Festool Planex dust issue

[lukeydukey]

G'day Guys,
Wondering if i could get some feedback please?
I recently purchased the Festool Planex sander with the CT36 dust vac and i am having major dust problems.
After i have finished sanding my plaster down the entire room is covered in dust! I have a brand new long life vac bag inside, i use the centre function on the head of the sander to create the vac suction to the walls and ceiling, however there is dust just continuously pushing out and it is going everywhere!
Is this normal?? I've had the Festool rep out and he is trying to tell me this is normal! I mean aren't these units meant to be DUSTFREE.
Any help is appreciated,
Thanks guys Luke.

 

[Bikeboy80]

The long life bag is probably your biggest issue, you need to change to the open plastic liners. The AC function will not work right with a standard bag in place.

Also use center suction for the ceiling to take. The weight of the sander but once you move the the walls change to the permiter suction to improve dust collection.

Edit: I just noticed you didn't specifically mention the 36AC, that might also be the issue.

 

[tjbnwi]

Exchange the bag for a liner. CT suction and Auto Clean set on high. Control suction from Planex handle. Unless necessary to remove excess material, slow down the head speed. Use finer paper grit.

If it is not the 36 AC, exchange for proper CT.

Nothing is dust free. Sand area without the CT connected, you'll be surprised how much was collected.

Tom

 

[Kev]

[welcome] fellow Ozzie [smile]

I haven't got a PLANEX (yet).

If you have any doubts from the stuff you just read about using the AC function and the liners (which is how the thing is intended to be used), give the Tooltechnic gus a call and they'll jump on the issue.

Where did you buy from? Premium shop?

cheers,

Kev.

 

[lukeydukey]

Hey Guys, thanks for feedback
Yeah sorry to clarify, i have the CT36 auto clean.
I have alot of sanding to do tomorrow so i will give the plastic liner a go! Wow, so you think from using the long life bag it is restricting the vac performance?
And yeah I always use the inner center suction on the head because it basically takes all the weight off and does the sanding for you, all you have to do is guide it.
I use 220 grit paper run the planex between 4 and 5 suction and  speed about the same.

 

[peter halle]

If you are talking about the expensive long life bag, that is really designed for coarser chips like you might get from a planer or router.  Some have written here that they got good results with that bag for all applications, but the pores are larger.  That being said, whatever gets past your bag has to go thru your filter to get into the room.  The AC filter is not HEPA and is rated here as 1 micron.  Have you checked to see if your filters are properly mounted and don't have any holes in them?  Just a thought for you.

Peter

 

[lukeydukey]

Yeah Peter, yes that is the bag. The expensive bag that cost me nearly $400 bucks!
Filters are good, only 5 months old, i just give them  a good clean out with the blower.
Fingers crossed, will see how my sanding goes tomorrow and ill report back at night.
For me my biggest issue is dust coming out of the head of planex and then the fan from the motor just blows it everywhere!
Especially when you are sanding ceilings, i can remove the sanding from the ceiling turn it upside down and the dust just drops all over the floor.

 

[Saskataper]

I guarantee the bag is the issue. The AC is designed to run without one, the liner is just a convenience thing to make disposal of the dust easier. I'd be really pissed at whoever sold you that long life bag with the autoclean vac as it completely defeats the purpose of the autoclean function.
The Planex is virtually dust free when it's working properly. 

 

[Paul G]

Are you adding an interface pad?

 

[BCConstruction]

Yeah bags will clog fast on the planex and AC is useless with them. Just use the plastic liners and you will be good to go. Another great option is the blast gate. After about every 5 mins I shut the gate and do a AC cycle and you will be back to full suction. You can do the same thing by putting your hand over the inlet but that's just hassle.

 

[lukeydukey]

Hey guys, thanks for all the feedback
Today I sanded with the plastic liner and the vac held awesome suction continuously without fail, however this made my  filters  filthy. Is this normal when using the plastic liner?
Do you just dust it out and keep on going? And is this way gonna ruin my filters?
With my dust issue, still when I sand ceilings the dust still pools in there and when I finish a join, bring the sander down and turn it over dust drops out. And then with the motor so close it goes everywhere!
Cheers Luke.

 

[tjbnwi]

The auto clean mode should take care of the filters. Do a deep clean.

Give the unit a few shakes before you turn it over.

Again nothing is "dust free".

Tom

 

[Saskataper]

Check out this vid I made of the autoclean in action. You can see exactly what it does. I sucked up about 15 litres of dust with the AC off to get the filter this clogged.

 

[Jeremiah9675]

Like everyone has said already:
1. Use the liner
2. Leave auto clean on
3. Suction up all the way on the vac, throttle at the handle
4. Use high grit paper 300+ until your comfortable
5. Use the outer ring suction as much as possible for best dust extraction!
Cheers and good luck!

 

[Worm Drive]

I use this thin piece of wood to hold the switch in between the inner and outer suction settings. I can then, leave the suction on the handle set to 6 and use the full power of the AC 36. I had to play around with the length of the piece of wood, to get the suction to the ceiling set properly. The amount of dust captured is improved. Before this mod, when I would turn the sander over, after sanding the ceiling, a big cloud of dust would dump out of the sanding shroud. Now, I just tilt the head towards the floor and the majority of the dust that's in the shroud gets sucked up in the hose. The wooden piece was just for trials, I plan on making an adjustable piece, maybe out of aluminum.

 

[leakyroof]

I use this thin piece of wood to hold the switch in between the inner and outer suction settings. I can then, leave the suction on the handle set to 6 and use the full power of the AC 36. I had to play around with the length of the piece of wood, to get the suction to the ceiling set properly. The amount of dust captured is improved. Before this mod, when I would turn the sander over, after sanding the ceiling, a big cloud of dust would dump out of the sanding shroud. Now, I just tilt the head towards the floor and the majority of the dust that's in the shroud gets sucked up in the hose. The wooden piece was just for trials, I plan on making an adjustable piece, maybe out of aluminum.

. very clever, I'm going to have try this myself on my Planex. Thanks for sharing. [big grin]

 

[lukeydukey]

Wow, Mr Worm Drive!!!
Thats gold, i tried mucking around like that with a piece of cardboard.
But i didnt give it much time, cause i wanted to get in and out!
But seeing this post gives me hope, and i will now experiment more, cheers buddy thanks for sharing
Of course you can go for the perimiter option of suction to collect more dust but it doesnt suck to the ceilings, this option could be a winner!
Luke.

 

[Worm Drive]

I started with a piece of cardboard, before going to wood. Perimeter suction yields the best results for dust collection. This mod is a compromise between dust collection and ceiling suction.