Anti-Static 50mm VS. 36mm on Kapex.

[fletchtool]

Thanks Guys. I used the 50mm hose today with my Leigh dovetail jig and although it worked fine, I read in the FAQ's on the Festool USA site that the 36mm is recommended for the OF1400. The Leigh jig Vacuum & Router Support looks like the 36mm will fit without any adaptor. Currently the 50mm fits because the Leigh comes with an adaptor to accommodate larger hoses so it appears the 36mm will not constrick the vacuum port as it looks to be the same size. I will test tomorrow at Lee Valley and decide if I will change the 50mm for a 36mm hose. I just have to see if I have something that will let it fit my table saw.

Fletchtool

 

[Taxque]

After reading post here and on other sites it seemed everyone got the best results with the 36mm on the Kapex. Although I saw improved results with the 36mm over the 27mm it was not as good as with the 50mm. The limiting factor for performance is the smallest diameter point in the flow path - which in this case I thought to be the mouth of the connection of the Kapex. Being somwhat of a egg-head - I decided to do some test on the vacuums and hoses I have (or had access to) in order to decide on my final set-up for my miter station. 

It seems that the Bosch hose is the best for the job based on this results. It is an Antistatic and plugs right into my Fein or MIDI or Shopvac w/ minor modifcations.  In looking at the 36mm Festool hose it has an anular region where it connects to the vacuum that is smaller than the mouth of the Kapex - thus it is the limiting point. The 50 mm festool, 2-1/4" shopvac, and 35mm Bosch hose all have diameters which are greater than the daimeter of the Kapex's mouth for thr full length of the hose including the connection points.

These results for me are confrimed - real world test validate the numbers as I get significantly less dust  no matter which of my vacs I use when using these 3 hoses when compared to the 27 or 36mm festool hose.

 

[Taxque]

Hose - Leghth - Diameter Measured Variable Turbo I Festool Midi ShopVac QSP
Fein Hose - 16' - 1-1/4"D AIr Flow (CFM) 114 118 121
Inches of H2O 89 91 92
Noise 4' Away (dB) 61 75 88
Festool Hose - 11.5' - 27mm (AS) AIr Flow (CFM) 103 100 108
Inches of H2O 88 90 94
Noise 4' Away (dB) 64 67 89
Festool Hose - 11.5' - 36mm (AS) AIr Flow (CFM) 105 102 110
Inches of H2O 89 90 94
Noise 4' Away (dB) 63 65 85
Festool Hose - 13' - 50mm (AS) AIr Flow (CFM) 116 118 130
Inches of H2O 92 90 97
Noise 4' Away (dB) 62 65 84
Bosch Hose - 9.5' - 35mm (AS) AIr Flow (CFM) 116 118 124
Inches of H2O 92 91 97
Noise 4' Away (dB) 60 63 85
Shopvac  - 12' -  2-1/2" AIr Flow (CFM) 116 118 130
Inches of H2O 92 90 97
Noise 4' Away (dB) 62 65 84

 

[txrpls]

Interesting. Is it a fair assumption to make that this would be for a semi permanent hook up to the Kapex, but not something you would want to do if you are swapping tools all the time such as the 55 and the domino?