Customer Reviews

Fein 9-11-20 Wet/Dry 6-Gallon Vacuum

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When it came to the point that I would rather pick up dirt with my tongue than fire up my howling Shop Vac(tm) I realized that a better machine was in order. I was shocked at the high prices of these and similar "plastic buckets" but hopeful that I would not need to purchase yet again. This is a very well made machine and I am quite pleased with it. I chose the "mini" over it's bigger brother because of the included tools and better filter although I certainly would have enjoyed the tool outlet offered on the Turbo II or Porter Cable. Unlike it's sibling or competitors, this model has five wheels around it's circular base which, combined with its low c.g. and low hose position leads to an amazingly stable unit. It seems as though one could almost drag this machine by the hose up a flight of stairs without tipping it. The hose is fantastic! It is long and "stretchy", easily withstands being stepped on and other such abuse, will not kink or tangle and is lightweight and easily manageable. The hose plugs in to the canister and automatically locks with so little resistance it led me to double and triple check the mechanism. After locking, both ends freely rotate as if they were on ball bearings instantly unraveling any potential kinks. The hose mounts so freely that it caused me concern about air leaks but after thorough investigation I can say that at no point during use does any air leak from the fitting whatsoever even when pulled firmly. A very gently touch of the button effortlessly releases the hose from the machine yet the hose cannot come off by any other means. The hose connects directly to my DeWalt 682 joiner and Bosch 1274 belt sander. It also connects to my Bosch 3727 R.O. sander with the $6 Bosch vac adapter (required for connection to any vac), and to my Porter Cable 557 joiner using PC's included plastic elbow, lastly, it connects to the trademark aluminum elbow of my Porter Cable 847 circular saw when combined with the plastic elbow from the joiner. A $6 universal adapter is available from Fein resembling a stepped silicone sealer nozzle that can be cut to the appropriate diameter to adapt to other tools or aftermarket attachments. Note that the hose is an unusual size and regular Shop Vac(tm) attachments will not fit without an adaptor. The long power cord features a two prong plug, which by my understanding, indicates a quality double insulated design and greatly enhances the flexibility of the tool. The static suction is quite strong although there seems to be much disparity regarding the actual "in. H2O" capability. When using a crevice tool or when connected to a power tool the noise of the airflow is actually rather disturbing. The CFM value is not quite as impressive however and when using the wide floor sweep head the powerful suction is easily diluted. The included tools are somewhat poor; one of my attachments is so poorly molded that significant leaks are unavoidable. The included angled handle and two straight rigid tubes can all be linked together for floor vacuuming but the angled handle is exceptionally difficult to install and the two rigid plastic tubes are far from rigid. No round brush is included, and the big floor sweep lacks wheels, significantly limiting it's usefulness. I made the mistake of comparing these included tools to those of Fein's $70 accessory package. Furthermore, this machine is NOT quiet! While in "Shop Vac" or power tool terms it is very comfortable, I must point out that it is just as loud as a standard upright household vacuum. There is also no built in tool, hose, or cord storage. The dust bag is small and oddly shaped for the canister but it does a good job keeping the expensive 1 micron filter clean. Even with it's minor shortcomings and my very stingy budget I feel that this vacuum is well worth every penny I paid for it as well as all the other coins it sucked out of my car and sofa!

I after performing some web research on canister type vacuums I purchased the Fein wet/dry vacuum due to the low price, features, and the customer review on amazon.

My initial impressions after one use:
-The Fein vacuum is very sturdy, lots of thick/heavy-duty plastic.
-It has a nice long hose and power cord.
-The attachments, hose, and dust filter are easy to take on and off.
-The manual/instructions are a little difficult to read with some vague pictures, but has multiple languages.
-The dust bag was a little difficult to put on, the instructions were unclear, and it was a hard to get my hands on the cardboard portion of the bag to push it all the way on.
-The optional wheels were very easy to install (recommend taking the top motor portion off and flipping the bottom half).
-The suction power is comparable to the vacuums you would find at do-it-yourself car washes. Would easily vacuum up coins/marbles/nails if needed.

Overall I think that the Fein wet/day vacuum is a great value beating most other canister vacuums in the same price range with functionality and suction power.

I was looking for a good quality home/industrial vacuum without having to take out a second mortgage and the Fein caught my eye. The size is easy to handle and store in a closet or in a vehicle. As advertised this thing is super quiet, a welcome relief after using some lesser quality canister vacs. What really makes this a good value is that all the attachments including two filters are standard, not always true with other vacuums. I look forward to sucking things up for years to come!

First even though this is a wet/dry vac, amazon.com does not carry the accessories necessary to use as a wet vac. So, you'll have to search around to find the wet filter and you probably won't find it easily.

Second, the other Fein vacuums are much quieter. The Turbo II and Turbo II at 57 dB make 1/4 the noise of this one. Sure they are more expensive, but probably worth it.

I wish I had saved all the packing before finding out that this is really just a basic well made DRY vac. Spend a little more and check out the other models from Fein.

I just unpacked my new Fein mini-turbo vac and plugged it in to play around with it! My first impression is that Fein has made another nice product that performs as advertised, as long as you don't think that the advertising info gives you the complete, straight story.

The vac has plenty of suction and is quieter than my 8 gal Shop-Vac. It's also more stable when you pull it around by the hose, cuz the hose is positively attached to the tank and the 5 casters make the thing just about untippable. The 10 foot hose and 16 foot heavy-duty cord are great. So far, so good, right!

Wrong, I think. They give you just about every tool you'd want except a brush attachment, which I use a lot on jobsite cleanup. Then, there's no provision for on-board storage of the attachments, a major oversight. Couldn't they supply some sort of simple mesh bag for this stuff that clips onto the unit?

The other major oversight is the filters: The main filter is supposed to be used in conjunction with a paper filter which must be discarded when it's full, sort of like a typical vacuum cleaner bag. Only trouble is, the paper filters cost about 9 bucks a piece, kind of spendy, I think. I intend to use this unit minus the paper bag filter and just clean the main filter when it gets dirty but they say not to wash it out with water or it will deteriorate faster.

Oh, really? Both Sears and Shop-Vac have filters that are washable in a stream of water; I've used some of these filters for a couple of years or more before replacing them.

Fein is a strange company. They make some very high quality tools but fall down on some of the details. They particularly don't quite understand how things are done in the USA, yet they are making a major effort to sell their stuff here. I haven't yet decided whether I'll keep this tool. I'll have to think about it.

I purchased the Fein after returning a Rigid vac. This one cost about ... more but it was well worth it. It is definitly quiter, stronger and the accessories are a higher quality. It works so good, you will look for reasons to use. I used to look for ways not to use the Rigid because it was so loud.

It is so good, that my wife takes it from my shop and uses it to vacumuum some spots around the house.

I have used it as a dust collector on my smaller tools and as a general shop vac. It obviously doesn't work as well as a dust colllector for larger tools, but it is one great general shop vac which will also find use around the house.

If you are looking for a small/mid size shop vac, it is hard to think you could find something better.

I will admit I purchased this vac sight unseen. But after using other types in the past and seeing what is out there now, I decided to give this Fein a shot. As a contractor I use this thing for dustless drywall sanding and will say it works very well. No problems. It also comes with good attachments. Best of all it is quieter than most models out there. I would have sprung for the next model up but that comes with no attachments and the auto on/off switch is geared more for woodworking shops, so this model was for me. It looks really cute too.

I was definitely attracted to this vac for its quietness, and yes, it is quieter than my Sears wet/dry...but, the quietness comes at a noticeable reduction in suction power. With the reduced suction power, you also find yourself cleaning the filter more often. I really miss my onboard "tool" storage for the other cleaning accessories...the Fein while compact, lightweight and well balanced is not designed to hold its own accessories, which I think is a must for any tool. I think I have already misplaced an accessory or two...On the plus side it has an excellent quality hose (though the narrow diameter limits what you can pick up with the vac)the longer length hose is welcome but is difficult to store (maybe some velcro strips...)the unit is light and very well balanced, and yes, it is quieter than your average shop vac. I won't be getting rid of my old Craftsman any time soon.

It's a great little unit, quiet and powerful and sleek in that Euro way. It keeps disappearing from my shop because my wife and mother-in-law keep making it a household slave. It's very good for fireplace ashes and the like. The small-diameter hose limits its use around the woodshop, though. I finally found an adapter to connect it to the sander -- that works well -- but any other connection (router table, bandsaw, miter saw) is a matter of duct tape and a prayer. Don't even think about making this little unit try to keep up with a table saw's mess; the dust bag will fill up in mere minutes. In retrospect, I wish I'd bought a Shop-Vac or equivalent with a HEPA filter, and just lived with a little more noise and less Euro-cool. The HEPA filter for this unit and the replacement bags are shockingly expensive.

First, this is the kind of tool that will make you throw out or give away your old tools within a few hours of use. Strong and quiet. Cheap, crusty, Uncle Fred can have the screaming tank vac you bought at Wal-Mart the weekend you found the cats swimming in the basement.

In a perfect world, it would come with a bag to carry the attachments, hoses, nozzles, etc. And Fein would also hire a professional technical writer and copy editor for the english portion of the owner's manual; it's lousy.

That said, it might be worth it to learn German, and it's certainly worth it to just get the Fein and buy a gear bag from Campmor.

Repent! Buy the best tools you can!