Introduction & Question (Cleantec)

[dankae]

Hi All,

I am new to the group and also kind of to Festool! Bought this in my first iteration and will buy many more of course…

At the moment, I am helping my girlfriend build a house. We are doing insulation, some woodwork, the drywalls (and many other things) ourselves. Which also maybe explains the tools I bought.

Currently, drywall is going on It is double planked. First layer is Fermacell (gypsum fyber), second is Rigips (plasterboard).

Fermacell cannot really be cut and broken. We are using a circular saw for long cuts and a jigsaw for forms and cutouts… The saws are 40 years old and until now worked „okayish“. But I need to speed up a little bit.

I figured I will get the TSC55 (with a gypsum fyber blade).

But more important and coming to my question: Cutting fermacell is very dusty… I want it to be as little dust as possible (which is a reason for switching out the old saw)… I want to get a vac too…

Now I am figuring which one to get… Fermacell/Plaster is categorised as mineral substances which is why the Festool advisor recommends CT with AC…

Probably I will not really cut such substances again in the near future (or at all). But might use all my tools I bought for setting up a home diy workshop So I am thinking of getting a Vac that can be used for wood / metal and basic cleaning too.

Long story short:

1) Any recommendations on the Vac?
2) Is it problematic to use the TSC for this (due to lot of dust?)

thanks festool family

 

[Coen]

Looks more like a renovation then a new build, but I'll bite  [tongue]

1) The AC used bagless is nice if you (only) get the fine dust that would plug regular bags. The normal bagged CTL's will function too, but they will loose suction power long before the bag is full

2) No. But keep stuff clean. Fermacell dust is abrasive.

 

[dankae]

Looks more like a renovation then a new build, but I'll bite  [tongue]

1) The AC used bagless is nice if you (only) get the fine dust that would plug regular bags. The normal bagged CTL's will function too, but they will loose suction power long before the bag is full

2) No. But keep stuff clean. Fermacell dust is abrasive.

It is a new build Prefabricated house with timber frame construction (which is why it might look like this )

1) Thanks! So if I use a bag (CT without AC ) - I would simply need to manually clean the filter more often?

2) Keep stuff clean means to clean the parts I see? Or use compressed air? I always „blow“ the dust away from all my tools after end of day…

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Frank-Jan]

Hi, AC is used when creating fine, heavy dust, like cutting the fermacell, grinding or cutting concrete or masonry, sanding drywall.

I have an autoclean vac, that I use for woodworking aswell, the filter when using bags is a different one from the one used with AC, when I change to non-AC work, I clean out the interior of the vac carefully, and replace the filter with the other one, when you are using bags, there is no need to clean that filter.

I have multiple dustextractors, and I don't change the functionality often. (only when I need multiple of the same kind for workflow or have to use them at different locations at the same time, as in, leave one at jobsite, use the other in workshop)

 

[dankae]

Hi, AC is used when creating fine, heavy dust, like cutting the fermacell, grinding or cutting concrete or masonry, sanding drywall.

I have an autoclean vac, that I use for woodworking aswell, the filter when using bags is a different one from the one used with AC, when I change to non-AC work, I clean out the interior of the vac carefully, and replace the filter with the other one, when you are using bags, there is no need to clean that filter.

I have multiple dustextractors, and I don't change the functionality often. (only when I need multiple of the same kind for workflow or have to use them at different locations at the same time, as in, leave one at jobsite, use the other in workshop)

HI Frank-Jan - thanks for the explanation. Do I need to change filter or switch to bags in any way? As I understood correctly - If you use AC then you do not use bags, right? If you do not use AC you have to use bags and a different filter.

Can I use AC without bags also for woodwork?

Best and thanks

 

[Frank-Jan]

Hi, the AC dustextractors come with a different, more heavy duty filter than the regular dustextractors.

For AC use, you don't need to use bags, but you can use the plastic bags with the open top. I've met people that use their AC vacs bagless for woodworking, but personally I don't do that.

With the older CT vacs with the paper bags, it could happen that the paper bags got punctured by the rubber sticks that were used for the waterlevel sensors on those machines. If that happened the filter would turn into a brick with all the folds filled solid with sawdust.
With the fleece bags of the newer vacs this isn't an issue anymore.

I use the regular type filter with the bags, because that one stays clean, and I don't fully clean the filter for AC use (because I think it might damage it, I just run the AC before cleaning the underside of the top part of the vac, and carefully shake it some more after removal and I put it in a box)

In my experience the filtercleaning doesn't work efficiently for sawdust, planingcurls and regular dirt, and if you use the ac vac for that, it will also not clear the filter of the other dust, because it cakes in between the pleads of the filter.

 

[woodferret]

FWIW, I've brick-bagged a CT MIDI (not AC) with drywall/gypsum before and the unit is still fine.  This is for house reno so very low rate of usage with lots of time in between. 

If you move at the fast rate of a construction site, then definitely the AC.  But if you're slow and the CT can cool down/rest between uses then the normal ones are fine.  When off, the bags naturally deflate and decake which does the same job of the AC.  The newer CTs have the manual cake duster anyways which you can use to avoid having to pop the can to make sure it's deflated.

 

[Coen]

But if you're slow and the CT can cool down/rest between uses then the normal ones are fine.  [...]

You can run the CT with blocked hose and it won't overheat. It has it's own separate air cooling circuit. Except the Systainer-based CT's.

 

[mino]

...
For AC use, you don't need to use bags, but you can use the plastic bags with the open top. I've met people that use their AC vacs bagless for woodworking, but personally I don't do that.
...

Actually, one should NOT use AC with bags at all. Not with Festool SelfClean anyway.

The violent shakes the AC does will destroy the bags in no time and they then become useless - they will leak so the main filter gets dirty and need to be replaced often. Unlike with normal use when the SelfClean bags capture almost everything and the main filter is more of an insurance policy.

@OP
As mentined you want the CT 36 AC plus a second main filter. Use one filter when working bagless (with AutoClean) and the other filter with bags. Never use the AC feature when bag is in the vac. I learned to put a painters tape over the main knob for this even to not trigger it accidentally.
When switching gtom bagless to bag use, clean out the vag insides thoroughly. It is a bit of a chore, but is absolutely necessary.
You can avoid the need to clean by ordering a second "tub" from Festool as a spare part for $150 or so like I did. That gives one a bit of a "middle" point between having a single vac nad needing to do the cleaning and having two vacs.
The tub you get can be CT26 one (a bit cheaper) and later on add a cyclone to it ... or you you can get a CT48 spare tub which works great with AutoClean (better than a CT36 one) and instead use the original CT36 tub for bagged use. The CT 26/36/48 series are a bit of a mix-and-match on this.

Also, get both main filters AC-rated so that when the one used bagless gets to be replaced, you can put there the one used with bags up to that point. That way you get the best bang for the buck. An allways-fresh main filter for bag use and a bit of a saving on the bagless use one. One rule to follow here though - NEVER attempt to "clean" the main filter with compressed air or presurised water. It would "punch" micro-holes in it and thus destroy its filtration ability. The AutoClean feature will clean the main filter sufficiently. No additional "cleaning" is needed when the bagless mode is use as it should - with small heavy dust like plaster.