Help Me Decide: New CT 26 EI or New CT MIDI I

[Lion El’John-Saw]

After an issue with my CT 36 EI, I’m looking to switch to either a CT 26 EI or the new CT MIDI I. This will be for a dedicated home workshop setup and will be paired with an Oneida Ultimate Dust Deputy (Festool version), ETSC 2 150 and RTS 400 REQ sanders.

My typical use cases include cabinet builds for a laundry room, bathroom, and garage remodel; sanding and refinishing kitchen cabinets; and general project work (walnut dining table, office remodel, etc.). While I’m comfortable with woodworking and carpentry, I’m still getting up to speed on the Festool dust-extraction ecosystem and would appreciate insight from those with hands-on experience.

For those running a similar setup—especially with a cyclone in front—how do the CT 26 EI and CT MIDI I compare in real-world use? Any pros/cons around airflow, bag changes, and overall experience would be especially helpful.

Thanks in advance for the guidance.

 

[Vondawg]

I run the Oneida on a 26 and really like it…ive run it thru an older midi and can’t tell the difference in suction (I think the main difference is the container) the only obvious thing is what I always say is portability …. Midi/Mini much easier to take up a flight of stairs
*I can’t remember, because it lives on the 26 but not sure the Oneida attaches to the smaller vac

 

[Michael Kellough]

The base of the Oneida Ultimate Dust Deputy is the size of a Systainer so it will fit on top of any Festool vac. But it doesn’t secure very well by itself. If you intend to move the setup you’ll want to add a bungee cord or something.

I think it’s been mentioned before that there isn’t much difference in airflow between the various CT vac’s but you can look it up yourself. The main difference is size and therefore volume capacity of the bag. But if you use a cyclone the volume of the bag is no longer a significant factor. So now you have to decide where you want to park the vac to determine the maximum size you want.

 

[onocoffee]

I've had the MIDI I for well over a year and the CT-VA-20 separator on the MIDI for about ten months. I think it's a solid combination.

When selecting the MIDI, I thought about the CT15 (to save money) and the CT36 (for greater capacity). My dealer kept guiding me to the MIDI (this was before the 36 got its current "I" version) and I've been very pleased with that recommendation and now recommend the MIDI for others starting out in Festool. It is an excellent vac for a variety of purposes, and paired with the CT-VA-20, I think it's excellent.

At one point, I also took a look at the systainer version of the Oneida. Honestly, I hate the way it looks. It's just ugly and doesn't have the utility of the CT-VA-20 (mainly the ability to stack systainers, which I have found very useful). Once you put the Oneida on, that's it. Nothing else. I guess you could put a classic systainer underneath it to hold stuff, but it would be so cumbersome to access that it's useless.

That said, I have been considering the ugly Oneida for my CT22 as a consignment shop has a used one for under $150.

Another aspect of the MIDI vs larger CTs is whether or not you see yourself getting the CT-ASA Boom Arm. FTUSA says that it only fits to the CT48 Handle but looking at the CT26/36 handle, I think it will adapt to that as well. They say it will not adapt readily to the CT MIDI handle. So that might push you in the direction of the larger CTS, if that's important to you.

I'm trying to think of other cons regarding the MIDI and perhaps one of them is the diminutive size. It's great because its compact, but when you have to adjust the suction or hit the pair button, or access the plug, it's closer to the ground than the 26/36/48, so you have to bend over a bit more (which is why I'm going to start shouting for Festool to upgrade the bluetooth remote to adjust the suction!).

As Michael noted, the suction between the MIDI and 26/36 are going to be relatively the same. Official stats are 130CFM for the MIDI and 138CFM for the 26/36 - but both share the same 96" Static Water Lift (24,000Pa) rating, so the difference there is negligible.

For your stated work, if you do opt for a separator, then I think either unit will suffice. For the most part, and I think that sanding finishes off cabinets is more akin to the dust collected from "regular" woodworking (as opposed to the dust generated from sanding drywall mud) and will be collected by a separator, making the capacity difference minor. In the ten months since I added the CT-VA-20, I have never changed the bag in the MIDI - and I use that for all operations related to Festool hand tools: sanding, track saw, planing, jigsaw, etc. Of course, I'm a hobbyist and not a daily working professional like the other guys here.

I suggest considering the CT MIDI I and the CT-VA-20. This will give you a great balance of capacity and convenience. That package would cost you $1196, while the CT 26 EI and Oneida would be $1200. And while those prices are not dramatic, I think the utility and convenience of the CT-VA-20 is vastly greater than the Oneida.

 

[luvmytoolz]

Another +1 for the Midi if you're going to lug it around!

It's a very capable and convenient dustie, and when my CT36 stopped working, I had one of my Midi's hooked up to the CNC machine with a Dust Deputy for the last year or so.

 

[Jim_in_PA]

The most recent extractor I bought is the CT Midi...as I've noted a number of times, I don't use it for "cleanup"; just with tools. And it fits where I want it to be under a large work surface near my main bench so it's usable for both without moving it. My older CT22 is now dedicated to the Kapex 120 across the room. And given that the stated application for a CT-whatever in this thread is for use with a separator, debris capacity for the CT doesn't matter very much.

 

[Vondawg]

I didn’t see onocoffee’s mention but there is much more suction on the Oneida vs the CT-VA-20 but for most operations it’s great and in form factor as well