
|
|
|
|
Post by kraftt on Jul 6, 2018 13:21:29 GMT -5
oh, I forgot the best part - he gave them a key to the house (they're not moved in yet, just a few items).
No one told me this so I never asked for it back. Time to rekey again. I love it when clients want to play G.C.
|
|
|
|
Post by huntsgemein on Jul 6, 2018 18:56:12 GMT -5
Thanks everyone. Yeah, the problem seems to be an overabundance of choices. I'm in the US, so Euro compatible wands aren't as ubiquitous here as elsewhere in the world. And online it's tough to sort out a good piece from the hundreds of mediocre ones. I stopped by my local Festool pusher and handled the plastic kit... I'll keep looking. If anyone has a favorite that they can link to I'd be psyched! hunstgemein- what's a Tip Shop? Tip Shop: Retail outlet, often run by charitable or volunteer organisations most often attached or adjacent to rubbish tips, dumps, refuse disposal repositories, "dust mountains", recycling facilities. Usually items are recycled for a few pennies on the pound, or even given free to those deemed deserving but fiscally deprived. A major proportion of my own personal "hardgoods" household inventory has been thus sourced. I make a point of recycling all my own unwanted product at the end of it's usefulness to me, in the hope that others will find it more useful. All my Festo/ol cordless products, for example, have been recycled to the local tip-shop. I won't ever sell rubbish: it's unconscionable & exploitative, but I'm happy to donate it. For me anyway a donation of superficially "useful" product will in part or whole defray any expenses deemed payable on larger loads of refuse destined for landfill. |
|
|
|
Post by calidecks on Jul 8, 2018 1:39:40 GMT -5
I have the Fein kit. It does a decent job. I have no regrets.
|
|
|
|
Post by procarpenterrva on Jul 24, 2018 17:59:20 GMT -5
|
|
mattj
Junior Member
Posts: 58
|
Post by mattj on Jul 27, 2018 10:54:28 GMT -5
Thanks procarpenterrva!
Can you confirm that the wand will work with the business end of a Festool hose? I just tried a generic brand which was close, but not close enough. garghhh.
|
|
