Reconditioned CT 22 vs CT 26

[dvbarrera]

All

I'm new to the FOG and thought I'd take a quick survey to get everyone's opinion.  On the reconditioned site there is are CT 22 available for ~$360.  On ebay the going rate for a new CT 26 is $495?  Asking everyone's opinion, as budget it tight, is the CT 26 worth the $135 more....

Thanks

Dave

 

[barnowl]

I have one of each.

IMO, the CT-26 is far superior to the CT-22, in that the 22 has a hard paper bag that doesn't self clean by collapsing when it's turned off,

and release the fines (powdery sawdust) caked onto the inside of the bag.

The 26 bag is a fibrous bag, and does collapse and self clean.

It's bag is also much larger.

I use the 26 now for most every tool, (including 3 sanders) because of it's superiority, and relgated the 22 to the Kapex only.

(few fines)

 

[mouppe]

The new bags have been in use with the CT22 for some time now so I would not include the bag difference when making your decision.

 

[semenza]

Hi Dave,

Welcome to the FOG!  [smile]

CT26 is a better vac no question. But the CT22 is a very good one. If the budget is really tight the 22 would certainly not be a bad choice.  The 22 bags do not collapse and self-clean but the newer version (Heavy Duty 456870) for the 22 (and 33)  have a "cloth like" reinforcement  outer layer that makes them much more durable than the older type (Standard 452970).  

Seth

 

[mouppe]

Sorry, I did not know the new cloth bags for the CT22 were not the same as the CT26 bags. Good to know.

 

[AlexThePalex]

I don't understand why people say the 26 is so much better. It isn't. The difference is only marginal. Both are nice vacs.

4 liters extra volume ...... is that worth so much? Not to me.
Cloth bags vs paper bags ...... there's some improvement, but don't exaggerate the difference.
A little extra suction power. Just 10%, again, a small improvement, but not much.

If my 22 wasn't at the end of it's life I would have still had it. Am I happy with the 26? Sure am. Was I happy with the 22? Sure was.

So if you want to save some money on a 22, you're not going to miss out on anything.

PS - I liked that you could use the 22 without hose garage. The 26 is a bit more cumbersome to carry up the stairs.

 

[Tinker]

I have both 33 & 22.  The 33 is just about permanent under my MFT/3.  The 22 I move around, including taking up very steep stairs from shop to main floor when doing a project there.  It was fine when i first got the 22, but I am thinking more and more that a Midi would be much better for the up-the-stairs projects.  I don't see a big jump in specs from the 22 to the 26 other than capacity and weight.  For me, the extra weight is the turnoff.  A few years ago, when i was only 38, the weight meant nothing to me.  Now I have been 39 longer than i wasn't, weight is a first consideration.
Tinker

 

[lino-man]

I use my ct22 mostly in my shop. This resulted in making a homemade dust deputy to save on bags. If you are planning on mostly using it in the shop then I say go with the ct22 (because you will probably end up with a dd). After a year and a half of taking it to job sites, I realized it was just too heavy and found a used ct mini. Best thing I ever did.

 

[festnoob]

Before my reconditioned purchase I owned both the 22 and the 26. I have the 22 set up with boom arm in the rear of the shop and I used the 26 to wheel around. Long ago I built a miter station which housed a ridged vac to connect to the kapex. I was going to purchase a midi for it but opted for the larger capacity of the 22 being it was at a great price with the 20% off.

My reconditioned 22 was, I'm 99% sure, never used and I love it.
As far as dust caking on filters, there is a lever on the back that you pull a few times and it cleans them up. I had the old style bags break inside of my boom-arm-hooked-up-one once and I didnt realize for several weeks. I cleaned it out and run it as if it never happened, which the cloth style bags of course.

If you want the hose storage keep in mind the hose storage for the 22 is $50 which would bring your total to 409, which is not bad. Either way, disappointed? NEGATIVE  [thumbs up]

 

[sancho57]

I was browsing TIC and found this article. Havent read it but I found it. Folks at TIC are pretty good and are all experienced pro's in their field.

http://www.thisiscarpentry.com/2011/04/22/festool-ct26-ct22-compared/

 

[peter halle]

One feature that the CT-22 has is the ability to exhaust air thru a hose.  I rarely use that feature but on Monday I was creating dust and had a containment area set up in a living room.  The CT-22 was inside and I had the exhaust ducted via the hose to the outside of the house.  I wasn't as worried about the dust collection but rather as creating a negative pressure situation to help ensure that dust didn't escape thru any holes in the plastic.

Peter