DIYer Planex review with standard vac

[batcave]

Hey all, just wanted to share my experience with my planex sander with my standard ct36 vacuum. I though of posting this while I was sitting admiring the job, so I have no before photos. I will use multiple posts for the review due to internet connection issues.

I love working on the house when I am not working. This project started when I moved my shop from our two car garage to the basement last winter. After all the wiring and such was removed from the garage, I had a mess left with the OSB. So i decided to drywall the walls and put steel on the ceiling. I bought the planex from Bob during the February sale along with 80 and 120 grit brilliant. Since Bob claims to be from Ohio, I had to pay tax. The total tab was near 1100 dollars. I lost a lot of sleep over the AC vacuum, but decided not to buy since my 36 filter was dirty already. I also had a 36mm AS hose to use, so no locking hose here. Here is the setup. I found the Planex sits perfectly on top of the vac.

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Kevin

 

[batcave]

I have a little drywall experience from before. It is not professional by any means. The job used 20 sheets of drywall. I taped the seams and put two coats on the tape and screws. Then I sanded with the supplied paper. I did not use the extension with the kit. The wall height is 8 foot. I ran the sander at 3 and the vac at 6. It took all of no time flat. I then skimmed the entire wall with compound. I then sanded the whole thing on speed 1 and vac 6. I used my syslite on a tripod to rake light over the surface. I ran the sander just like I was vacuuming a floor. Some spots called for more attention so I doubled back. The dust collection was awesome. I had no problems with the non locking hose separating. It took about 3 hours to sand and prime the wall. There is also a pic in the previous post of the two pieces of paper I used. They are both 120 grit. The blue came with the sander. The white will be used more later.

So after I was done I took the vac apart and here is what I found. I did not clean the vac before the job. This bag and filter were already used before and had wood dust in them. The vac is from 2010 and I believe I changed the filter a few years back. Maybe the filter is dated from 2011? I gave the filter a smack against the cement and there was no cloud of dust. Just some wood dust from an old filter came out (check the third pic).
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Kevin

 

[batcave]

I then performed open bag surgery to see what was inside. Like I said before, this bag was used for random shop duties and contained what ever. All this dust was not from this project. Kind of sad I cut open a bag half full (or empty), but I had to see what was inside. Maybe festool will send me a replacement since it was my last bag! I have another vac to fall back on until then.

I was very happy with the job. I have built walls in the basement and will be finishing them soon. I also have a house addition coming in the near future, so the sander will get used more. Then I will decided if I keep or sell it. I think the Planex would be a great addition to anyone remodeling. I think this proves that if you are just doing a room or so at a time, you can just plug the sander into your vac and be done with it quick. Then plug the saw back in and keep going. I would not want to hassle with the changing the vac for AC use and visa versa. Bags are eight dollars a piece, but it takes a long time for me to fill one up. I did sweep the garage afterwards, but there was very little drywall dust to be found. Thanks for reading.

 

[nclemmons]

Nice write up.  Good to see for occasional use this is an alternative.

Nice work on the drywall too! 

What did you mean by putting steel on the ceiling?

Neil

 

[batcave]

Nice write up.  Good to see for occasional use this is an alternative.

Nice work on the drywall too! 

What did you mean by putting steel on the ceiling?

Neil

I was going use steel siding for the ceiling, but I may just use drywall now that I have the planex. My neighbor has a jack I can use to put it up. It should save me 300 dollars. The windows are getting walnut from a tree that needed removed in a friends yard. I have about 95 bucks in 285bf.

Kevin

 

[Jab]

Thinking about the planex.  I am not a contractor and only really have a need for it now to remive popcorn ceiling in my house.  Question is would it be worth it to get just for this job or would it be better to go the old fashioned route to do that.  Not sure if I would really ever have a need for the planex in the future.  Also since you have used the thing, how much if any dust did you have that the ct didn't get.  sorry if you already said that.  I would be removing the ceiling in a house we are living in.  so just wondering. 

 

[bkharman]

Where in OH are you?  I am in Cincy.

I hear you about ordering from Uncle Bob... his warehouse is about 20 miles from me and I still order from him even with taxes.  I have ordered from a lot of the dealers here and they all provide an excellent service and worth the money in my opinion.  Festool is a luxury brand and comes with luxury service.

Enjoy that beast... have been eyeing it for a home remodel or purchase coming up.

cheers.  Bryan.

 

[batcave]

Thinking about the planex.  I am not a contractor and only really have a need for it now to remive popcorn ceiling in my house.  Question is would it be worth it to get just for this job or would it be better to go the old fashioned route to do that.  Not sure if I would really ever have a need for the planex in the future.  Also since you have used the thing, how much if any dust did you have that the ct didn't get.  sorry if you already said that.  I would be removing the ceiling in a house we are living in.  so just wondering. 

Really just about no dust escaped unless I tilted the sander from the wall. I was in a garage, but I was very, very happy. I am glad I bought the tool. You have 30 day no-risk to try it and see if it works for you.

Kevin

 

[Saskataper]

Thinking about the planex.  I am not a contractor and only really have a need for it now to remive popcorn ceiling in my house.  Question is would it be worth it to get just for this job or would it be better to go the old fashioned route to do that.  Not sure if I would really ever have a need for the planex in the future.  Also since you have used the thing, how much if any dust did you have that the ct didn't get.  sorry if you already said that.  I would be removing the ceiling in a house we are living in.  so just wondering. 

First off if your house is pre 90 or so be sure you have the popcorn texture tested for asbestos before attempting any work, it was banned in 78 but old stock stayed around for a while in some areas.

If it hasn't been painted I would say just scrape it, it comes off really easily. If it has been painted thats when you go for the planex but you absolutely need the
AutoClean vac, the volume of dust created is unreal and would overwhelm a regular vac in seconds.
Check out my popcorn texture removal video.


 

 

[batcave]

Where in OH are you?  I am in Cincy.

I hear you about ordering from Uncle Bob... his warehouse is about 20 miles from me and I still order from him even with taxes.  I have ordered from a lot of the dealers here and they all provide an excellent service and worth the money in my opinion.  Festool is a luxury brand and comes with luxury service.

Enjoy that beast... have been eyeing it for a home remodel or purchase coming up.

cheers.  Bryan.

I am three hours north of Cincinnati. I get product from Bob the next day.

Kevin

 

[Handyman Mike]

I am three hours north of Cincinnati. I get product from Bob the next day.

Kevin

I do okay in Chicago. Placed an order on the 18th (invoiced on the 19th), received it today.

--Mike

 

[Handyman Mike]

Hey all, just wanted to share my experience with my planex sander with my standard ct36 vacuum.

Kevin

Thanks for the review. Very informative. It's definitely going to be useful to me if I decide to buy a Planex.

--Mike

 

[batcave]

I would have bought the auto clean vac if I did not already have my ct36. After this job, I see no benefit to the auto clean vac.

It is redundant. If I don't let the dust in the filter, the filter does not need cleaned. The bags are to easy. The bags are clean to remove. The bags are cheap to replace. It is the heart of the festool vac. Why would anyone not want the bag in there?

Kevin

 

[Saskataper]

It looked like you had a pretty small job to sand, a regular ct is fine for small jobs, I use my midi sometime for little jobs and it does the trick. Big jobs is where you need the AC, the bags clog and suction is reduced. I can sand all day long with my AC and never lose suction, it's brilliant. The AC does use liners that make it easy to dispose of the dust, easier than the self clean bags as they are more like a garbage bag so they are tougher and they can be reused several times.
When I did that ceiling in my video I filled my vac at least three times and it was only 700sqft.

 

[batcave]

It looked like you had a pretty small job to sand, a regular ct is fine for small jobs, I use my midi sometime for little jobs and it does the trick. Big jobs is where you need the AC, the bags clog and suction is reduced. I can sand all day long with my AC and never lose suction, it's brilliant. The AC does use liners that make it easy to dispose of the dust, easier than the self clean bags as they are more like a garbage bag so they are tougher and they can be reused several times.
When I did that ceiling in my video I filled my vac at least three times and it was only 700sqft.

I see your point Saskataper. I figured the auto clean 36 was a spoof off of the old 22/33 vacs. They had the paper bags that caked up quick with fine dust. The planex would be an absolute no go on an old vac. The new bags on the 36 really solve the issue. I think the job I did was fairly large for the average joe (600 sq. ft. level 5). I realize that a guy who works drywall everyday would want a dedicated vac for the planex. But I still feel most remodelers and DIYers can do without.

How do you dispose of that much loose dust anyways? I assume you have to put it in a bag to dispose of it?

Kevin

 

[Saskataper]

Yeah the paper bags are terrible compared to the selfclean bags. I was quite impressed with my midi using the selfclean bags, I just had to turn off the machine every 10 minutes or so to let the bag settle and shed the caked up dust. After a while the bag does get saturated and you start to lose suction.
Here is a pick with the liner in the AC, I usually just take it out and empty it into a garbage bag or empty mud box then reuse it.