ct26e for general shop cleanup

[michaely31]

is the vacuum too precise for general shop floor, leafs, crap cleanup?
should I be using a cheap vacuum for this?

thanks

 

[AlexThePalex]

You can use this vacuum for this, no problem. Only downside is, the suction of these Festool vacs leaves a bit to desire for general clean up. A 36 mm hose is prefered.

I don't get what you mean by "precise". A vac is a vac, it just sucks air and except for the fact that it does that precisely at the end of the hose, there's nothing especially precise about it.

 

[michaely31]

thanks- too fancy or not made for general cleanup is what I meant

you are right about the suction

 

[Jim_in_PA]

You "can" use the CT for just about any task that a vacuum cleaner is appropriate for. That said, I personally prefer to use an inexpensive shop vac (a small Ridgid, as a matter of fact) for any kind of general cleanup that doesn't get taken care of with the floor sweeps on my DC system. The Ridgid doesn't use bags; the CT does. My CT is also positioned for best use with the small electric tools in my workflow while the shop vac is free to move around a lot easier without disrupting thigns.

But everyone's needs are different.

 

[tony_sheehan]

You could go with the cheaper CT17 if you wanted to keep it festool

 

[sancho57]

[member=61906]michaely31[/member]

I have a CT 26 and a CT 22.
Its a vacuum. Its made for vacuuming floors dust, cleaning the cars/ trucks etc.

Yeah its expensive, but just bc its expensive doesnt mean ya hang it on a wall and put it on display.

I use the heck out of mine.

Even bought the wet filters to suck up water.

Used it to clean my fountain

Thats why they have a 3 year warranty. Ive had mine since 2010.

Bought a used CT 22 its ugly as a bulldogs butt well used and beat up, but man it still has awesome suction, love it

 

[usernumber1]

you mentioned leaves; i would add the ct26 capacity is too small for this. any 16 gallon ridgid without a bag would be much better suited. not to mention the hose included on the ct26 is just too small for a lot of things. larger hose helps but it's still not 2.5in you get with 'shop vacs'.
so depends on the job

 

[ear3]

I have a 16 gallon Ridgid shop vac in addition to the CT26 in my shop, and generally I will reach for the ridgid when doing real cleaning (as opposed to just a bit of scattered sawdust).  As someone already mentioned, the wider standard hose on the Shop Vac, plus the extra CFM, will take care of the larger debris that can sometimes even clog the 36mm hose of the CT.  That said, you can also just hook up a normal 2.5" hose to the CT if you want.  I don't think I've ever encountered a clogging issue with the CT when using a hose of that diameter.

 

[RKA]

I reserve the festool vacs for any kind of clean up that involves fine debris or the woodworking tools for dust extraction.  Ex. Right now I have contractors redoing our bathroom.  I’ll go in there nightly with the Festool to suck up the fine particles scattered on the floor.  Even if they clean the bulk debris, there is always some smaller stuff left behind.  Better to collect there than see it get tracked around the house.  But in the garage or for the cars, I’m generally using a plain jane shop vac for leaves, dog hair, sand and other debris.  I don’t need the level of filtration the festool provides with its expensive bags and I already have a shop vac sitting around.  If I only had the festool, well then I would use it with no reservations.

 

[jeh]

Buy a crappy vacuum for cleanup and preferably one that does not use bags or uses inexpensive bags. The price of the Festool bags make it impractical for picking up anything other than saw dust.

 

[mschmidt10k]

I use a Festool CT 15 for general cleanup around my basement shop - it's a great little vac with plenty of power for my use.

 

[Birdhunter]

To me, the cheap vacs usually have an ear damaging shriek. I’d rather use either a Festool or a Fein vac just for the noise level.

 

[DeformedTree]

I still have some old shop vacs and some filters for them, so they still get some use.  That said I use my CTs for cleanup.  I get the idea of not wanting to run real messy stuff thru them.  My shop vacs have holes in the hoses now from debris over time.  So I'd be a big concerned about stuff that could clog a hose.  Also i don't want stuff that will make a real mess of the clear container on the cyclone.  But still, over time, why have random vacs verses all the same and do all.  I have the attachment kits that has tools for floor and such, it works well.

I'm not concerned about bags/filters.  I have a cyclone, so that's better than the shop vac, and the CT bags cost less than Shop Vac filters, so not an issue there.  As my old shop vacs die, I will just get rid of them.  Maybe even buy another CT just for cleanup duties.

As a side, I have a CT on my table saw, somehow it has managed to suck in very large debris that I have no idea how it made down the hose,  Long thin cut offs.  Of course for really big stuff on a floor, they still sell brooms and pans.