Random Orbital Bob said:
That was compared to a normal domestic Henry Hoover (which of course also has a HEPA filter and works very well). The Henry unquestionably has a bit more "suck" and I think that was what slightly deflated my balloon because i hold Festool in very esteem. I think my original assumption was that not only would it be a dream managing tool dust at source but that it would deal with the post work clean up too. Thats the bit my expectation is slightly changing as a result of this debate. Perhaps, OK for bits n bobs from the hose end, but maybe not with a floor gulping type tool and expect to hoover round the ground of the workshop like I was using the Henry for?? I will add the 36mm hose as that clearly seems superior. I'm now slightly annoyed I didnt get this choice at purchase because I'm clearly about to shell out another £140 odd to make the hose I only bought last week redundant!
Couple of thoughts here:
First, if you want to compare two shop vacs, to make it apples-to-apples, there are really three main things you need to make sure are equal: the grade of filtration, the type of bag in use, and the diameter and length of the hose being used.
Shop vacs (at least in the US; I can’t speak for elsewhere) usually come with a very coarse filter, no bag, and a very large diameter, short hose. (Ex: my Ridgid came with a 65mm, 2m hose.) This is an ideal configuration for cleanup of random trash on the floor: it’s mostly large, coarse material, not fine particulate, so it won’t spray a ton back in the air or clog the filter. It’s meant for wet and dry work that would wreck a dust bag. It’s expected that you’ll attach tube extensions and a head to the short hose so you can use it comfortably at standing height while sweeping up the floor, so a long hose would just mean worse airflow and more hassle. The enormous diameter of the hose makes it cumbersome to maneuver, but ensures it can pick up objects in a wide radius without obstruction.
In comparison, the CT series come with a HEPA filter, a fleece bag that acts as a secondary filter, and a thin, long hose (27mm, 3.5m) that’s very flexible and has a mesh cover to both protect the hose and ensure that it slips and slides off of both itself and obstacles in the environment rather than catching on them. (Necessary inclusion for the pedantic: the CT 48 comes with a 36mm hose, and the 36 AC comes with a special hose for the Planex.) This is a configuration that assumes you want to use this machine connected to a power tool, where the hose needs to move around freely, stay out of your way, and be as light as possible. It assumes that you prioritize maximum filtration, because you’re working with fine dust with major safety concerns, and can’t just expel it back into the air. It assumes that the filter is very expensive (US$100, compared to $13 for the Ridgid’s standard filter) and so you want a secondary filter (the bag) to ensure that you don’t have to replace the primary one regularly, even though this is going to impede airflow even further.
This is what I meant earlier when I said it’s sports car vs. pickup truck: these are both “vehicles to get from one place to another”, but they assume the driver intends to use them very, very differently, so they’ve prioritized completely different tradeoffs in design.
In this case, however, you can actually turn the CT into a pretty effective shop vac, but it requires changing out the accessories. Specifically, you want the industrial cleaning set (454770), which includes a 50mm x 2.5m hose and extensions and accessories to go with it. To maximize airflow, you would also want to remove the bag and swap the HEPA filter for the one micron filter element (496170), which will have much better airflow and still capture most environmental dust, but not the really fine particles. You may also want to add the Large Industrial Floor Nozzle (452910) and aluminum extension tube (447599).
The thing is that by the time you’ve done all of this, you’ve basically spent at least another $200 (and about $500 if you bought the nice metal accessories) to turn your $800-$1000 dust extractor into a $100 shop vac from Home Depot. A quieter, better built one (as AvE would say, “made in Jcherrrrmany”), but otherwise pretty ordinary shop vac.
This really just doesn’t make a lot of sense if you’re in a workshop and can just have a second machine. It might make sense for jobsite workers who can’t afford the space to take a second vacuum, but even then, it’s a hassle to switch the filters and accessories around every time you want to flip from dust extraction to site cleanup, and time is money.
The only way I can see this being useful is for people who
really can’t take more than one vacuum with them, have to obey rigid workplace safety laws regarding dust filtration, and have an enormous mess to clean up when they’re done, such that the time spent switching over the accessories is paid off in the time saved during cleanup.
Being new to FOG, but not new to woodworking forums (used to moderate UKW), I'm impressed by the healthy community out there.
