Modifying CT

[darth2]

New to the group, recent Festool buyer/user.
Has anyone put some thought into how to update the power handling capacity of the CTs?  I know were talking about warranty issues but I would think that some relatively simple electrical engineering would be able to add a second outlet to the CTs or at least make the one outlet capable of delivering closer to the required current for a Kapex and the CT at the same time and avoid some of the motor burning issues that seem to be plaguing specifically the Kapex 120.
I personally like running a 10GA extension cord to a bigger block that I plug multiple tools into at once.  I've never had a tool burn out other than a Bosch hammer drill that was borrowed and run constantly on 100' 12-14GA cord.
Certainly, if I thought I'd have an issue running a Kapex off a CT I'd separate them on two circuits but now theres no auto tool switching function which, in my mind, largely obviates the point of the CT.
If you dedicated the CT to a 20A kitchen outlet or the panel directly with a fat cord I would think you wouldn't have any issues with current but is the line power wiring inside in need of an upgrade to not cause problems?  It's a $800 vacuum so I'd say if I have to buy some other components and switch them out to make it bulletproof I'll do that and take my chances with any other warranty issues.

 

[dallas8338]

Festool has publicly stated their CT Vacs are good for all Festool tools.  If that doesn't satisfy you, look at the various auto vac switches: http://www.rockler.com/i-socket-110m-tool-and-vacuum-switch

 

[peter halle]

Welcome to the FOG!

Unfortunately you probably won’t find anyone posting here about modifying a Festool CT in the manner you are describing due to forum guidelines.

The tools work with the extractors despite the labeling.

Many of use have a decade or more experience to back that up.

Peter

 

[Mario Turcot]

I bought a CT-26 ~5 months ago and after reading some comments about the CT unit capacity I had a long thought. after 17 coffee I decided to get an iVac Switch  pluged on two separate circuits. Voilà! I`m safe, but..

..fun fact, I made a custom boom arm that runs a 12awg extension cord. At the end of the cord, there is three outlets with a little led indicating power. One day I walked in the shop to discover that the CT was running by itself. It was connected to the Kapex but the machine was not running. For some reason the led and the Kapex were generating enough charge  for the CT controls to kick in. I had to unplug everything to stop the vac. This occurred only once but I keep an eye open on that one.

Mario

 

[Peter_C]

If you want a separate switch the one I linked below is the one to get, that can be plugged into two separate circuits. The unit linked above works off of one outlet which is most often a single circuit.
https://www.woodcraft.com/products/...MIjOa217DY2gIVFsZkCh1YygYHEAQYAiABEgL43fD_BwE

Otherwise you can follow Festool's guideline of, if they build it, you can run it on their dust extractor.

 

[darth2]

Guess I'm stuck making my own setup.  Everything else available seems to be a compromise and not really a solution to the problem of a clearly not well integrated system.

 

[darth2]

And you can have them fix it for a price when it goes bad for the same reason.

 

[Naildrivingman]

The iVac switch is probably the most popular, but somewhere I read that even though it is advertised as a dual 15A device, it technically is not.  It has something to do with the solid state design of the internals.  I had an electrician friend of mine build me a true dual 20A rated switch and he used an 8”x8”x4” box to nearly full capacity. A coworker of mine has burned out two of the iVac switches in three years. He uses his with the Kapex and DeWalt table saw. I’m not dissing the iVac, but I do think it is limited to lesser amperage devices despite manufacturers claims.

 

[Peter_C]

The iVac switch is probably the most popular, but somewhere I read that even though it is advertised as a dual 15A device, it technically is not.  It has something to do with the solid state design of the internals.  I had an electrician friend of mine build me a true dual 20A rated switch and he used an 8”x8”x4” box to nearly full capacity. A coworker of mine has burned out two of the iVac switches in three years. He uses his with the Kapex and DeWalt table saw. I’m not dissing the iVac, but I do think it is limited to lesser amperage devices despite manufacturers claims.

Did it actually burn up, or did it fail in a way that is repairable? My Ivac switch had the in feed wire fail. I replaced it with a longer wire. Easily diagnosed with a DVOM.

 

[Naildrivingman]

The iVac switch is probably the most popular, but somewhere I read that even though it is advertised as a dual 15A device, it technically is not.  It has something to do with the solid state design of the internals.  I had an electrician friend of mine build me a true dual 20A rated switch and he used an 8”x8”x4” box to nearly full capacity. A coworker of mine has burned out two of the iVac switches in three years. He uses his with the Kapex and DeWalt table saw. I’m not dissing the iVac, but I do think it is limited to lesser amperage devices despite manufacturers claims.

Did it actually burn up, or did it fail in a way that is repairable? My Ivac switch had the in feed wire fail. I replaced it with a longer wire. Easily diagnosed with a DVOM.

I don’t know, but I will mention this to him.  When you reference the infeed wire, are you referring to the cord with the male plug end or something internal?

Regardless of what failed and how, my coworker is pretty darn careful with his equipment. I have to believe that two failed iVacs in three years points to a design flaw.

 

[Peter_C]

I won't argue about the fairly low quality of the Ivac. It is a very simple switching device. On mine the male cord failed, and I replaced it with a longer one, for which I wished the device came with a longer cord to began with.