Anyone have a questionnaire designed to help decide which extractor is for me?

B

BarrySumpter

Member
Joined
May 11, 2020
Messages
140
Been looking for a Festool dust extractor for my single car garage shop.

Every time I decide on which new one to get a better used/second hand one comes up for sale in my price range.
And by the time we figure out it's not going to happen I'm back to square one.
And have changed my mind on what I want in an extractor.

Is there a questionnaire designed to help decide which vac is for me?
Step by step - tick here - next question?
Then go back over my ticks to verify a few days later.
And see what is recommended.

Lockdown has me frustrated not being able to travel to pay cash/paypal on immediate pickup inspection.
 
Hi,

  Pretty sure there is no questionnaire. You probably have already read all the topics about that decision on FOG.  Lets try these questions though .......................................

    Do you plan to take it places more than once in a while?  Around the house or to other properties? If yes, do you habe any trouble lifting things etc. ?

    Does the size matter in you shop?  In particular the height?

    Do you care about saving money on bags? 

Seth
 
Thanks for the reply Seth.  Much appreciated.

Do you plan to take it places more than once in a while? 
No

If yes, do you have any trouble lifting things etc. ?
No

Around the house or to other properties?
Around the house only.
To start with
1) Kitchen counter top.
2) Dinning table.
No other plans for inside the house as yet.
Then leave in workshop.

Does the size matter in you shop? 
Single car garage.  Plan on putting it somewhere and leaving it there as no room to move it around.
In particular the height?
Probably going to leave it on top of my mitre extraction hood.
Plenty of room for height.

Do you care about saving money on bags? 
Yes
 
What specific tools in your shop do you plan to use it for or is it only for general clean up? Since you specifically mentioned locating near your miter saw station do you plan on using it to extract directly from the saw?
 
Just a full time hobby.
If I'm not in the shop then I'm on the computer looking for me next project or on Sketchup designing it.
Or looking for Festool tools.  ;-)

Tools:
Kapex 120 - pretty much daily
TS 55 - weekly
LEX 3/150 3 - indoors and shop
RTSC 400 - indoors and shop
TRITON TRA001 - weekly one below and one above
MAKITA Cordless Random Orbit Disc Sander BBO180Z18V 5"(125mm)
-  hoping to use this indoor as well if the tool will allow the extractor to work properly
General cleanup - hopefully considerably reduced once I get the extractor and learn to use it properly.
Makita 18v Jigsaw DJV180z - same as above

No plans as yet to take to a work site.
Unless we or my daughter buys a new place that needs work, etc.
Would be nice to have that option.

I'll be crushed if we decide I don't need an extractor.
Maybe MY "need" is more of an indication of ME being an addict.
And need to keep my hands busy or bad things start to happen.
Yes, I've accepted that fact that I'm an addict.
Woodworking and Festool.

 
BarrySumpter said:
I'll be crushed if we decide I don't need an extractor.
Click to expand...

You definitely need at least a MIDI and with a bit more work we can probably get you up to a CT26......

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
The combination below works well for me, and I think it meets all of Barry's requirements:

CT-36 Dust Extractor

Blue Tooth Remote Kit

Tradesman/Installer Cleaning Kit (not exactly what I have, but close.  My kit did not include the hose.)

36mm x 3.5 meter suction hose

Oneida Ultimate Dust Deputy Cyclone Separator Kit

After buying and using the Oneida Dust Deputy, I haven't needed to change the bag in the CT-36.  The plastic bag in the Oneida is easy to remove, and any bag that fits in the container can be used.  I bought the Oneida a year after I bought the CT-36, but if I was starting over, I would buy the CT-26 instead, since the only difference between it and the CT-36 appears to be the bag capacity. 

 
I’d go for a mini/midi with the festool Systainer-cyclone thingy on top. Gives you the portability of the Mini/midi if needed, but the collection of a MUCH bigger vac when in the shop. .

Love my new mini. The power is great right up until the bag stuffs up. The filter clean is awesome. I had read it was for cleaning the filter, but now I’m pretty sure it somehow unclogs the filter bag Which makes more sense. Used it for the first time the other day after the filter bag was clogged with brick dust and suction had dropped Massively despite the half full bag. . Did the filter clean action as few times and suction was right back up there. Great stuff!
 
[member=72978]BarrySumpter[/member]

From reading this thread, I suspect any of the middle sized dust extractors will work fine for you.  They, of course, all do the same thing (i.e., extract dust), the features and size vary as does the cost.  You probably don't need the ones designed for drywall. 

Might as well figure out how much money you want to spend and use that as a guide.  You will probably be happy with whatever you buy.

Bob

 
Based on your planned usage I would suggest the Midi or the CT26 based on their decent capacity balanced with not wanting to suggest a bigger heavier unit that gets harder to move around the house. I believe that the Midi’s come with Bluetooth on board so if you get that be sure to also get a Bluetooth trigger to put on your hose. Makes cleanup around the shop SO much easier. If you opt for the CT26 (or 36) I don’t think those come equipped with the BT module so you will need the full module with the trigger as well. If I was you with either unit I would buy one box of bags. Use it for six months and then decide if you need / want one of the cyclone collectors (probably Festool or Oneida) but you can wait a bit on that. In my opinion, I think that you can also hold off on a larger (36mm) hose for use with your Kapex. Go back and get one later if you are still dissatisfied with the quality of the dust collection at the Kapex.
 
So I can’t comment on the price value of this bundle because I’m from the uS and just don’t know Aussie conversions. I can tell you that the CT15 is a nice size on the small medium range of sizes which makes it a bit mobile which is good. The bundle with the cleaning kit is also good. For me the downsides are two things, 1. The CT15 comes with a non anti-static hose, NOT Festools better quality smooth sided anti static hose and 2. The CT15 cannot be equipped with a blue tooth remote.

I really like my blue tooth remote for shop clean up. The remote button is on the working end of the hose so I can turn the machine on and off from there without walking back to the vac each time. I think it also facilitates the use of longer hoses and eliminates the need for dragging the vac all around your shop. Just my opinion but I really like the BT.
 
I own a MIDI and the newer CT -15. Just buy the CT -15 and call it a day. I believe Festool gives you 30 days to try it out. I use the ft-15 almost everyday and the midi sits in the closet. I got the ct-15 so I could hook it up to a miter saw. Now it’s my daily driver. The only real differences are the size of the bags and the ct-15 is missing a few elements, but not enough to make it a deal breaker.
 
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