Planex / AC36 Vac Question

rarieta

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Jul 10, 2015
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I'm crazy for keeping my tools in nice working order and appearance.  I have purchased the AC 36 cleantec vacuum last year with the TS55 saw.  I got the AC 36 with the thoughts that if I ever decided to use it for drywall sanding, I'd just get the Planex later.

Well I'm at that point where I ordered the Planex and am curious on how others clean their vacuum after using it with a planex.  The nature of drywall dust is terrible and the thought of using my nice AC 36 gets to me a bit.  I know that these tools are meant to be used and not looked at, but would like to keep it for a good number of years.

Any pointers on how to keep the vac clean and in good working order?

Thank you.
 
I vacuum the outside of my 36 Auto, but that's the extent of my cleaning effort. I don't worry about the Planex hose, and just lightly vacuum my Planex sander , esp. the vents on the motor .
 
The answer to this question depends on how much time you are willing to spend on cleaning. I bought a Planex with CT 36 AC and pretty much all accessories for my home remodeling project. It is not a tool which I use daily (in fact, I used it just 2 or 3 times and might need it only once more to complete the remodeling), so spending 30 mins to an hour on cleaning after work is done is not much of a burden. It would be different if I used it daily.

I was able to clean it almost perfectly, with signs of use barely visible. Here is what I do (assuming I do not plan to do another round of drywall sanding tomorrow or in the near future):

1) I seal and throw away the plastic liner with drywall dust.
2) I flip the upper part of the dust extractor (the one with the motor and turbine) upside down and vacuum it using a regular shop vacuum. The majority of drywall dust deposits around the filter, and dust on the surface of the filter get removed this way.
3) I remove the filter and wash it with the garden hose. Festool, I recall, states that it should not be washed, but I found that it is made of heavy duty cloth and water has no negative impact on it. Autoclean apparently does not work perfectly because during this cleaning step I always find and remove "sheets" of compressed dust from between the folds in the filter. I let the filter dry in the sun or in a dry area.
4) I wipe out the residues of the drywall powder from the CT 36 housing, inside and out, with a wet cloth. I also clean the wheels with a wet towel.
5) I wash the black vacuum hose with water inside and outside. I wash it inside just by running water through it and turning it slowly as I do it. Then I hang it on a hook on the wall to dry.
6) I wash blast gate and mount (that expensive black plastic accessory that installs on top of CT 36 to mount the Planex for easy pad installation and removal) with water hose. By the way, the mount disappointed me in the sense that Festool did not even use stainless steel screws on it. The screws which they used rust after the first exposure to water! I was surprised that Festool was so cheap on an accessory part with apparently huge profit margin.
7) I disassemble the Planex, vacuum the parts,  and wipe them off with a wet towel.
8 ) I remove the pad and wash it with water. It is plastic with velcro, no water damage is possible. When the pad is removed, one can also clean the passageways under the pad. I discard the dirty sanding pad because the box with 25 pads which I have would last me a lifetime anyways, with my usage of the tool.
9) I wipe off and vacuum the harness, but it is rarely needed. There is not so much dust coming on you when you use it to sand the ceiling.

After this is all done, it looks pretty much like it has never been used. Drywall dust generally sticks easily and is removed easily.

You might ask why do I need to clean the vacuum inside and throw away the liner even if it is not full. Again, it is a matter of personal preferences. Since I use the tool so rarely, I clean it, package the hose inside of the vacuum (just as it is shipped from the factory), put it in a factory carton, and put it away for storage.

Obviously, it is your choice how much cleaning you want to do, and that also depends on your pattern of useage. I like to keep my tools clean and well taken care of. I do not do work for profit and cleaning is a part of the "zen" of working on the project.
 
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