Maximise your airflow

[Thistleman]

I have a 3000 cubic metre per hour cyclone, a ceiling mounted fine air filter and a CTL 26, why you may ask and the answer is very simple, wood dust, especially from some hard wood species as well as manmade boards is nasty stuff and inhaling it can lead to lifelong health problems.

I bought into Festool some years ago primarily on the back of the dust control that the majority of tools exhibited and immediately noticed a reduction in the visible dust produced, so far so good however I have recently noticed that the CTL does not appear to be quite as effective, this is purely a subjective view.

Now for the admission, my CTL is five years old and I have never changed the HEPA filter (No need is there, weekend and occasional evening use only, should last for ages, etc, etc)

So HEPA filter changed (if this post stirs you into action then wear some form of dust mask when doing this as the dust in the filter is incredibly fine and if yours is as neglected as mine was there will be lots of it), immediately noticed a change in the pitch of the electric motor and better suction, again subjective only no measurements.

I am sure that Festool recommends a filter change every so often but I certainly hadn't followed the instructions. I have no commercial connection to Festool other than purchasing their tools. So why the post/minor rant - the day job is in a surgical unit where we treat patients with cancer involving the facial sinuses and yes there is a proven connection between exposure to wood dust and cancer of the sinuses

 

[McNally Family]

[member=17006]Thistleman[/member]

This reminds me of the time my HVAC guy scolded me for using a premium filter on my return air.  The filter I was using was top of the line, and expensive, but at the time I was thinking the more capture the better.

He advised me to go back and start using the standard cheap filters again, because he said the premium filters were so restrictive on the airflow, it put an undue stress on the blower motor which ultimately causes them to fail prematurely.  By the way, my blower motor failure was the reason for his service call.....

So everyone who has not changed their HEPA filter in a while, should do so now.

 

[dltflt]

I switched back to the cheap filters years ago. I did not make the change for the stress on the blower motor but I felt that as long as I change the filter on a regular basis I will be fine.