MIDI vs MINI Dust Extractor Capacity and choosing between the two.

[Olive Press]

Im looking at getting my first Festool DE. As a hobbyist, I will mainly be using it for the Shaper, TS55, and sander and probably not that often.
I want to go as compact as possible and I’m hoping the MINI will suffice.
1. Has anyone else made the MINI vs MIDI purchase and is satisfied with the the MINI?
2. Why would someone choose a MINI vs a MIDI?
3. I understand the idea of “just get the larger one and it will be enough”, but I want to not just get something I won’t need in the long run, and I’d rather be as compact as possible.
(When I used to have a shop vac and dust deputy, I don’t recall filling up a 5 gallon bucket often, and I used to also have a Tablesaw connected.)
4. Is a 2 gallon capacity good enough for light hobby work?

Thanks in advance for anyone’s shared experience and advice.

 

[Cheese]

I prefer the MIDI as you're really not saving much real estate with the MINI. There's only a 2" difference in height and you're paying for MIDI size 12.5L bags while only being able to fill them to the MINI size of 7.5L. In real life this is the actual difference in size.

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[attachimg=3]

 

[krudawg]

I looked at both the Mini and the Midi, at the time, my budget dictated to stay away from the other CT's.  I purchased the MIDI.  I was satisfied with it when it came to extracting dust from my TS55 and the D500 Domino.  What I did not like about the Mini was there were darn few accessories like a cord wrap and a push handle.  It required me to bend over every time I moved the Midi and steering it around my small shop was a pain.  After 4 years of pushing it around my shop, I finally dug deep and ordered the CT-26 with the push handle.  Although the CT-26 works just as well as the Midi for dust extraction where it shined was it had a cord wrap and with the CT Push handle, maneuvering it around my shop was effortless.  My recommendation, buy the CT-26 with a push handle and forget about the Midi or Mini.

 

[morts10n]

There is an accessory handle for the midi!!

 

[NiteWalkerGR]

I’m looking at getting my first Festool DE. As a hobbyist, I will mainly be using it for the Shaper, TS55, and sander and probably not that often.
I want to go as compact as possible and I’m hoping the MINI will suffice.
1. Has anyone else made the MINI vs MIDI purchase and is satisfied with the the MINI?
2. Why would someone choose a MINI vs a MIDI?
3. I understand the idea of “just get the larger one and it will be enough”, but I want to not just get something I won’t need in the long run, and I’d rather be as compact as possible.
(When I used to have a shop vac and dust deputy, I don’t recall filling up a 5 gallon bucket often, and I used to also have a Tablesaw connected.)
4. Is a 2 gallon capacity good enough for light hobby work?

Thanks in advance for anyone’s shared experience and advice.

1. I very recently went through this same conundrum and decided on the MIDI for a few reasons:
- It's only larger in height (as Cheese showed in his post).
- It uses the same bag as the mini but has 50% more capacity.
- It's only $40 more than the mini.
2. I could only see someone going for a mini over a midi if they plan on using it with a separator. Otherwise, the midi is a better buy all around. But even then, I'd still go for the midi because you still get to use the full capacity of the bag. Granted, it'll probably take a year or more to fill with using a separator, but you'd still get the full capacity. Another use case for the mini is it being as light as possible for mobility, but the midi is not even 1lb heavier.
3. Again, the midi is only 2" taller than the mini. Pretty much negligible.
4. I would not settle on a 2 gallon vac for the uses you outlined. It will fill quickly, and every time you change the back, you'll kick yourself for not getting the midi after seeing the bag only a bit more than half full.

I looked at both the Mini and the Midi, at the time, my budget dictated to stay away from the other CT's.  I purchased the MIDI.  I was satisfied with it when it came to extracting dust from my TS55 and the D500 Domino.  What I did not like about the Mini was there were darn few accessories like a cord wrap and a push handle.  It required me to bend over every time I moved the Midi and steering it around my small shop was a pain.  After 4 years of pushing it around my shop, I finally dug deep and ordered the CT-26 with the push handle.  Although the CT-26 works just as well as the Midi for dust extraction where it shined was it had a cord wrap and with the CT Push handle, maneuvering it around my shop was effortless.  My recommendation, buy the CT-26 with a push handle and forget about the Midi or Mini.

The midi has a push handle, 204310, and a cord wrap is included. The 26 is over $100 more than the midi. Also, if the bluetooth remote is desired, it's another $82 since it doesn't have the bt module built in to the vac like the midi/mini do. To add bluetooth to the midi, it's a $42 for just the remote.

 

[AlexThePalex]

2. Why would someone choose a MINI vs a MIDI?

I don't know. I have one of both, I see no difference whatsoever in convenience. Both work fine for me. Only thing that irritates me slightly about the Midi is that it is quite a bit more prone to tipping over when I pull it by the hose than the Mini.

If given the choice I would only buy the Mini again, but if the Midi came by at the right price when I really needed it, I would still buy it.

 

[krudawg]

I’m looking at getting my first Festool DE. As a hobbyist, I will mainly be using it for the Shaper, TS55, and sander and probably not that often.
I want to go as compact as possible and I’m hoping the MINI will suffice.
1. Has anyone else made the MINI vs MIDI purchase and is satisfied with the the MINI?
2. Why would someone choose a MINI vs a MIDI?
3. I understand the idea of “just get the larger one and it will be enough”, but I want to not just get something I won’t need in the long run, and I’d rather be as compact as possible.
(When I used to have a shop vac and dust deputy, I don’t recall filling up a 5 gallon bucket often, and I used to also have a Tablesaw connected.)
4. Is a 2 gallon capacity good enough for light hobby work?

Thanks in advance for anyone’s shared experience and advice.

1. I very recently went through this same conundrum and decided on the MIDI for a few reasons:
- It's only larger in height (as Cheese showed in his post).
- It uses the same bag as the mini but has 50% more capacity.
- It's only $40 more than the mini.
2. I could only see someone going for a mini over a midi if they plan on using it with a separator. Otherwise, the midi is a better buy all around. But even then, I'd still go for the midi because you still get to use the full capacity of the bag. Granted, it'll probably take a year or more to fill with using a separator, but you'd still get the full capacity. Another use case for the mini is it being as light as possible for mobility, but the midi is not even 1lb heavier.
3. Again, the midi is only 2" taller than the mini. Pretty much negligible.
4. I would not settle on a 2 gallon vac for the uses you outlined. It will fill quickly, and every time you change the back, you'll kick yourself for not getting the midi after seeing the bag only a bit more than half full.

I looked at both the Mini and the Midi, at the time, my budget dictated to stay away from the other CT's.  I purchased the MIDI.  I was satisfied with it when it came to extracting dust from my TS55 and the D500 Domino.  What I did not like about the Mini was there were darn few accessories like a cord wrap and a push handle.  It required me to bend over every time I moved the Midi and steering it around my small shop was a pain.  After 4 years of pushing it around my shop, I finally dug deep and ordered the CT-26 with the push handle.  Although the CT-26 works just as well as the Midi for dust extraction where it shined was it had a cord wrap and with the CT Push handle, maneuvering it around my shop was effortless.  My recommendation, buy the CT-26 with a push handle and forget about the Midi or Mini.

The midi has a push handle, 204310, and a cord wrap is included. The 26 is over $100 more than the midi. Also, if the bluetooth remote is desired, it's another $82 since it doesn't have the bt module built in to the vac like the midi/mini do. To add bluetooth to the midi, it's a $42 for just the remote.

When I bought mine a while back there was no cord wrap or accessory handle, maybe the newer midi does

 

[NiteWalkerGR]

When I bought mine a while back there was no cord wrap or accessory handle, maybe the newer midi does

I'm pretty sure the midis from 2019 onwards have the cord wraps.

 

[mrboult]

When I bought mine a while back there was no cord wrap or accessory handle, maybe the newer midi does

I'm pretty sure the midis from 2019 onwards have the cord wraps.

Correct, cord wrap comes with it, handle is an extra purchase.

I have the mini, simply because where I store it requires the height. I had assumed the MIDI would be the obvious suggestion, but Alex saying it topples over easier. . Is Alex talking about the current generation or the last I wonder.

 

[cpw]

When I bought mine a while back there was no cord wrap or accessory handle, maybe the newer midi does

I'm pretty sure the midis from 2019 onwards have the cord wraps.

The earlier MIDIs don't come with the cord wrap, but have the holes for it.  I bought a new style wrap for my CT26 that has the folding horn (I've never actually used the folding feature).  The old one from the CT26 will fit well on the MIDI if you spend a bit of time with a sander to flatten it out.  It's much nicer than trying to jam the cord and the hose into the garage.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Might be a dumb question, because I have never seen both together in person, but will the Mini and Midi tops interchange on the lower tubs? The specs all seem to be the same, except for bag capacity? In the previous pictures, they look the same, other than the height of the tub.
I can definitely see the point of the Mini if you have a particular space requirement and if you are just using it with a TS, SO and occasional sander, it won't fill that fast. Those things make smaller chips/dust.
The cord wrap and accessory handle are rather subjective. Mine (CT26) is in a static position, in a cubbie hole. The handle would not work for me and the cord is always wrapped up.
In my situation, the Bluetooth remote is the most valuable accessory. If I had it to do over, I would probably get a Midi, purely because of cost though. The Bluetooth module is an extra with  the CT26 and those newer Mini and Midi were not available at the time, I got it. The CT26 is great and I'm certainly not disappointed by it, but either of the smaller units would do the same job for small chip tools. TS, DF, RO, MFK, etc

 

[FestitaMakool]

Just saw this.. and had the Midi/Mini tub at hand..:

Optional handle on Midi Tub:
[attachimg=1]

Side view:
[attachimg=2]

Mini Tub in foreground:
[attachimg=3]

Motor head shifted over from Midi Tub with attached handle to Mini Tub.
Note: Cord wrap holder not mounted directly on motor head - it’s the same that comes with the optional handle.
[attachimg=4]

Top view of optional handle:
[attachimg=5]

I bought a second tub, to easily shift the vac to its most compact size for those occasions I need to bring it in a car’s boot.

 

[Michael Kellough]

Might be a dumb question, because I have never seen both together in person, but will the Mini and Midi tops interchange on the lower tubs? The specs all seem to be the same, except for bag capacity? In the previous pictures, they look the same, other than the height of the tub.
I can definitely see the point of the Mini if you have a particular space requirement and if you are just using it with a TS, SO and occasional sander, it won't fill that fast. Those things make smaller chips/dust.
The cord wrap and accessory handle are rather subjective. Mine (CT26) is in a static position, in a cubbie hole. The handle would not work for me and the cord is always wrapped up.
In my situation, the Bluetooth remote is the most valuable accessory. If I had it to do over, I would probably get a Midi, purely because of cost though. The Bluetooth module is an extra with  the CT26 and those newer Mini and Midi were not available at the time, I got it. The CT26 is great and I'm certainly not disappointed by it, but either of the smaller units would do the same job for small chip tools. TS, DF, RO, MFK, etc

Not familiar with the current generation but the the first gen Mini/Midi could swap tubs.
Unfortunately it's not just a tub involved, the "tub" includes wheels and casters so you're buying more stuff than is strictly needed.

Maybe and adapter could be made to employ the unused tub to carry Systainers. From the photos above it looks feasible.

 

[AlexThePalex]

I had assumed the MIDI would be the obvious suggestion, but Alex saying it topples over easier. . Is Alex talking about the current generation or the last I wonder.

Older generation, a Mini from 2014 and a Midi from 2018. But I guess the height difference and center of gravity is about the same with the newer generation.

 

[mino]

The thing I miss is the CT15-style (or better CT26 HD- style) "top" for the Mini to cut the height even more.

Then one can have a "mini" with only 390mm in total height. Sure, one loses the garage but for when transport is critical or I want to put it under something, the compactness would still make sense.

As for whem Mini makes sense it is IMO only when one is going around sites *) and more capacity means not just space but also weight - you do not want to lug around those additional pounds of dust in the bag.

ADD:

- It uses the same bag as the mini but has 50% more capacity.

Actually it is even more pronounced at 2/3 more usable capacity for a Midi:

The usable bag capacity for a Mini is 7 liters (10l total).
The usable bag capacity for the Midi is 12.5 liters (15l total).

*) Outside US that often means going up stairs even for several floors in older houses or in 50's style multi-flat blocks without elevators.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

The thing I miss is the CT15-style (or better CT26 HD- style) "top" for the Mini to cut the height even more.

Then one can have a "mini" with only 390mm in total height. Sure, one loses the garage but for when transport is critical or I want to put it under something, the compactness would still make sense.

As for whem Mini makes sense it is IMO only when one is going around sites *) and more capacity means not just space but also weight - you do not want to lug around those additional pounds of dust in the bag.

ADD:

- It uses the same bag as the mini but has 50% more capacity.

Actually it is even more pronounced at 2/3 more usable capacity for a Midi:

The usable bag capacity for a Mini is 7 liters (10l total).
The usable bag capacity for the Midi is 12.5 liters (15l total).

*) Outside US that often means going up stairs even for several floors in older houses or in 50's style multi-flat blocks without elevators.

That is absolutely correct. If you have to move your CT to/from jobsites, rather than just rolling it around the shop, the weight of the full bag can make a huge difference. On big jobs, like drywallers, you are pretty much stuck with the bigger ones, but hopefully not having to move it as often as the smaller single-day or even a punch-list guy.