Daviddubya said:
If you plug the 2200 router into your Festool dust extractor, what size circuit will you need to run the pair? It seems they will draw more than 20 amps at 110 volts. Hmmm.
Hi,
I just joined your group & have benefited greatly from following some of your discussions. I have been on this Festool bandwagon for over a year now & have been quite impressed with all that I've acquired. I started with the CT33 w/ air setup & the air powered disc sander. This was very attractive to me, as I could see the benefits of dustless sanding, yet prefer the pneumatic power. Next I couldn't resist the Domino, TS55, Industrial Shop cleaning kit, (yes, I now vacuum my shop floor) L32 line boring setup & of course the OF1400 for the L32, all in that order ( I really must stop buying now

I first I thought whoa, as they are quite expensive (don't add it all up for me O.K

I quickly realized the potential of all my new tools though. I have been a professional cabinetmaker now for over 25 years, & have used all types of disappointing tools ( see Black & Decker/Dewalt................

, LOL) Festool tools really perform & have increased my production. I have a one man shop now & now have large machine capabilities for my small production runs. There are definitely some gotcha moments though, with these new tools :-\
As for my current project, here's some background first. I'm currently doing a project for a local G.C. whose doing renovations at the VA Medical Center, here in Washington DC, which involves the restoration of the corridor railings. The railings are of 2" x 6" white oak & have been in place since the 1980's. Running as they do through the corridors, there are long & short assemblies & 3" return ends to the wall all around. Now my task is to take the railings, in groups of 70 - 100' at a time, & run a 3/4"d x 7/8"w dadoe along the length in the back face to upgrade to ADA, by providing a finger groove. The rails are then being refinished & returned to be rehung. As there is approximately 3,000 lineal feet to accomplish, I'll be doing this work in consecutive batches throughout the fall of this year.
I realized I would need to rout these at the bench due to the fact that they had assembled ends. A table saw or shaper would not do. So I tooled up a little further adding a boom arm to the CT33 I have & purchasing an OF 2000 with an edge guide. I searched hard for the OF 2000 E Plus since I needed the edge guide for this operation & wanted the case. I got lucky there and found a dealer with old stock on the slower selling OF beast, er, 2000.
All is working as planned. The router has the power & the plunging ability I needed. In three passes, I'm done. Really needed the boom arm though as I travel 14' along some of the railings.

The shop vac. or Dust Collector as I shoulld call it is once again impressing me. This is alot of waste flowing out of these cuts, & love using the broom less, or a shovel

.
Now for the gotcha moments

.
You're right about the combined amperage. With the OF 2000 I have been running an extension cord from a an outlet on a seperate circuit. I have no complaint there. I pulled the plug from the CT33 the first time the circuit blew during my cut (I hate that!). I've pluggged the CT33 into the 110v remote control from my older bag type Delta dust collector. Now I can just hit the remote button in my pocket before starting the router It's worked perfect, no blown fuses. I chuckled when it happened. & thought ....Duh

.
Next I realized that pulling all that really hot waste from the router in to the CT33 was probably not safe. I realized, like all of you, that the collector really packs the material in the bag. I have an 8 gallon capacity, yet it packs in there really hard. I worrried about combustion :-[.
I know there is the option here of the re-usable bag & a spark arrestor, but they are too expensive. I will not pay $180 for a bag that will probably be torn by some thing I vac up

. & the arrestor looks, I don't know....... I think $180.00 buys alot of the paper bags.
So, I'm going to be picking up the Clear Vue Cyclone & attach it to a metal can. This will prevent fires, & allow me to empty out the saw dust & shavings into & trash bag, while hardly using any CT33 bags. I'll let you know how that goes.
The last gotcha is the OF2200 While the OF 2000 has solved my production decision for power, I am annoyed by some things. The cord & the vacuum connection are the main things. The cord, obviously, I like detaching it as soon as I finish anything with a power tool. I hate to see an expensive tool hit the floor, by way of a snagged cord.
The vacuum connection impedes my travel & must be removed to finish my rout to the inside face of the return ends. If I am not careful it "pops" off in use & hits the cutter....Doh!. Yes, I had to replace that, :-\. Actually, I'll buy a few to keep in the drawer & be very aware of that from now on. Having it on top of the router is the greatest idea & mine won't ever have that.

Anyway, all is well, I'm still enjoying how easy this router & boom have made this work for me, yet if any one wants to swap an OF 2200 for my OF 2000 I'd be greatly obliged, & amazed

Gotta go make dust now.