Extraction · the class letter
Is the step from dust class L to class M worth €95?
These two machines look alike, cost within €95 of each other at German prices, and differ by one letter on the label. That letter decides how much of the fine fraction goes back into the room you are standing in — and wood dust is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the IARC. This is the most consequential comparison on this site.
| Compared on | GAS 35 L SFC+ | ASR 35 M ACP |
|---|---|---|
| Dust class | L — up to 1 % passes the filter | M — up to 0.1 % passes |
| Filter cleaning | SFC+ semi-automatic | ACP automatic |
| Wet pickup | Yes | Yes |
| Price in Germany | €480 | €575 |
| Worst European price | €839 (Britain) | €1 181 (Spain) |
| Right for hardwood indoors | Adequate | Yes |
A tick marks the better answer on that line only. Counting ticks does not decide the page — the two verdicts below do, because these machines answer different questions.
Buy the Bosch if your work is softwood, site clean-up and general chips, or if the machine will live somewhere well ventilated. It is an excellent L-class vacuum and the semi-automatic filter cleaning keeps its airflow honest through a long job.
Buy the Metabo if you machine hardwood, MDF or reclaimed timber in an enclosed workshop. Ten times less fine dust returned to the air, for €95 at German prices, is the cheapest tenfold improvement available anywhere in a workshop.
The proportion of collected dust that passes back through the filter into the room. Class L allows up to 1 %; class M up to 0.1 %. Both machines collect the same chips — the difference is entirely in the invisible fraction, which is also the fraction that stays airborne for hours and reaches the deepest part of the lung.
No. Extraction reduces what reaches the room; it does nothing about the dust a machine throws before the hose catches it. FFP3 at the machine, M-class extraction at the port and an ambient filter for what escapes both solve different parts of the same problem.
Germany, if you can. The Metabo runs €575 in Germany and €1 181 in Spain on the same reference and the same barcode. That gap is larger than the price difference between the two machines.
1 200 W · dust class L · semi-automatic filter clean
The professional L-class vacuum with semi-automatic filter cleaning — the feature that stops suction fading halfway through a job.
Best for: Site and workshop extraction where suction has to stay constant all day
≈ £840 / 480 €
Dust class M · automatic filter cleaning
The M-class machine on this page — ten times less fine dust returned to the room, which for hardwood is the whole argument.
Best for: Hardwood work in an enclosed workshop, where the fine fraction is the point
≈ £620 / 580 €
Prices quoted in these summaries are dated readings. The live price is shown next to each product.
