Festool CT 26 E Review

[jaguar36]

I did a review of the Festool CT26E Dust Extractor.  Check it out here:

I think its a fantastic vacuum, but the price is ludicrous, even for a Festool.

 

[NiteWalkerGR]

Watching the review now, but I can already tell you I think the festool vacs are worth every penny.
My only real gripe is lack of integrated bt like with the midi. I paid $659 for my midi and have zero regrets.
This was after looking at the competition, reading reviews of other vacs, looking at cheaper options like karcher and nilfsk, etc., and nothing really met what I was looking for in a dust extractor.

I'm not against buying other brands either; I almost bought a CT 15 as a dedicated CNC vac, but acme tool has the fein turbo I on sale for just under $200 so I grabbed it.

So yeah, I do agree that festool vacs are not cheap, but I also don't think they're ripping us off, factoring things like feature set, suction power, stated capacity vs bag capacity (most other vacs are half or less can to bag size), warranty, etc. And especially the sleeved hoses.

Either way thanks for the review.

 

[Paul_HKI]

A few clarifications and comments..

The CT26 can be used for wet clean-up.  I use mine frequently for this purpose when I wash the workshop floor or the floor mats from my truck.  Add the NF-CT filters and you're ready to go.

The 'dead panel' can be equipped with several optional modules, not just bluetooth.  You're oversimplifying the capability of the machine, maybe for an audience, maybe because you don't know about the other options.

You figure they should have included a power cable with the hose, and lament that it's a $300 option.  Well, which hose should they base it on?  27mm?  36mm?  32 to 27mm?  3.5m, 5m or 7m long?  Which tools is the user supposed to have to determine the best hose diameter to use?  And how does a user change the power cord when it's damaged or worn?  What should they do when they're using a tool with a dust port, but a fixed power cord?  It's a how long is a piece of string kind of question/scenario.  It makes no sense to include anything other than a general purpose 3.5m hose with the base machine.

Also, you should not be blowing out HEPA filters with compressed air or 'rinsing' them.  They're not designed for that kind of treatment. 

If your expectations are that it's just a shop vac (as you say), then it's subjectively overpriced.  If you actually know the capability of the Festool dust extractor and its intended use cases, you're just dismissing its objective value for the right user, for whatever reason. 

I have one and really like it.  I also have a Midi I and a CT 25 E and like those also.  I even have an old Nilfisk Buddy II Inox, and I like it.  They're all different machines with different features.  Yes, they're all 'just vacuum cleaners', in the same way a Festiva/Fiesta and an F350 are both 'just cars'.  But a guy who only needs a Festiva/Fiesta kind of comes across as a bit odd when he buys an F350 and says it's ludicrously expensive, right? 

 

[jaguar36]

The CT26 can be used for wet clean-up.  I use mine frequently for this purpose when I wash the workshop floor or the floor mats from my truck.  Add the NF-CT filters and you're ready to go.

I really meant more for sucking up alot of water, not just a wet cleanup.  Without a drain its really not well suited to it.

The 'dead panel' can be equipped with several optional modules, not just bluetooth.  You're oversimplifying the capability of the machine, maybe for an audience, maybe because you don't know about the other options.

I'm aware of the air tool port, but that's a pretty specialty thing that I didn't think was worth mentioning.  Are there others besides that?

You figure they should have included a power cable with the hose, and lament that it's a $300 option.  Well, which hose should they base it on?  27mm?  36mm?  32 to 27mm?  3.5m, 5m or 7m long?  Which tools is the user supposed to have to determine the best hose diameter to use?  And how does a user change the power cord when it's damaged or worn?  What should they do when they're using a tool with a dust port, but a fixed power cord?  It's a how long is a piece of string kind of question/scenario.  It makes no sense to include anything other than a general purpose 3.5m hose with the base machine.

Not sure, what exactly you're getting at here.  I think it would be great if the included 'general purpose' 3.5m hose integrated the power cord.  Sure it would be a waste for cordless/air tool users, but for most folks (particualrly considering my vac dates from the pre-cordless tool days) it would be great.  Heck they could even just toss in a couple of the little velco straps like they do with the Planex.

Also, you should not be blowing out HEPA filters with compressed air or 'rinsing' them.  They're not designed for that kind of treatment. 

I don't recall saying that you should do that, perhaps I mis-spoke.

If your expectations are that it's just a shop vac (as you say), then it's subjectively overpriced.  If you actually know the capability of the Festool dust extractor and its intended use cases, you're just dismissing its objective value for the right user, for whatever reason. 

I have one and really like it.  I also have a Midi I and a CT 25 E and like those also.  I even have an old Nilfisk Buddy II Inox, and I like it.  They're all different machines with different features.  Yes, they're all 'just vacuum cleaners', in the same way a Festiva/Fiesta and an F350 are both 'just cars'.  But a guy who only needs a Festiva/Fiesta kind of comes across as a bit odd when he buys an F350 and says it's ludicrously expensive, right? 

I also really like mine, and would buy it again if it got stolen or whatever.  Not sure if you watched to the end, but I do say I think its worth it.  However I still think it is overpriced, particularly since they got rid of the bundle deals.  Also look at it this way, a Festool Router ($700) is roughly 2-3x the cost of a prosumer brand like Dewalt ($250) or Makita.  A Festool drill is about the same, maybe a bit more.  But the CT-26 is like 10x the cost of a cheap shop vac..  Lastly, keep in mind this video goes out to the general public on Youtube, not folks used to spending Festool money.

 

[NiteWalkerGR]

However I still think it is overpriced, particularly since they got rid of the bundle deals.  Also look at it this way, a Festool Router ($700) is roughly 2-3x the cost of a prosumer brand like Dewalt ($250) or Makita.  A Festool drill is about the same, maybe a bit more.  But the CT-26 is like 10x the cost of a cheap shop vac..  Lastly, keep in mind this video goes out to the general public on Youtube, not folks used to spending Festool money.

The issue is that you're comparing it to a cheap shop vac. You need to be comparing it to similar HEPA dust extractors. Those are pretty expensive as well.
As for other festool tools, comparing against the prosumer brands is fair; just be sure to look at all aspects of both tools to be compared. I'm not really interested in any of festool's cordless drills, but I'd love to have both an of1010 and 1400 in my arsenal based on the features they offer and how well they integrate into the festool system.

 

[woodbutcherbower]

Three other points I feel worthy of mention;

1 I do this for a living, so my tools get worked HARD. Tortured on a daily basis. My CT26 is ancient and looks like junk - but it still works as well as the day I bought it. I previously went through three Nilfisk vacs over the same period I’ve had the Festool - so in my case, the ‘ludicrous’ price of the CT26 has worked out significantly cheaper over the long haul. Forget the price and look at the value instead. I’d also add that the resale value is very strong. You’d be lucky to get ten bucks for a 5-year-old toy vacuum.

2 It’s expandable. If I’m doing bench work building windows or doors, I can fill a 26-litre bag in under two hours. The addition of the CT-VA-20 cyclone separator fixes this, and saves me a fortune in bag replacements. Unlike a standalone cyclone, it integrates perfectly with the machine and essentially becomes part of it.

3 It’s Systainer-compatible. For someone like me who houses every conceivable tool and accessory inside a Systainer - this is absolute gold. I simply rock up at a job, decide which tools I’m going to need, load them all on top of the CT, and roll in the whole stack.

I’d buy another one tomorrow in a heartbeat.

Kevin

 

[guybo]

I’d buy another one tomorrow in a heartbeat.

some how i pictured the guy in the avatar with one of these [big grin]

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I feel the same way. I would replace mine in a heartbeat. When I first got into Festool, I used a cheap shop vac and an Ivac switch. It worked, but definitely not well. I would get shocked with an alarming frequency, who knows how much fine dust was getting past it. Plus, it was tethered to the bench because of the mounting of the switch.
Adding the CT26 did a lot for all of that. I am still "in the shop", not having to be mobile, in the way of installs, but the ability to move around further than the 3.5 meter hose is very helpful.
Turning down the suction is a great feature that those cheap units can't do either.
I am still on the fence about the CT-VA. I would have bought one a week ago, if anyone had one in stock. "Sometimes I need it, but then the big job passes." The rest of the time, I only use 2 bags a month. At that rate, it's in the way most of the time.

 

[Coen]

The CT26 can be used for wet clean-up.  I use mine frequently for this purpose when I wash the workshop floor or the floor mats from my truck.  Add the NF-CT filters and you're ready to go.

I really meant more for sucking up alot of water, not just a wet cleanup.  Without a drain its really not well suited to it.
[...]

Yes, but you didn't say what you meant  [wink]

For the previous series they had buckets for the 22 and 33, but without the bucket they were harder to empty from liquid than the current 26/36/48 because previously the top was hinged and didn't come off as easily.

If your expectations are that it's just a shop vac (as you say), then it's subjectively overpriced.  If you actually know the capability of the Festool dust extractor and its intended use cases, you're just dismissing its objective value for the right user, for whatever reason. 

I have one and really like it.  I also have a Midi I and a CT 25 E and like those also.  I even have an old Nilfisk Buddy II Inox, and I like it.  They're all different machines with different features.  Yes, they're all 'just vacuum cleaners', in the same way a Festiva/Fiesta and an F350 are both 'just cars'.  But a guy who only needs a Festiva/Fiesta kind of comes across as a bit odd when he buys an F350 and says it's ludicrously expensive, right? 

I also really like mine, and would buy it again if it got stolen or whatever.  Not sure if you watched to the end, but I do say I think its worth it.  However I still think it is overpriced, particularly since they got rid of the bundle deals.  Also look at it this way, a Festool Router ($700) is roughly 2-3x the cost of a prosumer brand like Dewalt ($250) or Makita.  A Festool drill is about the same, maybe a bit more.  But the CT-26 is like 10x the cost of a cheap shop vac..  Lastly, keep in mind this video goes out to the general public on Youtube, not folks used to spending Festool money.

A cheap shop vac makes all the fine dust go airborne, making you live shorter. A good vac keeps the dust inside making you live longer. So there is really no comparison whatsoever as the effect goes in opposite direction.

Also the noise.. you need to add in a set of hearing protection with the cheap vacs. I have the louder CTL 22E under the table saw... need hearing protection anyway. For most other uses I use the newer CTL 26, lots of jobs are suddenly perfectly fine without hearing protection.

The cheap vacs don't have antistatic hose either. Get zapped and fall down a step ladder the wrong way once and *poof* your savings are gone.

Having said that; On the European side of the Atlantic the Festool seems somewhat closer in price to others. But you need to keep in mind that the CTL 26 always comes with a super nice antistatic hose. Most other brands only use AS hoses on the M class vacs. The CTL 26 is 99% the same as the CTM 26 except it's missing the flow alarm. If my CTL 26 broke today I would probably buy another one the same day, then repair the broken one at a time of my convenience  [tongue]

 

[Coen]

Lastly, keep in mind this video goes out to the general public on Youtube, not folks used to spending Festool money.

Then your review is broken even more as it lacks details and misrepresents some stuff. Like the hose. The newer hose is not just one that has a wrap, it's a completely different hose, way way way more flexible.
Same on the top; the newer top has both the T and the tabs. It's not either or. You also missed to mention the current top is way way sturdier.
So really you are reviewing a product that isn't sold in the configuration that is shown for like five (?) years.