Accessories

These work great
There isn't that much exciting stuff to say about vacuum bags, but these are well engineered and even have a nice little flap that seals the hole so dust doesn't escape after you take the bag out of the vacuum.


I highly recommend using bags with this vacuum as it allows you to suck up a lot more dust between emptying, and saves wear and tear on the HEPA filter.
These seem to last a long time and hold a lot of sawdust or drywall dust.

Porter-Cable 7812 Vacume Bags
Price is right and they arrive in time but they seem to be ripping or coming apart at the seam very quickly. Bag will only be 1/4 filled and we have to change it.

Dust is my enemy.
Dust has not always been my enemy, but I got tired of it and decided to do something about it. I really dislike sanding dust, especially from dry-wall mud. I tried various shop vacs, wearing them out while wondering if the noise was better than the dust. Porter Cable to the rescue.

I bought their first shop vacuum when it came out perhaps 15 years ago. It is still going strong, although I can no longer buy parts (or bags) for it. That old model had a few design faults, as the plastic attachment holders would last for only a day or so, but mine is still running strong, and the filter is still working.

However, I needed to get a new model so I could buy bags. The old model works pretty well without bags for wood sanding dust and cleaning the shop, but dry-wall dust needs bags.

Porter-Cable 7812 10 Gallon 1-1/2 Horsepower Tool-Start Wet/Dry Vacuum

So Amazon to the rescue, as they had a great price on the new models of the Porter Cable vacuums. And now I get to use bags again. I buy them six at a time, and use them for all the dry dust I am picking up, not just dry-wall mud. The nasty stuff is easy to dispose of without making a mess. And I can convert from dry to wet and back to dry quickly when needed. The filter stays clean far longer, and since I am not handling the filter as much, it lasts longer.

So get a Porter Cable shop vacuum and buy the bags. The vacuum is quieter than most, there are two sizes, it turns on with your sander, there are great Porter Cable sanders that work with it, the end of the hose can be quickly changed to fit the tool dust port, and the attachment holders now work and don't easily break. Oh, and it does what vacuums should: pick up dust and keep it in the vacuum, not spew it back out into the air. It shows when the bag or container is full. It must be pretty hard to crush the hose, as I have not been able to do it.

The Fein vacuums are a little quieter, but there are other trade-offs. It is still a great vacuum company. Here is a link: Fein 9-55-13 Turbo II 9-1/2 Gallon 1-1/3 Horsepower Wet/Dry Vacuum with Auto-Start). I also strongly recommend them.

Good filtration, but
Bags provide good filtration, but when in use the main seams often open leaving dirt and debris in the vacuum. So far every bag in use has done this. From now on I will reinforce the seam with staples and/or duct tape.

Porter-Cable Dry Filter Bags
The Porter-Cable power tool, triggered vacuum is a work of art. An industrial device that is well built (made in Italy), ultra-quiet and works better than any home vac. The filter bags are an exceptional deal here. I bought this unit for my garage, but it has found more use inside the home. They have a fine particle filtering capacity and will fill up rather quickly under heavy useage.