CT/CTL Ventilation Requirements

[GarryMartin]

I'm considering (fully or partially) enclosing my CTL 26 in a roll-around cart that my MFT/3 will sit atop.

Does anyone know what the official ventilation requirements are for Festool extractors? Clearly I won't block any of the vents, but how much space should be left around them, how much space (by volume) should be available in the enclosed space (if that is a constraint) and what surface area should be left clear for any air ingress/exhaust points?

I'm hoping for something along the lines that you get when installing a gas boiler or electric oven whereby you're given clearance distances for the back/sides/top etc. and instructions for venting doors or plinths; that sort of thing.

Any ideas?

 

[AlexThePalex]

If we're just looking at the airflow that comes out of the vac I think you'd be OK with 5 cm on all sides.

But in an enclosed space heat is going to be a problem. If you just make short cuts with your saw then it will probably be alright, but if you want to sand for a couple of minutes you might run into trouble quicker than you'd like.

I'd strongly suggest not to make it fully enclosed. When you run the vac in a fully enclosed space you'll create overpressure and that could interfere with the vacs functioning or perhaps even damage it. If the air can't go anywhere I'd imagine you'll also get diminished suction. Just make some slits or holes to keep a free flow of air.

 

[CrazyLarry]

I'm considering (fully or partially) enclosing my CTL 26 in a roll-around cart that my MFT/3 will sit atop.

Does anyone know what the official ventilation requirements are for Festool extractors? Clearly I won't block any of the vents, but how much space should be left around them, how much space (by volume) should be available in the enclosed space (if that is a constraint) and what surface area should be left clear for any air ingress/exhaust points?

I'm hoping for something along the lines that you get when installing a gas boiler or electric oven whereby you're given clearance distances for the back/sides/top etc. and instructions for venting doors or plinths; that sort of thing.

Any ideas?

Two ideas both relate to the experience of making custom PC cases (non-festool  / extractor specific obv) which might help...

Providing ingress (front) as low down as possible and egress as high as possible (rear) made a big difference to the rate of heat removal even though the flow rate wasn't dramatically improved. My understanding was that it is as much taking the right air (hot) out of the box and replacing with the right air (cooler) that's important rather than just pulling X volume in and Y volume out whilst the air trapped in the box hardly changes.

Having cool air coming in from the bottom naturally pushes out the hotest air from the top, this might involve with the extractor putting a baffle / panel in place to channel air to the inlet and from the outlet to the apertures in the cabinet.

Obviously pressures and volumes are far greater than for a PC case but I suspect the principle holds true.

L

 

[tbear]

You could try a muffin fan to help with air movement.