How good is Festool Dust Collection

[Willy Eckerslike]

The most effective dust/chip collection I've seen lately for Forstner bit and other drilling work is someone using a roll of 50mm (2") masking tape around the hole with the hose end hanging in that.

It must be worth a try to expand on that idea with with a hole in the side to take the hose end - banjo coupling style.

Next time I'm in the workshop.......

 

[mino]

I can't find a definitive word on when a CT HEPA filter should be replaced, at least not in any Festool documentation. Floating around the web are suggestions of replacing the filter every 6 months or every year:

6 months (see reply #7) -https://www.festoolownersgroup.com/ask-festool/ct26-hepa-filter-how-to-know-when-to-replace/

Annually -https://www.ultimatetools.ca/products/festool-hepa-main-filter-element-ptfe-for-ct-26-36-48-205412

I am pretty sure the 6 months part comes from the RRP aspect of the advice and is more a "just-in-case" thing coming from regulation than an actual limitation of the product.

I cannot see any way how, e.g., a high-performance PET filter, or even the paper ones provided in Europe, would degrade over time. And definitely not as fast as a one year interval would indicate.

On the other hand, it is enough to wet it once, or to "clean" it using compressed air once and the filter becomes useless right away. So "once a year" is probably a good "simple" rule to not use a bad filter for too long .. if one is not watching its state.

Overall I would say it is probably good to replace even a good one after, say, 5 years just in case. Or when it gets dirty for whatever reason. But this also involves not storing a spare one for 5 years ... the plastic does degrade over time, even if not within a year or two.

That said, if one uses it only for wood, the main filter really is the bag. So a "failing" main filter is really a concern only for those who save on non-original bags or use the vac bagless for whatever reason.

The way I do it is a main PET HP filter is first used for bag use, when I need a filter for bagless /AC vac/ I will take the one from bag use and put a new one for bag usage. Since I destroy a filter with AutoClean about once in two years or so, that is how often the "bag use" also gets a new filter.

 

[ChuckM]

The most effective dust/chip collection I've seen lately for Forstner bit and other drilling work is someone using a roll of 50mm (2") masking tape around the hole with the hose end hanging in that.

It must be worth a try to expand on that idea with with a hole in the side to take the hose end - banjo coupling style.

Next time I'm in the workshop.......

Please share some pictures if you do get a chance to try it out.

 

[ChuckM]

Snip.
Overall I would say it is probably good to replace even a good one after, say, 5 years just in case. Or when it gets dirty for whatever reason. But this also involves not storing a spare one for 5 years ... the plastic does degrade over time, even if not within a year or two.Snip.

Are you saying that the Festool retailers wouldn't sell filters that are 5 years past their manufacture date?

 

[Cheese]

Well interestingly enough, I purchased a CT 22 back in 2008 and use it as the main vac for the shop. I've burned through a ton of Festool vac bags but whenever I check the HEPA filter, it looks like new.

4-5 years ago Woodcraft had HEPA filters for the CT 22 at 40% off so I purchased one. Just last year I checked the CT 22 again and the HEPA still looks fine. So on some level, I feel like I should just change the HEPA filter but I can't bring myself to do that when it looks like new.  [tongue]

I should add, I switched over from the original Festool paper bags to the Festool fleece bags immediately when they were first offered for the CT 22, maybe that has contributed to the longevity of the HEPA filter.  [scratch chin]

 

[mino]

Are you saying that the Festool retailers wouldn't sell filters that are 5 years past their manufacture date?

No, but 10 yrs old PET ones ... probably not ... should not at least. The paper (aka celulose) ones common in Europe may be fine for decades though.

If the filter stays in the relative heat of a retailer shop for 2-3 years, then 5ys assumed in the vac, that is already aproaching 10 yrs. If one stored it 5 yrs on top of that in a shop ... it starts to add up so we are at 20yrs not even realising it.

My point is that buying, say, 10 yrs in advance is not a good strategy for the main filter. I would rather swap it after 5 yrs, even if not obviously damaged.

One needs to be also conscious of the foam insulating the filter ... I believe it is similar stuff as on the sander pads which degrades not in a year, but in a decade for sure. I have a filter here from a used vac that is from 2011 (the vac) and the main filter is certainly newer. Yet the foam is already clearly degraded, even if it is still holding up kinda ok, I would not want to put it in a vac for next 5 yrs. not without periodicaly checking it out.

The "issue" with PET filter is the fibres inside the filter are very small, so they will lose function way way sooner than a PET bottle will or that it is visible. Would love to see an official Festool test report on this from a lab ... can dream.
[smile]

ADD:
Anyway, the discussion was whether to replace the main filter after a year of use *irrespective* of its state. My position is that such is an extremely safety-focused position that is just not justified.

All I say is that IF I were doing a general rule - say in a commercial shop - I would first focus on
a) ensuring no idiot will compressed-air or water clean the main PET filters
b) ensuring the folks are told to check the main filter in case of any suspicion and at least once a year during regular big maintenance
c) get a policy that - should all seem fine - the main filters should be swapped each 5 years (for vacs operated with bags)

Now, does it mean I believe every filter should be replaced after 5 years? No!
But if there was any time-policy to make, like for a commercial setting, I would lean on 5 years instead of the Festool-recommended 1 year which seem overly aggressive. That closely relates to how long to store a filter after purchase ... as if it is expected to be 5yrs in the vac, the notion of having (multiple) spares quickly becomes tricky vis-a-vis the total age of these.

 

[ChuckM]

I have yet to find a solution on the drill press that captures the dust and chips to my satisfaction. I bought the Drillnado but never use it, because it isn't compatible with my drill press for installation.


I'll revisit the drill press and the drillnado to see if I could find a way to make it work.

After a bit of time at the drill press table, I finally found a way of installing the drillnado in the drill press:
[attachimg=1]

I still need to plug a hole or two before I can do a user test on the setup, but I'm glad that I could put the kit to use, first bought at a US woodworking show from the owner/inventor probably at least a decade ago. This setup is for the forstner bits; I have another setup which has proved working well for the regular bits.

Edit: Test done with great result:

[attachimg=2]
[attachimg=3]

 

[Packard]

My economy random orbital sander (Ridgid) has a remarkably effective dust collection system regardless if I hook the hose up to the central D.C. system, or if I use the dinky canvas bag that comes with it. 

However, I mask up when I am sanding MDF.  It is the only material that annoys me (and sometimes makes me cough).  Before I hooked up the D.C. system to my scroll saw, cutting MDF was an issue. 

I also mask up when cutting MDF on the chop saw, table saw (attached to the D.C. system) and radial arm saw. 

So the final line of defense is a mask.  I view dust collection as a way to keep the shop clean, not as a way to keep me safe.

 

[ChuckM]

Snip.
I also mask up when cutting MDF on the chop saw, table saw (attached to the D.C. system) and radial arm saw. 

So the final line of defense is a mask.  I view dust collection as a way to keep the shop clean, not as a way to keep me safe.

The MDF dust is indeed nasty. And this is where the SawStop dust collection guard really really shines. Unless it's an edge cut, the SS overarm dust collection guard (hooked up to a separate shop vac in my case, and not to the dust collector via the main chute for the under-the-table dust collection) leaves no dust particle whatsoever on the saw table top.

In most days, I don't wear a mask as I used to in the majority of ripping operations, thanks to the SawStop dust collection effectiveness. My digital air quality monitor has not detected any air quality issues so far.

 

[Mini Me]

I don't need one.

Thanks, I assumed as much and very much respect (envy?) the proper shop setup you got.

Unfortunately most people are not in such a good position with space/resources.

Only thing I ask is to please not tell others that the Festool CT dust extractors or vacuums, whatever, do not extract the microparticles from the contaminated air. They do. It is their raison d'être.

... but the small particle dust hazard is another issue altogether.

[/quote]

The problem is the posts I see here give the impression that the vacuums collect all the micro dust and that simply is not the case. 

 

[mino]

The problem is the posts I see here give the impression that the vacuums collect all the micro dust and that simply is not the case.

But the Festool CT "vacs" *do* collect most of it - as in as much that the air spewn out is generally cleaner than the air otherwise present in an everage shop. That is the crux of the matter.

Of course they do not collect "everything". But when one collects resident micro-dust from shop air, and "replaces" only some of it with "new" microdust from the sander, the practical effect is more than 100% efficiency => the vac end up effectively cleaning the air in the shop.

Now, there are many other dust sources in a shop. Also not all tool dust is captured either. So that does not make for a fully dust-free shop still. But it means the Festool CTs - if used properly - have a positive effect on the shop air quality in most cases as the air they spew out is cleaner than the  outside air entering the shop (as is the case with external DC, extracting the air to the outside).

One still wants an air cleaner running overnight to clear the microdust. Absolutely. But a CT left running overnight is effectively an air cleaner .. just a very inefficient one.

 

[ChuckM]

If we get too paranoid about dust, there is no safe place under the sky -- whether woodworking is pursued or not!

 

[squall_line]

If we get too paranoid about dust, there is no safe place under the sky -- whether woodworking is pursued or not!

Depends on the dust, eh?

Australia recently announced a ban on engineered stone due to silicosis cases.  Not that wood and silica dust are the same, just like neither is the same as asbestos nor fiberglass, but there's good reason to be concerned at least about some types of dust.