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Post by Tom Gensmer on Jan 14, 2014 19:45:29 GMT -5
GREAT info Jonathan, thank you very much!
I'd happily pay a little less for the Protool-branded hose, but based on recent conversations with Timberwolf and Festool employees, it sounds like the parent company of Festool and Protool is merging the divisions under the Festool banner.
This hose sounds right up my alley, and I'm loath to wait and see if Festool ever decides to bring this product to North America.
I'll try to see if Timberwolf Tools can acquire these hoses, otherwise I might have other avenues for acquiring such an item.
Thanks again for all the great info and part #'s, it's very helpful!!
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Post by GhostFist on Jan 14, 2014 19:53:55 GMT -5
Keep us up to date on those avenues. I'm looking at getting the 32mm hose for whenever Festool decides to send me my vac back
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Post by 7 on Jan 14, 2014 20:28:17 GMT -5
Just curious what went wrong with your CT Vac?
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Post by GhostFist on Jan 14, 2014 21:25:00 GMT -5
I'm in canada and festool has recalled the CT midi here. They're offering a free exchange for a CT26 but I'm now going in to my second week without a vac. I here a lot of great stories about festool's fantastic service, but I'm not really happy about this. I would have kept the MIDI as there's nothing wrong with it but no one is stocking bags for it and i figured if i waited to long I'd be SOL on the recall offer
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Post by 7 on Jan 14, 2014 23:28:50 GMT -5
I realize that doing the type of work that you do being compact is even more important than for the rest of us so it may be a silly point but I have the Midi,26,&36 and like the two larger vacs better than the midi even considering they are not as compact. Personal opinions can be pointless since each of us value tool features based on our unique needs/ work type.
What's the reason for the recall? And yeah that is lame to be without something that you use most days for your job. Seems they could have let you keep it until your new one arrived.
Edit: Just looked up the recall- No electrical safety certification on mini's, midi's and RAS115 sander. No actual problems, just a precaution. Kinda dumb but makes sense from a legal exposure standpoint.
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Post by jonathan on Jan 15, 2014 1:57:26 GMT -5
The option to add a second outlet to the CT-26 style vac is a useful feature though.
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Post by GhostFist on Jan 15, 2014 5:02:56 GMT -5
....in europe.
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Post by jonathan on Jan 15, 2014 6:34:58 GMT -5
Bummer, didn't know those weren't available for you guys. I guess you could always import some UK ones.
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Post by jalvis on Jan 15, 2014 11:07:55 GMT -5
That is a bummer about your Vac. I have the Mini and CT26. There's some great features on the CT26 that the mini doesn't have but since I got the Mini the 26 stays behind more and more. The mini is just the best size for transporting.
The only negative about the Festool Vacs is all the Hard Plastic parts. If something gets hit or snagged the plastic breaks. I'm thinking the Starmix for my next unit.
My Clarke CAV8 is the same model as the Mirka Vac and the parts are more durable. The only real negative about the CAV8 is the capacity of the bags compared to the size of the unit. For example the CT26 holds double compared to the CAV8 but they are basically the same size.
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Post by GhostFist on Jan 15, 2014 19:30:59 GMT -5
New CT 26 was waiting for me when I got home today. Significantly larger than my MIDI. But the pluses for me on this , beyond capacity, is better cord and hose storage and more stable wheels. The Midi got pretty tippy, wheeling up to site with a few systainers on it and it's tiny wheels. I'm betting this one performs better all around, however I'm going to have to modify/rebuild a rolling bench/storage unit that was sized for the midi. I was more miffed with the turn around time on the recall than the offer itself but I suppose they could have told me to go screw myself like any other company would try and do.
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Post by Tom Gensmer on Jan 15, 2014 21:16:02 GMT -5
I have both the CT-26 and CT-MIDI. The MIDI is great for very small cleanups (dust), and is the perfect companion to my sanders and Domino. That being said, the CT-26 is normally the first vac go roll onto a job, with the MIDI usually following as a backup. I like how the 26 readily accepts larger (36mm and 50mm) hoses, making it better suited to use with my routers, Kapex, and for general job site clean up.
Something I've had my eye on recently is the CT-36 AC. Specifically, a LOT of my recently work has involved extensive demolition of sheetrock, plaster, stucco and concrete. For this demolition work, I've been using a Makita angle grinder with a dust shroud and 5" diamond blade, cutting the plaster (for instance) into defined chunks that I can then pull off the wall and place directly into a 5 gallon bucket, versus just pulling everything down into a pile that I then have to later shovel into a trash can.
Due to the MASSIVE quantities of dust created during these cutting operations, the passive self-cleaning Festool fleece bags just can't keep up, so I've been using a Ultimate Dust Deputy to great effect, removing most of the dust prior to hitting the fleece bag. The problem with the Dust Deputy is that it makes the vacuum assembly rather cumbersome. Ultimately, I'd like to reserve the Dust Deputy for work where I'll be producing massive quantities of wood chips (shop use), and get a vac with a pulsed-filter feature for my cementitious demolition use.
I really like the shape of the Festool vacs and the readily available bags, but is there a different vac I should be looking at?
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Post by 7 on Jan 15, 2014 21:30:47 GMT -5
Sorry, I suck at this- I tried to quote jalvis above when he mentioned the complaint about the hard plastic. Not sure where the quote went. I agree with your only complaint. Especially with employees.
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Post by 7 on Jan 15, 2014 21:37:01 GMT -5
New CT 26 was waiting for me when I got home today. Significantly larger than my MIDI. But the pluses for me on this , beyond capacity, is better cord and hose storage and more stable wheels. The Midi got pretty tippy, wheeling up to site with a few systainers on it and it's tiny wheels. I'm betting this one performs better all around, however I'm going to have to modify/rebuild a rolling bench/storage unit that was sized for the midi. I was more miffed with the turn around time on the recall than the offer itself but I suppose they could have told me to go screw myself like any other company would try and do. Curious to see the wheeled storage/bench. Would one of these systainers work as a replacement by chance seeing that the CT26 is more stable than your previous Midi.?
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Post by GhostFist on Jan 15, 2014 22:22:10 GMT -5
It's nothing special really. Mft style top, locking castors, 3' tall from the ground to the table top, something like 2' wide and if I remember correctly 54 " long. Just a rolling cabinet/worktop I would use to move my gear from studio to studio in one go. A shop in a box if you will. Really just slapped together but it does the trick.
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Post by jonathan on Jan 16, 2014 2:04:35 GMT -5
I really like the shape of the Festool vacs and the readily available bags, but is there a different vac I should be looking at? The CT vacs indeed have a very nice compact form factor and they offer nice ergonomics with the extra outlet and systainer locking on the top. However, there are other vacuums out there with stronger suction and far better filter-cleaning mechanisms on the market than what Festool/Protools makes. Specifically, Starmix or the new Bosch vacs are a better choice in my opinion if you do a lot of plasterboard cleanup, concrete dust, and general contracting cleanup. The CT line was developed for wood dust and use with bags and later retrofitted with an auto-clean mechanism for use without a bag. You'll be better served looking at a vacuum with 2 separate filters, rather than a single filter. These units are designed from the ground up for use without bags. The fine dust clogs up the pores in the bags and results in loss of suction. When sucking up plasterboard and concrete dust you're supposed to use an open liner bag. So the filter is exposed to the dust. First of all, when the Festool CT/Protool VCP vacuums pulse, they loose suction. Whereas vacuums with dual filters can clean each filter individually and the suction remains. Also on the Festool/Protool vacuums the pulsing happens every 10 to 15 seconds, depending on the model/make. The Starmix iPulse for example continually measures the airflow. Both before and after the filters and only pulses when the airflow starts to drop. This puts much less strain on the filters, resulting in longer filter life. Now filters aren't an-arm-and-a-leg-expensive, so I'm not too convinced it's that big of deal, but still worth mentioning. Second the pulsing the CT's do, is less powerful and a bit less effective than on the Starmix. There's another thread in the vaccums section about the Starmix. You should definitely check it out.To clarify, don't get me wrong, I don't want to make it sound like the CT's are bad vaccuums that don't work properly, they're not and they work fine. I have one myself The differences in practical use are small, but they're there and I just wanted to point out my experiences. Now, if you really want a bad-ass H-Class jobsite vacuum, you should look at Numatic/Airbo units. About 39% more airflow and stronger suction to boot compred to a Festool/Protool. And about 30% more airflow and same suction power as the Starmix. I guess it comes down to how important the extra user friendliness of the attachment and other practical options the Festool/Protool vacuums do offer are to you vs their actual performance. My obsession with dust collection makes this a difficult decision whicg I myself also struggle with it a lot The CT's/VCP formfactor is simply more compact and practical to to transport with the systainers on top, but the tradeoff is a tad less performance...
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