Mini or Midi, which Vac do you recommend for a companion to my 26?

[elfick]

I now find myself in a similar situation.
I have a CT26+UDD to which I'm thinking of adding a boom arm and diy work center.
Of course that would make it even more unwieldy than it already is... Definitely making it shop-bound.

So I'm considering adding a mini or midi to the collection before the US price increase on April 1st.

[member=24885]Benjamin[/member] which did you choose?

Anyone ever get the midi and wish they had gotten the mini? Vice versa?

 

[Benjamin]

Midi

Awesome machine

Super light , so much easier to carry then the 26

 

[rljatl]

Definitely get the midi over the mini.  The midi can use either mini or midi bags and is only slightly taller than the mini. 

 

[AlexThePalex]

Those 5 liters of extra storage are not important for me. When my Mini is full I simply change the bag. The smallest possible  package is what does it for me.

 

[NHSP759]

I've got two Midis. One stays next to my Kapex full time. The other one goes everywhere else. Light, great to use plus the tloc makes life easier with this lightweight.

 

[JCLP]

Midi

Awesome machine

Super light , so much easier to carry then the 26

Benjamin. Where di you get your midi from. I traded my in with the recall and now I miss it terribly.
JC

 

[Greg M]

I like reading the comments on FOG.  Most are very helpful, some are funny, and others don't seem to have a lot of thought behind them.

Midi and mini have slightly less suction then their big brothers.

Weight difference between mini and midi is only .4lbs.  That's hardly noticeable!  It certainly isn't worth the trade-off in capacity.  The midi has 50% more capacity.  I also can't see how 1.3gal of extra dust is going to make that much difference in the weight.  How often is your bag going to be at full capacity?  If it is then it would be a very good thing that you had a midi with you instead of a mini.

The other difference is 2" in height.

I was carrying a CT48 and switched to a midi for site work.  I dislike the hose attachment location (suction port) and the lack of a place for the cord.  I might get a CT26 to replace the midi.  Trading off the 7lbs for better hose and cord storage as well as better placement of the hose attachment might just be worth the extra weight.  Plus it has about 5% more suction then the midi and mini along with much more capacity (in case I forgot to empty the bag).

Personally I can't see buying a mini when the midi pricing is so close.  I'd seriously consider getting another CT26 instead of the midi or mini.

 

[elfick]

Greg,
All the CTs have the same CFM now so I wouldn't consider that a factor.
Also, check out http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-how-to/ct-mini-cord/msg378622/ to see how to deal with the hose and cord on a mi(d/n)i.

All,
Thanks for the input. I'm going with the Midi as [member=18283]RLJ-Atl[/member] pointed out, I can use the mini bags if I'm concerned about the weight.
Also, the midi will probably do double duty as my Kapex extractor when it isn't out and about with me so the extra volume would probably be helpful there.

Thanks All!

 

[Doug S]

If you are used to dragging round a ct26 a midi will feel like a mini anyway!

 

[Greg M]

Greg,
All the CTs have the same CFM now so I wouldn't consider that a factor.
Also, check out http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-how-to/ct-mini-cord/msg378622/ to see how to deal with the hose and cord on a mi(d/n)i.

Not a very good way to manage the cord.  I jam that hose in the caddy and then roll up the cord and place it on top of the hose.

According to Festool the mini and midi have 130 cfm and the others have 137 cfm.  That's a 5% difference.

 

[semenza]

It really comes down to whether the differences make a difference. In my case one reason I went with Mini because the extra 2" on the Midi make it too tall to fit under my pick up truck bed cover.

Seth

 

[Greg M]

It really comes down to whether the differences make a difference. In my case one reason I went with Mini because the extra 2" on the Midi make it too tall to fit under my pick up truck bed cover.

Seth

Now that makes a LOT of sense!  That would outweigh everything else.

 

[elfick]

According to Festool the mini and midi have 130 cfm and the others have 137 cfm.  That's a 5% difference.

According to http://www.festoolusa.com/power-tools/HEPA-dust-extractors/#tab-3 they are all the same. I did see that http://www.eparrphepavacuum.com/hepa-vacuums/models/overview/ has them listed as 130 cfm.
The manuals don't have CFM, but they do list max volume at the turbine, 222 m3/h for mini/midi and 234 m3/h for 26/36.
Want to comment [member=101]Shane Holland[/member] ?

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

According to http://www.festoolusa.com/power-tools/HEPA-dust-extractors/#tab-3 they are all the same. I did see that http://www.eparrphepavacuum.com/hepa-vacuums/models/overview/ has them listed as 130 cfm.
The manuals don't have CFM, but they do list max volume at the turbine, 222 m3/h for mini/midi and 234 m3/h for 26/36.
Want to comment [member=101]Shane Holland[/member] ?

It looks like I need to correct the festoolusa.com website. The correct spec for the MINI/MIDI is 130 CFM.

Shane

 

[elfick]

Thanks for the clarification Shane!

 

[Laminator]

Just a thought to add on CFM.  In my experience, the mini will only match the CFM of the ct26 when the bag is new.  CFM on mine drops noticeably after some dust is collected and depending on the dust (sheetrock dust), the airflow will drop well below what the ct26 will maintain.  This is most obvious on the rare occasion that the mini is used to clean the floor.

 

[Greg M]

Just a thought to add on CFM.  In my experience, the mini will only match the CFM of the ct26 when the bag is new.  CFM on mine drops noticeably after some dust is collected and depending on the dust (sheetrock dust), the airflow will drop well below what the ct26 will maintain.  This is most obvious on the rare occasion that the mini is used to clean the floor.

First, the mini will never match the CFM of the CT26, new bag or not.  However, your comment does bring up a very good point.  The vacs with the larger bags will have much more surface area for air filtration.  This always adds up to better airflow and also means that a vac with a bigger bag will loose CFM at a much slower rate.  Not so much because of the bag filling up but because of the surface area of the bag becoming covered with fine dust.

Very good point.  Adds to the argument for as large a CT as you can handle.