Replacing foam in a Fein vacuum

[Tim Sherwood]

I have a 25 year old Fein mini turbo vacuum. It still works great. I bought it for it's performance and it's low noise level. Now , the foam that absorbs the noise is dying of old age. It's crumbling and ejecting itself into my shop. It appears this is a common issue with Fein vacuums. For newer models, they offer very expensive replacement kits. But not for older tools.
Several Utube videos show how easy it is to cut the several parts from sheet foam and replace it. Is there a special type of foam that works best for this application, or can I just use any upholstery foam?

 

[riggsp]

I did that for a customer some time ago...I used the green upholstery for from Janets...it was a little thicker, but it's still in there and working

 

[Dee2]

closed cell or open cell foam?

 

[riggsp]

Open...it has to let some air through.

 

[Tim Sherwood]

The old stuff looks like open cell.

 

[Tarhead]

Please let us know what you end up doing. Mine is 20 years old and going strong with no plans to replace it.

 

[Tim Sherwood]

No joy replacing the foam. When I finished taking the machine apart, the old foam disintegrated. There aren't enough big pieces to even guess what they should look like. Rather than take the risk of blocking the air flow, I just reassembled it naked. It still works great. And it is only slightly louder. Still not close to the high pitched scream of most shop vacs.

 

[Mike Wilkins]

You might try one of the foam filters for a Shop Vac sold at Lowes. I used one on my older model Porter Cable vac and it works well. Too bad PC is no longer in business, as their vacuum was well made, including the tool-actuated feature. Mine has been going strong for over 15 years.