Sizing for Dust Extractor vs cost of new bags

[bohaiboy]

Just starting to look at a sander/DE combo.  The most popular is the CT26 at approx 6 gals.  The bags are $7 ea.  For the CT48 at over 12 gal capacity, the bags are $9 ea.  The cost of the CT 48 over the CT26 when packaged is $90.

If I go thru 20 bags per year on the 26, the payout at $2/bag is 2 1/4 yrs for the larger capacity based on a bag for bag basis. However, I only have to buy 10 bags per year on the 48, so my total bag consumption on the 48 is $90/yr vs $140/yr on the 26, so payout is less than a year. Is it worth it and I am assuming the bags are to be disposed and not re-used.  Anything wrong with my logic?  I will be doing mostly sanding but may add a router in the far future. 

 

[tbellemare]

You have to do a lot of sanding to fill up 26 liters...

Tom

 

[bohaiboy]

Thanks TOm, how many bags would be a good assumption per year if only sanding?  Then is adding a router or saw later?

 

[johninthecamper]

only you can do the estimate.the math you did figures out to save, its just how fast.with a twice as heavy bag&bigger machine

 

[overanalyze]

I got the midi on the advise of many here. I live it. Its portable but still can last a while on a bag. I have successfully emptied the self clean bags through the inlet and reused them.

 

[semenza]

Just starting to look at a sander/DE combo.  The most popular is the CT26 at approx 6 gals.  The bags are $7 ea.  For the CT48 at over 12 gal capacity, the bags are $9 ea.  The cost of the CT 48 over the CT26 when packaged is $90.

If I go thru 20 bags per year on the 26, the payout at $2/bag is 2 1/4 yrs for the larger capacity based on a bag for bag basis. However, I only have to buy 10 bags per year on the 48, so my total bag consumption on the 48 is $90/yr vs $140/yr on the 26, so payout is less than a year. Is it worth it and I am assuming the bags are to be disposed and not re-used.  Anything wrong with my logic?  I will be doing mostly sanding but may add a router in the far future. 

Hi,

 Welcome to the FOG!  [smile]

   Clearly you will save on bags.   If you are not going to take the vac out of the shop, or only once in a while, then it seems the 48 is the way to go.  Assuming you will just  stick with the disposable bags and not go to a cyclone or some additional add on set up.  Takes a ton of sanding to fill a bag but the router can fill them quickly.

   The other benefit to the 48 over the 26 is not needing to bother changing the bag as often.

 Years ago I moved from a CT22 up to the CT33 for the same reasons.  The 33 was the largest available in NA at the time.

Seth

 

[JeromeM]

Thanks TOm, how many bags would be a good assumption per year if only sanding?  Then is adding a router or saw later?

only you know how much sanding you do. However filling even 1 26 litre bag unless your sanding all nay long takes a long time. My choice had nothing to do with the cost of bags, it was thee sixe of th machine.

If you are in the shop all the time and you have the space the bigger vac is better. If you are tight on space it isn't YMMV

 

[peter halle]

Welcome to the Forum!  I am all for figuring overhead into everything and considering disposable costs, but if I were in your situation I would concentrate on how the size of the machine might influence my workflow and shop space and transportation (if applicable).

If you are creating that much dust sanding you will be able to cover the additional bags for a smaller unit.  You will ROCK!

Peter

PS - Just so that I can not be called a hypocrite, I often empty my bags and reuse them and I also have a cheap Dust Deputy that I use when I am in a shop situation, especially if I am using a router.

 

[Richard D.]

If I go thru 20 bags per year...........

How did you come up with that figure? Your calculations are based on an assumption that I doubt is accurate. Sanding creates a very fine dust that takes a long time to fill a bag. Since you are only considering one sander d/e combo I assume you are not in a professional setting and I highly doubt you will fill as many bags as you guess. In either case I would not base my decision on your criteria and instead would consider size, portability and storage.

Trying to save money on anything Festool seems to go against the philosophy of the brand. [laughing]

 

[RC]

I wouldn't go for a 48 unless you are doing serious work all day every day... Of course your fillage speed will depend on how much time you have in your hands to tinker.

As a hobbyist I fill the bag up twice, max three times, a year of my CTL26 including running my router, sanders, circular saws & domino into it.

Also the current standard bags are quite resilient i.e. I'm still using the bag that came with the VAC and I've emptied it a number of times and it still keeps going. (with a mask on during emptying of course)

Only now have I bought a 5-pack of replacement bags after three years of using the first bag that came with my VAC and they are still gathering dust on the shelf as we speak.

The 26 is still a reasonably portable size even with a full bag which the 48 definitely isn't. You'd be surprised how heavy 26l of packed sander dust becomes...

 

[JeromeM]

I wouldn't go for a 48 unless you are doing serious work all day every day... Of course your fillage speed will depend on how much time you have in your hands to tinker.

As a hobbyist I fill the bag up twice, max three times, a year of my CTL26 including running my router, sanders, circular saws & domino into it.

Also the current standard bags are quite resilient i.e. I'm still using the bag that came with the VAC and I've emptied it a number of times and it still keeps going. (with a mask on during emptying of course)

Only now have I bought a 5-pack of replacement bags after three years of using the first bag that came with my VAC and they are still gathering dust on the shelf as we speak.

The 26 is still a reasonably portable size even with a full bag which the 48 definitely isn't. You'd be surprised how heavy 26l of packed sander dust becomes...

+1

 

[JoggleStick]

I echo what the other guys have said, but with a lot more emphasis on using a dust-deputy (or similar) between your DC and your tool.
I do bathroom renovations and my DC literally runs all day.
I empty my cyclone bucket 10 times before I even look at the DC. It's a touch more cumbersome, but so much more useful. It's hard to explain in a few words, but it is no exaggeration to say the cyclone has changed the way I work- for the better. It makes that much difference. I use a much smaller, lighter DC which is smaller, lighter, just as powerful, never looses suction and I suck everything into the cyclone, dust, rocks, concrete, water, suck the drain out, all no problem. I probably put 20 kg of waste into the cyclone every day. Empty bucket, wash under tap, next.......

 

[Bob Marino]

I wouldn't go for a 48 unless you are doing serious work all day every day... Of course your fillage speed will depend on how much time you have in your hands to tinker.

As a hobbyist I fill the bag up twice, max three times, a year of my CTL26 including running my router, sanders, circular saws & domino into it.

Also the current standard bags are quite resilient i.e. I'm still using the bag that came with the VAC and I've emptied it a number of times and it still keeps going. (with a mask on during emptying of course)

Only now have I bought a 5-pack of replacement bags after three years of using the first bag that came with my VAC and they are still gathering dust on the shelf as we speak.

The 26 is still a reasonably portable size even with a full bag which the 48 definitely isn't. You'd be surprised how heavy 26l of packed sander dust becomes...

+1

 

+2 as well as Pete's comment about workplace flow and space. I think the 26 is probably the best all  around choice - good capacity and good portability in and outside the shop.

Bob

 

[bohaiboy]

Just for clarification, I never take dust collection off site.  I also have a clearvue cyclone for general dust collection that can easily pull a 25' FATMAX in to the cyclone.  It sucks, literally. 

 

[snowman996]

I have a CT26 with a Clearview CV06 cyclone, I bought this setup 1 1/2 year ago, the cyclone is so efficient that I am still on the original bag that came with the vac ant it is not half full yet! I use this setup in the shop only and it is plugged to the RO125 sander and Kapex saw.

 

[sancho57]

I have a CT 26, I just empty te bag and reuse it. ve have mines for roughly 2-3 years. I bought a box of bags and havent opened it yet.

Same wit my CT 22 I bought used w/ a box of bags, just for the Kapex.

It has paper bags and I reuse it as well.

Havent bought any more bags since I bought them.

BTW mines are shop use only

 

[Kev]

To my thinking the CT36 is the smart choice ... only a little taller than the 26 and very close in price. The 48 it just getting a little too big.

Most of my sanding involves my CT-Mini ... and that takes me a while to fill.

 

[Stone Message]

Hi Bohaiboy  (Fred would be easier to type!)

I have the CT26 and, like several others above, used to empty the bags through the hole at the front. I now have a Dust Deputy and change the bag once a year - not because it is full but because it gets a lot of fine dust inside. For the small extra cost I would go for the larger extractor but it will be tricky to move away from the workshop (my CT26 is not easy as I do not have a van).

Although sanding will produce very little waste you may one day buy some other lovely Festool tools so bigger may be better at this stage.

Peter

 

[bruegf]

Get a dust deputy or build a thien baffle to put in front of your vac and you'll use so few bags over the life of the vac that the cost of the bags won't be a factor at all.  I haven't changed a bag since I bought the dust deputy.  Same is true for my dust collector, I built a thien baffle and put it in front of the dust collector and have never emptied the bag since I bought it.

Fred

 

[Bob Marino]

  Hey Guys,

For my own clarification, I thought that some of you using the Dust Deputy had some resulting electrical problems with the CT's. Has thing been the case? If so, has Oneida come up with a fix?

Bob