Dust extractor on Sander is pants. Is it me? Please help!

[Weetbix]

Hi

Just bought my first Festool sander the ETS 150/3 EQ PLUS and it's brilliant.  Can work with it for ages, lovely sanding on old wooden shutters someone's tried to Nitromors off in the past and made a right pig's ear of.  Smooth as anything, looking forward to doing the walls tomorrow.

But I bought it partly for it's fantastic dust extracting properties.  And in my opinion it's awful.  Am I expecting too much, have I set it up wrongly or is it not working properly?

It's extracting into a dust bag at the moment.  I do have a Henry vacuum cleaner, should I hook it up to that and which is the best hose for it?

I think i've attached a photo!  This was after two minutes!

Thanks very much for any suggestions.

 

[jonny round boy]

You won't get decent dust extraction with the bag - it will catch some, put without an extractor you're always going to have a lot of dust escaping.

Try it with the Henry attached (if the hose will fit) and you should see a massive improvement over the bag. Having said that, if you can afford it I'd definitely recommend getting one of the Festool vacs - this will have 2 major advantages over the Henry: firstly, it's auto-switching, and second: the hose is antistatic (I suspect that with the Henry you'll get quite a bit of static build-up, but it depends on what material you're sanding).

Lastly, welcome to the FOG - good to have yet another brit on board!

Oh, and sorry - the photo didn't work...

 

[AlexThePalex]

Weetbix, you should definitely hook up a vac. Passive dust extraction simply sucks as where as active dust extraction REALLY sucks, if you get my drift.  [big grin]

 

[sw1211]

Also, not sure if your current vac has adjustable speed/suction control like the Festool vacs. This feature will also help with the sander performance.

 

[Wim]

In Holland, I ordered a dust collector, the MINI, with my third order of Festool power tools. After a TS55 and a OF1010, I felt the need for dust collection with the Domino. In the USA, where I start ordering tools to replace my soon to sell "European" tools, a dust collector, again the MINI, was with my first order. I had learned from my "mistakes". Festool dust collection, even a MINI, is such a big improvement, I would say, don't go without it.

 

[Weetbix]

Thank you lovely FOGgers. 

I wanted to hook it up to the Henry but the hose doesn't fit.  I bid for a Festool extractor on Ebay last night but was pipped at the post, I did however win a small Delta sander for less than half the price of a new one, so very chuffed with that.

I'm guessing from reading these posts that everyone on here has a very positive experience with the Festool extractor.  If you were going to buy one as a painter and decorator which model would you buy?  I'm guessing the mini and how much would you pay for one second hand?  I'm already nearly 400GBP into Festool this year and it's only the 18th of January!  Not sure how much I can run too but I would really like an extractor.

I'm doomed to Festool lovers purgatory aren't I?  Having used this sander for an hour I can't see me ever using anything else.

Many thanks
Weetbix

 

[AlexThePalex]

If you were going to buy one as a painter and decorator which model would you buy?  I'm guessing the mini and how much would you pay for one second hand? 

I mostly do painting and less woodwork. I got the Ctl22 but for only painting I wish I had the Mini. The 22 is quite bulky to transport. The Mini is sufficient enough with the sanders, you only need the bigger vacs when you do woodworking.

Here in Holland we see a lot of used Festool vacs, and I've been following the market closely. A used one in excellent condition will go for 250-275 euro and one in lesser condition will go for a minimum of 175 euro. Personally, for an 'as good as new' model, I would pay 240 euro max. New price is 350, but I also know a couple of dealers who sell them for less new, one even for only 290.

 

[jgag]

Weetbix

I've been running a small 400 series sander with a Midi - to sand my ceilings  - it's just so easy - even though the price is so painful you won't regret it

(PM me if you fancy a drive round the M25 to see)

The Midi also works fine with the Rotex - however after 15-20 mins of ceiling sanding - it feels like a gorilla has been trying to rip your arms out of their sockets...

 

[richard.selwyn]

I've got the mini to take on site and whilst it works VERY well, it doesn't have the power of the two bigger Festool vacs I have in the shop.  I sometimes have to haul my big SRH something or other vac on site as it is specially designed for the Planex drywall sander but it is bloody heavy and cumbersome.  If you are out and about a lot and going up stairs etc, the mini or the midi is a good compromise.  But in the meantime, find a way to attach your Henry - the brains on this site will find you a way - somebody from the Ukraine I think shows heat shrinked pipe to do just that.  We have the Henry as our domestic vac and I want to get another one to use in the shop - the bags are cheap, the filtration is good and I'm sure Numatic will forgive me for saying it really sucks!

Richard

 

[woodguy7]

Couldn't he just buy a Festool antistatic hose & plug it into his Henry ?  I got one for my Stayer shop vac before i bought the Cleantex.  I don't have a Henry so i don't know if the diameter of the sleeve is the same.  Just a thought for a cheaper temporary solution.

Woodguy

 

[peter halle]

For an antistatic hose to work, it needs to be grounded.  Festool dust collectors have the necessary contacts to make that happen.  Unless the vacuum it is attached to is equipped, it is a waste to spend the money on an antistatic hose.

Peter

 

[Weetbix]

Thanks very much, guys.  I'm going to buy a mini I think.  I'll only ever need it for sanding and it seems the most portable for me.

 

[Rickfisher]

I use a Festool hose on a Fein Vac, it works Fein.. lol.

Just today, I removed the hose from my ETS 150/5 to make some Padauk dust, in order to mix the dust with some stain.. 

I was impressed with how fast it made a nice orange mess. lol.  None of the mess came out the exposed rear vent on the sander..  Without a Vacuum, its not impressive dust collection ..

However, with the Vacuum attached and running.. The dust collection is brilliant... 

Most impressive to me is the dust collection on the MFK-700 Router..  I am always shocked how little dust and chips actually escape the dust collector .. No idea how Festool did it .. but its brilliant.

 

[Weetbix]

I bought a mini.  It's awesome.  I love it.

Also bought an RS400 on Ebay.  I love that also. 

Sanded a room down yesterday including some horrible old cast iron central heating pipes.  I'll just say.....mincemeat!  And barely the need for a mask.

You were all right, totally worth the money and the financial pain for better lungs and much less cleaning up time.

Quick question though, can I use the mini simply as a vac for cleaning up big old lumps of filler and paint chips, as I would my Henry?  I guess the question I'm asking is, do I need the Henry as well as the Mini?

Thanks again.

 

[jonny round boy]

Quick question though, can I use the mini simply as a vac for cleaning up big old lumps of filler and paint chips, as I would my Henry?

Yes, abso-blumin'-lutely!!!

 

[AlexThePalex]

Quick question though, can I use the mini simply as a vac for cleaning up big old lumps of filler and paint chips, as I would my Henry?

Yes, abso-blumin'-lutely!!!

Only thing I'd like to add is that the only limiting factor is not the Mini but the 27mm hose which will occasionally clog from debris. The hose is simply too thin for some of the bigger chips. But it's not really a big deal. No need to bring the Henry too.

 

[jonny round boy]

That's a good point, Alex, though I would say that the narrowest part is the rubber hose end, so if it goes through that it shouldn't get stuck further along!  [big grin]

I do find though that if I'm using a nozzle attachment (or similar) I do find I have to keep removing it to clear debris from the hose end.

 

[woodguy7]

Funny you should mention this. Yesterday i was using my 850 planer on the 27mm hose to dress 2mm full width on pine.  You guessed it, the hose blocked.  I switched to the 35mm hose & it also blocked, but this time about half way along the length  [crying]

I think 2mm on the full width was to much in pine as it is so light & flakey.  Oh well, off to get a long piece of fencing wire to try to get it out.

Woodguy.

 

[jonny round boy]

Woodguy,

I've had the 27mm hose block up from the bag overfilling when planing.

The best way I've found to get it out is a length of 15mm copper (1.5 - 2m should do it), trimmed with a pipe-cutter so there's no sharp edge to damage the inside. Ram it in there to free the blockage. A piece of wire will just push through the blockage; a solid bar will pack it tighter; but a tube clears it a lot better, as some of the shavings fall down inside the tube.

HTH

 

[AlexThePalex]

That's a good point, Alex, though I would say that the narrowest part is the rubber hose end, so if it goes through that it shouldn't get stuck further along!  [big grin]

I do find though that if I'm using a nozzle attachment (or similar) I do find I have to keep removing it to clear debris from the hose end.

Yep, that's what I was talking about. I haven't had the hose clog in the middle yet, but always at the end when using an attachment.