tasting the koolaid...sure is tasty... (ct26 and ct cyclone)

[dudeabides]

Hello all
New to Festool. I just picked up a new Rotex150, now assumably, of course, looking at a CT26 or 36? Now it'd be mainly for rotex, shop floor cleanup, bits and pieces from chiseling, couple other stationary sanding machines with shopvac 2.25" (50mm) hoses on them. My question is with bag replacement consideration and filter life, should I go with a 26 or 36? I was also looking at the CT-Cyclone as well to keep within proper warranty and static issues and ease of cleanup. I know they're same machine essentially. I think maybe the capacities are the concern of my decision. and maybe the 2" taller unit for my small garage. Also, can I use old craftsman shopvac hoses? as the units come with a 27mm

 

[cpw]

Hobby or pro?

If hobby, I'd save the money on the 36 vs. the 26.  The $60 dollars is going to take a while to justify with reduced bags if all you're doing is sanding and shop cleanup.  Also, the CT26 gets heavy/bulky enough if you're going to ever go outside your shop that I personally wouldn't want to go bigger/heavier.

I think the filter life should be the same, the CT26 and CT36 are identical but for the tub.

 

[Alanbach]

For me it is not a financial decision. You are going to have this vac for 5-10 years so the fifty - sixty dollars gets watered down over a lot of time. For me the decision is about size and weight only. Think about how you work and where you will want the vac to live in your shop. I wanted mine to slide under my table saw table. There was enough room for the CT 36 so I got it. Also think about size / weight regarding mobility. If you want to carry it out onto the driveway to clean out your cars or use it for odd jobs around your house or around town. If you need mobility like this then the smaller, lighter vac might be better. The cost difference of these two vacs and their respective bags over the life of this vac will not be enough to sway your decision in my opinion. The weight and size, however, might!

 

[Jim_in_PA]

Unless you have a real reason to go with the CT36, the smaller CT26 is more than adequate for small tool dust/chip extraction. I'll also suggest that you might want to reconsider using it for general shop cleanup. Why? The bags are not inexpensive. I use a cheap Ridgid for that in addition to my cyclone's floor sweeps and keep my CT dedicated to small electric tool dust extraction.

 

[semenza]

Regular USA large size (2 1/2" ?) "shopvac" hoses will fit the vac port on CTs.

  Now you've got me thinking about mixing up a white russian  [wink]

Seth

 

[dudeabides]

thank you to everybody that responded. in between pro and hobbiest, working on that. i Agree. I wanted to stow it under my pm66 Table saw, but if i get the ct Cyclone that would have to sit on floor next to it. which is no big deal, I will be carting around the neighborhood some so some carting around. I could use separator mainly in shop and then if I had to cart it somewhere, I could use the ct bag. The 36 is only a pound heavier, plus dust.

Well.. that's like your opinion man...

 

[Gregor]

CT 36 bags will be ~10kg heavier when full.
In case you have put your eye at a CT-cyclone I would go for the 26, as a pre-separator makes the dust bag size less relevant, 26L volume still go quite some way (except when used with a router).

In case you want to future proof and money is no issue: think about an AC version of the CT should you ever want to get the Planex or extract drywall (or similar) dust in larger quantities.

For cleaning the shop without a pre-separator I suggest broom and shovel to get the coarse stuff, then vacuum the fine dust with the CT - saves massively on bags.

 

[DeformedTree]

I recently got the CT26 and the Cyclone .  I've been trying to test it out but haven't been doing a lot of that work since getting it.  I did do a heavy cleanup around my saw, lots of sawdust and PVC sawdust on the floor and all around. So far the cyclone looks to be doing it's thing very well.  Only a little bit of dust has made it to the CTs bag.  I suspect bag changes won't be very often. 

I think I have had to re-remember a few things with it. Mainly the bags look expensive at first. A 5 pack is 42 bucks.  So 8.5 USD a bag.  But filters for shop vacs aren't cheap either. The standard type U's run 15 USD at lowes.  So sure, you don't toss that filter every time, but you only get so much life out of it. Add to that beating out/scrapping the filter when you dump the vac isn't the funnest thing to do, and makes a mess.  I've had times I bought an armload of them at the store.  That gets very expensive too.

Pretty sure on a quality of job (maintaining suction, etc) the CT comes out ahead on the cost side verses the shop vac.  Shop vacs work on the "inkjet printer" business model.  Sell you a vaccum for 40bucks,  and then you pay a ton for filters.  Now,  it will take a long time to re-coup the cost of 730 dollar vacuum compared to the shop vac.  But the CT works well with the tools, the shopvac does not.

Toss the cyclone on top, I'm not sure I'm going to go thru bags very often.  And bags for the cyclone I'm sure in time someone will identify the perfect hefty bag for the job, or just skip the bags and dump into the clear tub except for doing say drywall.  Still, those bags can be dumped out pretty easy.

My biggest issue is that I'm working on 2 floors plus a detached garage.  The cyclone makes going between floors less than great.  This is why I'm considering a Sys Vac and hanging a second cyclone under it.  Be my mobile clean up solution, keep the CT26 in the main work area.

I think the new Festool Cyclone might change how people use the system.  It makes a sys-vac look like a much better option now verses a large CT. If only the bottom stayed connected to the top.

 

[Farming_Sawyer]

The biggest issues I have with all shop vac type vacuums is the exhaust. It blows Crap everywhere. And the dirtier the filter gets the more dust it puts in the air. Also, sheetrock and plaster dust kills them quickly. And then there is the noise. You don't notice it until you're running a CT side by side....

 

[Gregor]

I think the new Festool Cyclone might change how people use the system.  It makes a sys-vac look like a much better option now verses a large CT. If only the bottom stayed connected to the top.

Possibly a blob of casket material put into the bottom part and pressing the container into it might help (permanently).

But yes, it's quite anticlimactic that the the bottom part can't lock onto the clear bins somehow.

(typo fixed, it certainly shouldn't be 'basket' material)

 

[butzla]

Using a cyclone makes my point moot but without one,  I would never use it to clean my shop or jobsite floor for fear of picking up a nail or screw.  It's a surefire way of piercing the bag and when that happens, what a mess inside the extractor!  Ask me how I know.  I had to buy new hepa filters at $76/ pair.
My .02 on the original question?  If you have a cyclone go for the CT26.

 

[ear3]

Just a further note on bags.  There is now an aftermarket option for CT bags made by Powertec, which comes in at under half the cost of Festool branded ones.  This may change your calculus about the long-term value of investing in the separator or long-life bag:
https://www.amazon.com/POWERTEC-75037-Self-Cleaning-Filter-Festool/dp/B01MZBWDEA/

 

[Peter_C]

I just spent two weeks packing a CT36 up and down stairs. Uggg...it gets heavy, especially after cleaning up tile and thinset debris. Between the height and the weight full, for portability a CT26 makes more sense with a Cyclone attached when needed. Cost of bags gets charged to the client, and the cleaner the job site the happier the client is. The shop vac will not get used, mostly due to the obnoxious noise, and secondly for the filtration.

Get a 5m 36mm hose (Cleanup, tracksaw, router), the Bluetooth remote (Used more than you can imagine), and a cleanup set too.

 

[Dick Mahany]

Just a further note on bags.  There is now an aftermarket option for CT bags made by Powertec, which comes in at under half the cost of Festool branded ones.  This may change your calculus about the long-term value of investing in the separator or long-life bag:
https://www.amazon.com/POWERTEC-75037-Self-Cleaning-Filter-Festool/dp/B01MZBWDEA/

Great price and get very positive reviews.  Thanks for the link.  I was glad to see that they also have a bag for my CT36.  I'm really glad I bought the CT36 since I don't need to carry mine up or down stairs.  I do agree however with others that the CT36 is heavy when full, especially if one "bricks" a bag  [embarassed]

 

[DeformedTree]

The biggest issues I have with all shop vac type vacuums is the exhaust. It blows Crap everywhere. And the dirtier the filter gets the more dust it puts in the air. Also, sheetrock and plaster dust kills them quickly. And then there is the noise. You don't notice it until you're running a CT side by side....

Yes, they are loud, which is something I really appreciate on the CT is it's so much quieter.  It's when you turn them off when you really notice the difference, turn a shop vac off, things get much quieter, turn the CT off, not as much of a change.

The other thing with shop vacs is when you accidentally put the hose in the wrong end and have a dirt blower.

 

[Farming_Sawyer]

Just a further note on bags.  There is now an aftermarket option for CT bags made by Powertec, which comes in at under half the cost of Festool branded ones.  This may change your calculus about the long-term value of investing in the separator or long-life bag:
https://www.amazon.com/POWERTEC-75037-Self-Cleaning-Filter-Festool/dp/B01MZBWDEA/

Great price and get very positive reviews.  Thanks for the link.  I was glad to see that they also have a bag for my CT36.  I'm really glad I bought the CT36 since I don't need to carry mine up or down stairs.  I do agree however with others that the CT36 is heavy when full, especially if one "bricks" a bag  [embarassed]

Beware. I bought the powertec bags and then sanded green lacquer and vacuumed up plaster and rotten insulation. When I went to check inside, the insulation had blown thru the bag and the inside of the CT was full of green powder. The cheaper bags even say on them only for wood dust, but quite often I use mine for all sorts of dust extraction and cleaning. I had meant to only run wood dust thru the powertec bag, but...oops

 

[dudeabides]

I appreciate everybody's feedback. Being a recent new owner of the festool brand, this helps make good wise decisions [thumbs up]
I went with a CT26 and a Cyclone CT. I tucked the cyclone next to extractor under my planer stand. makes good use of a tighter space.
I'm currently using my old 2-1/2" shop vac hose with brush, floor brush for floor cleanup. Noticed the suction on that large diameter hose is weak.
Is the 36mm hose the better solution? Now I'm looking at the Universal Cleaning Kit 203435
thanks again!

 

[Gregor]

When you have a CT 26 with a cyclone, why not use that for cleanup?

 

[Bohdan]

Plug your old 2-1/2" shop vac hose into the cyclone and have the best of both worlds.