Festool Dust Collection Pre Separator: Wobbly; and Clear Plastic Lid

[JRM76]

I’m used to all things Festool being tight, a place for everything and everything in it’s place, and useful. The dust collection Pre Separator is a great add on, but is very wobbly (to the point of dumping something placed on top of it while moving the dust collector/pre sep without being careful, and the clear plastic lid appears to have no real purpose w no place/way to stow or store it. Does anyone feel my angst? And has anyone resolved these issues?

Given how all systainers/sortainers and the tops of dust collectors sit and attach firmly, this is not only an oversight, but a Festool error in my book... it would have been so easy to mold in clamping handles To the pre sep containers (I would think).

And the lid... if I one uses removable plastic bags (much cheaper/smaller than more plastic sep containers... especially if using standard cheap garbage bags or even free commercial throw-a-way shopping bags. I believe two or more pre seps might nest without lids if 80% full. And what does one do with the lids between their rare use as a top to a full pre sep container? I find them inconvenient to store, they don’t stack. I may drill a hole to hang my lids.

I have 3 dust collectors, 3 pre separators, and 3 of those lids. Yes, it is ungrateful of me to complain when blessed with such riches... but I hope there are good engineering reasons for these issues and I’m just missing their value.

 

[Kanuka]

So you're upset that you can't use the top of a small wheeled thing that gets jerked around a lot as a work bench? If they encouraged people to stack things on top of it the walls of the collection bucket would likely not hold out for long because some idiot would immediately throw 20 full Systainers there.

I think you can probably find something else to be bothered about without a lot of difficulty. Or you can get a Dust Deputy instead and resolve your training issue with a complete lack of a horizontal surface.

 

[semenza]

I’m used to all things Festool being tight, a place for everything and everything in it’s place, and useful. The dust collection Pre Separator is a great add on, but is very wobbly (to the point of dumping something placed on top of it while moving the dust collector/pre sep without being careful, and the clear plastic lid appears to have no real purpose w no place/way to stow or store it. Does anyone feel my angst? And has anyone resolved these issues?

Given how all systainers/sortainers and the tops of dust collectors sit and attach firmly, this is not only an oversight, but a Festool error in my book... it would have been so easy to mold in clamping handles To the pre sep containers (I would think).

And the lid... if I one uses removable plastic bags (much cheaper/smaller than more plastic sep containers... especially if using standard cheap garbage bags or even free commercial throw-a-way shopping bags. I believe two or more pre seps might nest without lids if 80% full. And what does one do with the lids between their rare use as a top to a full pre sep container? I find them inconvenient to store, they don’t stack. I may drill a hole to hang my lids.

I have 3 dust collectors, 3 pre separators, and 3 of those lids. Yes, it is ungrateful of me to complain when blessed with such riches... but I hope there are good engineering reasons for these issues and I’m just missing their value.

Hi,
  Welcome to the forum  [smile]

    I  think  I saw something posted about an accessory strap? Can't find it now. Anyone know where that was?

Seth

 

[simonh]

It's here:https://www.festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tools-accessories/ct-va-20-upgrade-kit-269792/

I haven't bought one simply because I think the design of the plastic containers just dropped into the base systainer is just awful engineering.

 

[JRM76]

It's here:https://www.festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tools-accessories/ct-va-20-upgrade-kit-269792/

I haven't bought one simply because I think the design of the plastic containers just dropped into the base systainer is just awful engineering.

Thank you Seth and Simon; I’m in your debt.

 

[Gregor]

I completely agree with the critique of the clear bins and (especially) their lids, there is no place to put the lid when the bin is in use and the bins don't stack well as the lids don't fit completely into the bins.

It's here:https://www.festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tools-accessories/ct-va-20-upgrade-kit-269792/

I haven't bought one simply because I think the design of the plastic containers just dropped into the base systainer is just awful engineering.

You shouldn't have the need to buy one*, as it should be included in every CT-VA (and be delivered for free to the owners of every of the early units where they, likely because the kit didn't exist at that point in time, forgot to include it) - simply because it massively improves the usability of the CT-VA to a point where it starts to get useful (by at least slightly mitigating the bad design of the plastic bin just being dropped into the base).

*) in case you have the original version that doesn't contain the kit: request they send you one, free of charge as the existence of that kit that soon after introduction of the CT-VA and it being included with all new ones clearly demonstrates that it solely exists to overcome an obvious design defect - which you as an early adopter shouldn't suffer from, unless they want you to massively reduce trust in their designs.