A Dust Deputy for your Festool.

[Dust Deputy]

William,

Oneida Air is a small company.  We have just over 40 employees and are also a family owned company.  There are a lot of costs associated with bringing a product to market.

 

[dyancey]

Somehow, I don't see the price of the box as a problem.  The tooling for such a big piece has to have an astronomical cost, and will tie up the biggest molding machine.  Festool Vacuum owners are still a relatively small market, so the cost is going to be higher to recover costs.  For myself, I'm grateful to have this product. It is an elegant solution to the problem. My thanks go out to Oneida. I will be ordering one.

 

[ForumMFG]

I don't think it's over priced, I just can't afford something like that right now.  If I could afford it I'd rather spend that kind of money on a tool that produces work for me.  A accessory like this is a luxury to have because the CT already works just fine and with this attachment you get some added benefits.  Thats my opinion as a hobbiest but I'm sure other types of people can argue in a different way and make total sense.

 

[MTRANGER]

Does any one know if any hoses are included in the kit?

 

[RONWEN]

One of the things that I like about my current (translucent) bucket is that I can just glance & see how full the bucket is.  I wonder if the new plastic box has some sort of sight gage or if you need to open the lid to check how full (or how empty) it is???  My bucket sets in a hole in ply in the hose garage & to empty it you just pull the hoses off and lift the bucket out -- which then gets set into a big garbage bag & shaken upside down -- no dust or mess.

 

[AlexThePalex]

I also don't think it's such an unreasonable price. I see some people say "it's just a plastic box" but you should not compare this to a plastic box that comes by the hundreds of thousands from a Chinese factory line. Considering the force that a vac can put on a box this certainly needs to be of decent quality. Then you got to add the development costs and consider the very small market  that's out there in the USA. I mean, there are not so many people in The States who have Festool vacs. And from those people who do have one, only a small percentage will feel the need to buy this new invention.      

Here, just an example to compare the market size of Festool in America:

A search for 'Festool' on eBay:

USA               300 million inhabitants:  145 results. www.ebay.com
Netherlands    16 million inhabitants: 3362 results. www.ebay.nl

Now when considering this new DD you got to look at the alternatives. And that are the normal bags for the CT or the long life bag. As someone pointed out already, the long life bag will costs you 200 dollar also. The normal bags will cost you 31 for 5 so about 6 dollar a piece. So at 229+shipping the DD will cost you as much as 40 bags.

For me as an amateur, buying the DD would not be cost effective though. Ha, I got the CTL22 now for almost 8 months, I haven't filled 1 single bag yet. And I have the luxury of owning the long life bag (mind you, as an amateur I don't simply buy out of cost considerations alone, but for ease of work also). But for a professional, who might fill up one bag per week or even more, this investment could pay for itself in just 40 weeks. That doesn't sound bad at all. A lot of equipment professionals buy takes a lot longer to pay off.

But it's funny for you Americans, you now got something 'Festoolian" for yourself that's NAIE for a change (Not Available In Europe) as compensation to the endless number of NAINA's (Not Available in North America) you're used to.  [wink] I bet a lot of woodworkers over here would love to get their hands on this new Festool DD too.

 

[Pete Pedisich]

Alex, very well stated!

-Pete

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

It is pretty sweet.  If I was camped out in a shop all the time I would get one.
As of now, I don't need something else to drag with me.
My Cleaning kit in a Sys 4 rides permanently on top of my 22.

Maybe for a bunch of router work or domino work.

 

[RONWEN]

It is pretty sweet.  If I was camped out in a shop all the time I would get one.
As of now, I don't need something else to drag with me.
My Cleaning kit in a Sys 4 rides permanently on top of my 22.

Maybe for a bunch of router work or domino work.

Yeah, I can see if I had to move around from job to job I would probably just fill bags instead of messing with the Dust Deputy.  For my small shop (no dust collector system), I really like using the Dust Deputy -- it stays on top of my CT33 With boom & both size Festool? hoses always hung on the boom.  Depending on whether using Domino, router,TS55 or a sander I choose one hose or the other.  The Dust Deputy saves me a lot of bag changes -- I dump the plastic bucket every week or two depending on the projects.  I usually dump it when it's about 2/3 full.

 

[JohnDistai]

Maybe I'm just a dumb novice who hasn't purchased any Festool stuff yet, or just don't understand the hype of the cyclone.  I just don't understand why someone would pay the price of the DD when it is more expensive than the long life bag, and you would have to use a bag in conjunction with it.  You still have the ongoing cost of replacing the bag.  It doesn't seem like you've solved any problem here, unless you drop the price below the long life bag.  Am I missing something here?

 

[jonny round boy]

The idea is that you DON'T need to replace the bag, as the waste is trapped in the cyclone and doesn't get as far as the bag...

 

[PeterK]

At first I didn't understand the hype of the mini-cyclone system either. A few months ago, having gotten tired of paying for all the bags I was using on my CT33, I purchased the Oneida metal version of the mini-cyclone along with the metal bucket. All I can say is WOW. It really really really works!!! I went for the metal version thinking the plastic would eventually wear through from abrasion although is probably not an issue. Only thing I would like is a view port to be able to see how much stuff has collected. I am getting virtually nothing passing through to the in vac bag. Sure - it would be nice if this stuff was lower cost but understand that this company makes stuff that works even better than advertised. Would have considered purchasing this version if had been available at the time. Have my bucket like others here mounted on a piece of plywood that locks onto the top of the CT33. Found at Lowes a vac brush in the shop vac isle that has a detachable 90 degree elbow for about $7 that made controlling the big hose much easier as the hose now goes straight up instead of a huge bend sticking out.

 

[wnagle]

JohnDistai,

The long life bag does not work as well as the disposable bags with fine dust.  It is more appropriate to use when creating large chips.  That said, you can use the dust deputy and a disposable bag in the Festool vac, with fine sanding a or large chips.  The only thing that fills up is the dust deputy bucket.  This allows the disposable bags to last a very long time.  Most of the dirt (my guess is 99.9%) ends up in the dust deputy which greatly increases the longevity of the disposable bags.  So you get the advantages of the disposable bags over the long life bag without having to buy a ton of them. 

I have two Dust Deputy set ups in my shop and they work great.  I will be getting a third but I'm going to get the 99.00 set up with the buckets instead of the new one.  For my purpose, I don't feel it's worth an extra $169.00 for the new festool like box.  The bucket works fine and I can see through it to know when it is getting full.

I may add solid piping from the Vac to the dust deputy to further improve the system.  Two other good upgrades are using copper tape to maintain continuity of the system for grounding and reinforcing the bucket lid to reduce flexing which should increase it's life span.

 

[AlexThePalex]

The long life bag does not work as well as the disposable bags with fine dust.  It is more appropriate to use when creating large chips. 

I have heard people say this before here, but I have no clue where this, might I say, 'myth' came from. So far I've almost exclusively used my long life bag with my sanders and it does a perfect job.

 

[Forrest Anderson]

The long life bag does not work as well as the disposable bags with fine dust.  It is more appropriate to use when creating large chips. 

I have heard people say this before here, but I have no clue where this, might I say, 'myth' came from. So far I've almost exclusively used my long life bag with my sanders and it does a perfect job.

Whether or not it "works just as well as the disposable bags", Festool do not officially recommend the longlife bag for sanding which produces fine dust.

http://www.festoolusa.com/support/Support-Article.html?ArticleID=31

Q: When would you recommend using the Long life filter bag?

A:  The long life filter bag is not recommended for fine dust as emptying it is not convenient and exposes you to environmental hazards. The long life filter bag is recommended for sawing, planing or routing operations where you generate considerable mass and coarse dust. The long life bag will pay for itself over time as it lasts about as long as 500 filter bags.

and

http://www.festoolusa.com/support/Support-Article.html?ArticleID=85

Q: Is the CT Longlife bag washable?

A: We do not recommend washing the Longlife filter bag. The Longlife filter bag is a reusable bag for use with dust extraction on cutting operations using the saw, router or planer where you are generating coarse waste. The longlife bag is not intended to be used for sanding or for use with hazardous dust types. The longlife filter bag is made from nonwoven polyester fabric and is actually the first stage filter in the dust extraction system. http://www.festoolusa.com/Web_files/Long_life_bag.pdf

Also the USA catalogue says:

Order No 456737
Longlife filter bag (re-usable bag)
Economical solution for capturing and eliminating large chips produced by routing or planing. (at least 500 fillings) Re-sealable.

Forrest

 

[AlexThePalex]

Whether or not it "works just as well as the disposable bags", Festool do not officially recommend the longlife bag for sanding which produces fine dust.

A:  The long life filter bag is not recommended for fine dust as emptying it is not convenient and exposes you to environmental hazards.

So if we have to take their word for it, there's absolutely nothing wrong with using the long life bag for fine dust, except for when the moment comes to empty it.

This might sound a bit rude, but I find it complete #%!&*#@!!#%! to worry about that one minute of exposure. That's NO health risk whatsoever. First, you can take precautions by wearing a dust mask, and second, trying to avoid all dust all together is a bigger health risk because if you want your immune system to work, you go to exercise it just like you need to exercise your muscles if you want them to function properly. People who live in complete laboratory conditions will be less healthy than those who expose themselves to acceptable levels of pollution. 
 

 

[Christian93117]

The longlife bag is designed to be used for large chips, not for fine dust.

A vacuum bag is the first stage of filtration and is designed to let air through and keep the dust in the bag.
Fine dust will clog the bag eventually. It doesn't matter so much for a disposable bag, because you, well, dispose of it.

The longlife bag will clog over time. While wood dust doesn't clog the bag too much, drywall or solid surface dust will.

But the real issue is emptying the bag: Don't underestimate how much dust you are spreading when emptying the longlife bag. Fine dust will stay in the air for hours. You can leave your shop in the evening perfectly clean, and the
next day you have fine dust all over the place, because it was still in the air and settled over night. 

And no, you definitely don't need to inhale wood dust to exercise your immune system! Wood dust is a carcinogen
and you should avoid inhaling it! And that is the main reason why we recommend to use disposable bags for fine dust.

Christian

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

I like just tossing a full bag.  It is quick and simple.

They do burn kind of cool on a big fire. 

I don't think Festool recommends that last part,

However, I do. [cool]

 

[JohnDistai]

Thanks for the nice explanation on the cyclone vs. the long life bag!  I understand now.

I would love to see one of these thrown on the fire!

 

[wnagle]

Hey Darcy...this could be your first video! [scared]