Thanks for all the useful feedback. It helps me understand my local reps response as well as the guys in Germany who design the tools that explained the idea is to use the vac as a dolly more than a roll around vac. I may get a deal on some casters for the back of the 36 as the holes are there and the midi moves well due to it's small wheel base.
It's funny that more floor guys did not respond, it find the "dust extractors" the best Vacs made hands down and get a floor very very clean with the 36 mm hose leaving almost zero dust for my micro fiber tack mop. Clean floors make me look good and Festool rules, if only their hoses did not kink so much. I have to say that I personally do have significant "drag" and lateral movement in "pulling my DC by the hose (something I was taught never to do) but to get up and walk the vacuum to the new staging location. I work in 200-3000 sq. ft homes often cleaning the floor 3 times a day often to finish specifications and no other vacuum works as well but the cord location (on side on CT22) combined with the hose port ( a bit low) with those clunky back wheels ends up banging doorways and kitchen cabinets if i don't constantly move the hose and vac every 12 feet until I'm out of the kitchen, away from painted trimmed out doorways and other tools and walls.
Maybe i have a bad set of front casters but these babies do not roll any straighter than a relapsed alcoholic on his 5th drink of a binge. . . maybe it 's the hardwood or the cords on the floor (it's very challenging to always
keep the cords away and behind the vac, especially if one has rolled it into a room that then you need to do a 180 and roll out of said room, ideally without stopping work to move the tool. . .
Add a 16" buffer with another separate 15 amp cord (12 gauge) and the 7 meter AS hose and DC and it's a bit of a cluster F*^k.
I had 2 pacific steemex (and a quieter CENO that did not roll well because of large back wheels) that screamed loud and had a cheap 1.5"thin plastic coil hose that collected dust like a magnet (and left it across the floor) i gratefully i sold to my General contractor that rolled like a cue ball on felt. . . as well as a bad bypass impeller and useless filter instead of a great bag that did not release clouds of toxic waste that dusted out the neighborhood or myself or my car or something that should have stayed clean(and lovely filter but I correctly knew that the CT22 (discontinued sold w/o hose garage), the "good" old days & my new CT36 would capture more dust, it just moves like a paraplegic with downs syndrome when i want it to follow me like my dog or at least like something i'm actually pulling gently in a straight line. . .
YES i love festool, but just like a dysfunctional parent i'ts OK to talk about it's perceived, experienced shortcomings, ideally so they will improve it. I don't believe it's heresy to point out differences in design and performance, The DC is a great dolly if you only use the old style systainers, but let's all attempt to respect each others experience and leave comments for those who have actually experienced such problems, rather than deny their existence, after all we are not trying to emulate Washington here. . . but share common experiences and solutions even if that is encouraging changes to a design that would sell more vac's, I mean, "dust collectors"
I actually made a point of asking people in the sales end of this business if these "Dust Collectors" would work well for flooring contractors and was Completely ASSURED that they would out perform anything i had used, and they have, except for these two issues, movement and AS hose kinking with both the small and medium hose. I know I can do as much when i slow down, it's just i bought the sales pitch. . . What was it ?
Ah yes, I recall, it's on my $15 dollar shirt I wear to work "Faster, Quicker, Easier. . ." NOT when vacuuming a finish sanded floor with $65,00 dollars of cabinets and appliances,and a vac that costs %30 more than my other supplier offers no it's jut as slow and moredifficult as the old vacs but quieter and more hose kinks until this gets resolved and i get some more nice grey Festool non anti static hoses that don't kink even when you tie them in knots!
They really are much more flexible and is it my imagination or are they lighter ? and i and live with the static between wood and felt and an excellently double insulated, grounded vacuum cleaner. I'm trying different home despot 4 wheel moving dolly's with OK results. to bad it looks so lame. . . If I had a extra hundred bucks to play with i'd buy a Festool Dolly and put some plywood on it and take off the wheels and glue the baby to the dolly, I imagine it would roll like a formula one down the track, but my imagination and passion for FT has often led me to frustration due to unrealized expectations.
I will say there are some cool improvements coming down the line. I just hope i live to see them on"DC" and ETS 150. The best random orbital sander in the world when it works and the hose does not kink. I guess you jut gotta be down on the floor on your knees and working around those kicks , islands, toilets, and doors to experience what in store for you when you do a floor.
