Have you used it with a non-Festool shop vac? I've heard their may be problems: too much suction and it sticks to the board.
76027
We build high end houses and own multiple festool sanders, vacuums we use are ridgid. Never had suction problems. These sanders are very well balanced and they do amazing work. Highly recommended.
76028
One fix is to rotate the paper so only part of the holes are open which reduces the suction at your work. When I use my porter cable without variable suction control I leave the holes only 50% covered. Got a Fein II and now can adjust the suction.
76029
Bosch sells a 35mm-to-ShopVac hose that works great with Festool tools. Bosch VAC005 5-Meter Vacuum Hose 35mm
76030
I hook it up with my Jet dust collection system. It might be stronger suction if I didn't have all the other tools on the system that I control with blast gates. With all the leakage I have no problems. The sander is a great tool and made my life easier and quicker.
76031
I have used my fien vac it does stick some. Hasn't been a problem . I bought a adapter to adjust air flow didn't notice much difference .
76032
Just read Justin S comments and went into shop to see if our vac could work. Plugged the Shop Vac hose directly on, and it's a perfect fit. 6 Gallon, 3 HP, couldn't find a model number, but I just saved 650.00 from local dealer. Really works great.
76033
From reading the Festool blogs, I understand that this is a problem. Though, frankly, given some of the ridiculously-detailed issues that some of these folks seem to have, it may not be a problem for anyone but super-anal retentive folks. Anyway, just for funsies, I tried connecting it to my ShopVac using clear vinyl tubing, and it did make it flow less than smoothly over plywood. I then poked a couple of holes in the tubing, and the suction strength went down and allowed the sander to flow more smoothly. It didn't solve the fact that the ShopVac is crazy loud, however. Hope this helps.
76034
I have not used with festool vac I do not have one. I use this in the field a lot and i love it. I would recommend this tool.
76035
I also use my Rigid shop vac (WD1450) with this sander and have had no issues. I did notice that the vac tends to get rather hot after extended use since it isn't able to pull its normal airflow. It hasn't been a problem, just something to note. Getting the right sized hookup can be tricky. Although I found a combination of the smaller hose available in Rigid's auto detailing kit (Rigid VT2534) and a soft rubber step adapter (Fein 921072K13) worked wonderfully. You can probably get a similar hose without the full kit but I already had the detailing kit sitting around.
76036
I have used it with my Ridgid 16 gallon shop vac and I have the adapter that fits. I have not had a problem with to much suction and the pad sticking to the wood. I have heard the same things you have heard though. I also use the diffuser on the exhaust side of the vac too.
76037
I also use my Rigid shop vac (WD1450) with this sander and have had no issues. I did notice that the vac tends to get rather hot after extended use since it isn't able to pull its normal airflow. It hasn't been a problem, just something to note.Getting the right sized hookup can be tricky. Although I found a combination of the smaller hose available in Rigid's auto detailing kit (Rigid VT2534) and a soft rubber step adapter (Fein 921072K13) worked wonderfully. You can probably get a similar hose without the full kit but I already had the detailing kit sitting around.
496548
I have a rigid shop vac. I use it to vac the dust from my work piece and keep my sander clean as I work the wood.
1122900
You've have to be pretty stout but I don't see a reason why not. The vac decreases the suction of a vacuum down to a pretty manageable amount though so you could have some problems dealing with that.
175349
It does really well with fine dust like drywall. They demo it in one of their videos I believe. I think it comes down to how well your vacuum performs and how frequently you empty the dust bucket.
1115555
I had the same problem until my husband attached the wand unit for me. I was being too gentle and it wasn't making a good connection. He used more force and it began working much better. I do not have this vacumn anymore, however, because of other design flaws it has.
129408
I used both the shop vac and house hold vac. The hose they send you does not fit well and is very hard to put together. I would not waste your money on it. I could have done the same thing this did using the hand tools from my regular vacuum cleaner.
1640210
I also use a shop vac with mine. The sander dust port has small nibs that hold my hose very well. I am icing a generic black plastic hose, and I am unsure of the size, but this system works well.
279991
We have not had any issues with this; however, I try to get my team to not vacuum up tacks and paper clips. We have used our vacuum for about six months. Any chance your team is letting them get too full?
2207626
Hi Deb! Well, actually I think there are people that have tried it adapting some sort of connection, but I don't recall what they've used. The SkimmerMotion was designed specifically to be used with the majority of the standard suction cleaners out there. Maybe it's an "at your own risk" decision? Sorry I couldn't be of much more help!
1952325
I agree with Conservative Robert. On ours, the flexible tube on the bottom had holes in it, so if suction is your only problem that is probably what it is. And the brush gets hair stuck at the ends which bind it.
723213
Sorry, I haven't tried a shop vac. But, I assume if you get the opening completely covered; it should work. I'd try on smallest unit.
196447
DeWALT makes a "universal connector" to connect a shop vac hose, but it's hard to find. I simply taped a 1 1/2 shop vac hose to the shroud using heavy-duty duct tape. It worked fine, and was hanging on tight after I ground 580 sq ft of concrete. Probably would have stayed connected forever if I hadn't cut it off when I was done. I wouldn't bother with the special DeWALT connector, since its so hard to get and costs another $20 or so. Next time I have to use the dust shroud with a vacuum, I will just use some more duct tape!
756782
If you are using a regular shop vacuum, you have too much suction. It's best to use a vac with adjustable power (Bosch, festool, fein, et al) and turn it all the way down. Barring that, you could try drilling holes in the tool end of vac hose until the suction is gentler.
689459
I have not tried it either. A lot will depend on how powerful your vac is. when i used it i had 1.5 inch hose supplying the vacuum to the cyclone and the provided 4 inch hose to do the picking up of the dust. by the time the vacuum pulled thru all this it lost a lot of air movement due to the expanded hose and the friction in the cyclone. in my application i doubt it would have pulled much water even in to the cyclone.
1266830
I would check the bag first to be sure it isn't at capacity and needs to be changed, after 6 months it may need to be changed. If that isn't it I would check in the inlet area to see if anything was sucked in that is now blocking it. I have had no problems with suction problems at all. The first bag I found needed to be changed earlier than the next bag I guess because my old vac wasn't working as well any more so when I initially started using the Miele the first bag got filled a lot faster than I expected. Good luck.
2201693
I wouldn't vacuum a whole floor with a shop vac. And yes it doespecially suck up water. I would not try to suck up a whole floor full but it does work really well.
1828425
After reading the instructions, it seemed like a lot of trouble so I doubt I will ever try it. I have a shop vac that is much easier to use. I am happy with this unit. It has cut my drying time a lot and my dogs are getting used to it. You might be able to get the instructions from the company's web site, but it is too complicated to explain here.