Im wondering if the CT SYS vac is right for me. I think it is as I do small jobs but those small jobs do involved cutting with track saws and the new Shaper Origin along with light sanding. Ive read in plenty of places that the CT SYS fills up quickly but no one ever states how quickly. I am not a contractor running a Kapex all day or sanding a house full of drywall. I have a small shop and make a couple projects here and there. I would like to get an idea of how much sawdust the bag can take (i know it is .9 gallons but Im not sure how much cutting that is?). So my question is this... roughly how many times could you rip a 4x8 sheet of .5" or .75" plywood or MDF with a track saw until the bag is full? Any reasonable educated guesses are welcome! thanks
CT SYS...fill up fast?
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bnaboatbuilder
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Yep it fills up quickly during continued use. If you already own any kind of shop vac then just extrapolate the data you want from that experience. I've used mine with a Domino, track saw, clean up in the house after a project, quick clean up in the workshop. But I imagine most people just use it and don't have the empirical data you are looking for.
You can either buy the long life bag and dump it often, buy a bunch of regular bags to throw away, or buy a larger capacity vacuum.
CT SYS does a decent job at what it's intended for which is NOT a replacement for a full size vac.
You can either buy the long life bag and dump it often, buy a bunch of regular bags to throw away, or buy a larger capacity vacuum.
CT SYS does a decent job at what it's intended for which is NOT a replacement for a full size vac.
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fellaPC said:
Hi,
Welcome to the forum! [smile]
What John ^ said. It is great for intended use ..... small jobs, non-construction clean up, handy, drill some holes, small quick sanding job, making a few cuts, etc. Lacking variable suction it is OK for sanding but not optimal. Too small for routing tasks on any regular basis. How many plywood cuts ? Not sure. Enough to do some cutting but I wouldn't want to do a built-in. If you are routing with the Shaper very much at all , then you will want a larger capacity.
I would not want it for my only tool use vac. If you want something all purpose but still in the small size department you should be looking at Mini / Midi.
Seth
grobkuschelig
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You can roughly estimate the amount of dust created by calculating: saw kerf * material thickness * length of cut.
Might give you a rough Idea.
I really like my CTL-SYS. Was my first Vac and I used it extensively with the long life bag. But now I‘m happy to also have a CT26, which can also fill up fast, with continuous use...
You can fill up the CTL-SYS to the brim, as with the other Festool vacs.
Hope this helps...
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
Might give you a rough Idea.
I really like my CTL-SYS. Was my first Vac and I used it extensively with the long life bag. But now I‘m happy to also have a CT26, which can also fill up fast, with continuous use...
You can fill up the CTL-SYS to the brim, as with the other Festool vacs.
Hope this helps...
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
Naildrivingman
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I use mine for small cleanup, one off track saw/domino/sanding/hole drilling. I don’t expect too much out of it. It works very well for what I do expect of it. I am a contractor and I couldn’t see using it as my primary device. I do notice that the bag does not completely fill like my 26 does. The bag on my 26 I would estimate gets to about 95% full whereas the SYS maybe gets to 75%.
I do not regret the purchase.
I do not regret the purchase.
fellaPC said:
It's not that hard to calculate: 1,000 cc/litre, which is 1,000,000 cubic mm. So, a 1 metre x 3mm cut in 19mm substrate will create approx. 114,000 cubic mm/114 cc of swarf, given that capture will be < 100% & allowing for interstitial air & imperfect packing.
You will get approx. 30m +/- of cutting to capacity in these circumstances.
Or to put it another way, it will fill to capacity about 10 times faster than "industry standard" German vacs like the Starmix/Mafell/Metabo/Eibenstock/Bosch/etc. family. Or about 57 times faster than the big Mafell/Starmix drum vacuums.
I've been fairly critical of these particular vacs in the past. I hate the miserable capacity & lack of adjustabiliy in speed/suction allowed. Running any vac perpetually at max. speed for all tasks is pretty senseless in my opinion. A previously owned clone that I once had (Bosch Ventaro) was a particularly poor performer in this regard. Yet they have their particular uses & strengths too. Their relative lack of easy portability (no casters) makes for a safe, secure stance in precarious circumstances. Midway up a stairwell, or high up on scaffolding planks for example.
When coupled with a "long life" reusable bag or 2 (which should last about 200 refill cycles or so from experience), limiting one's expectations & restricting one's tasks in accordance with its abysmal capacity it should still prove useful, principally in light duty sanding applications. So much so that I've actually just placed an order for one myself.
CT SYS is nice when coupled with a small cyclone as these turn the relevance from size from the bag (usually bigger is better, then irrelevant) to the size of the collector (usually bigger is better as it means a bigger bag, with cyclone smaller is better to compensate for the extra space needed for it).
Someone posted a review (video) of a TSC55 with just a bag attached and no dust collection. You can get an idea how much dust is created. Now that’s loose dust. In a the Festool dust extractors the bags get packed with a higher density compared to loose dust in a bag attached to the tool. If I had to ballpark it, I would say 3-4rips on a full sheet of ply, but that’s a guess, I don’t even own a CT SYS. And based on your usage, I wouldn’t consider it. Sawing and routing are not light dust producing tools, sanders are.
Getmaverick
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I own a CT SYS and a CT 26. Bag copasity is the least of your worries. Depending on how much sanding you do and cutting MDF, it will be the lack of suction.
I have yet to fill a bag more than 60% before I had to change from loss of suction.
I have yet to fill a bag more than 60% before I had to change from loss of suction.
Thanks for all the info everyone. Sounds like the CT SYS isnt the right choice and Im better off with at least a Midi... part of me knew that was the answer the entire time but thought I would ask around a bit before making a purchase. I badly wanted to CT SYS to work but my reasons for wanting it dont outweigh the possibility of regret down the road and not having larger capacity... although my jobs dont require large dust collection I guess its better to have the extra bag space and not need it then being tired of emptying bags and wishing it was larger
Cheese
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The nice thing about the CT SYS is it’s portability, it’s a convenience vacuum which fits many small niche markets.
I own a CT 22, a MIDI, a huge Milwaukee stainless R2D2 and a Fein Turbo II. I consider all of them to be true shop vacs that you can use with a Kapex or a router.
However, I am thinking about purchasing a CT SYS just to use outside for small jobs. Put the strap around your shoulder, climb a ladder and vacuum away.
Small capacity, small weight, small footprint all point towards...small jobs. Not unimportant jobs...just small jobs.
I own a CT 22, a MIDI, a huge Milwaukee stainless R2D2 and a Fein Turbo II. I consider all of them to be true shop vacs that you can use with a Kapex or a router.
However, I am thinking about purchasing a CT SYS just to use outside for small jobs. Put the strap around your shoulder, climb a ladder and vacuum away.
Small capacity, small weight, small footprint all point towards...small jobs. Not unimportant jobs...just small jobs.
Naildrivingman
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Exactly the reason I bought mine.Cheese said:
One last question before I pull the trigger, and perhaps this is a question for my local WOODCRAFT store, but If I purchase the CT SYS and unhappy with its bag size can I return it? I know there is a 90 day policy but does that cover me not being pleased with bag capacity? any of you done something like this
McNally Family
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fellaPC said:
As I recall, the "no questions asked" return policy for tools in the United States is 30 days, not 90.
Gregor said:
Right... buy a really small VAC and combine it with something big...
Might just as well buy a Midi or Mini.
Getmaverick said:
Outside of ruptured bags (especially the paper ones from the CT22, not the fabric ones of the CT26) I've only ever had a real loss of suction when the hose got filled up because the bag was really 100% full. But that's not MDF only. I do find that MDF irritates my respiratory system much more than 'real' wood.
