What is a good Vacuum to take on site?

[irishroey]

I have had my eye on a midi as my next purchase but I am unsure now
I was in picking up a splinter guard from a festool dealer and I asked him about a midi and he starting saying that it was no use and that a ctl26 was the only way
I am looking for a vacuum to store in my van and use on site with a ts55 and chop saw and with the 1010 router the odd time
Any help figuring out what would be the best option would be great

 

[jmbfestool]

I personally would go ct26  cus even that can fill up pretty quick with me alot of times and having reusable bag takes care of that.

The smaller vac dont have reusable bags so not only do they fill up pretty quickly! For you to empty it more often! It will be costing you money for new bags all the time.

Jmb

 

[joiner1970]

A midi will be fine for what you need . I've had one six years now , use it on site and in private houses all the time. It's compact so doesn't take up too much room in the van. It's powerful enough for my needs. You can easily empty and re-use the bags.

I use mine with routers, ts55, chopsaw (sometimes) ehl65 planer etc. The only one that fills it quickly is the planer.

Get one if you don't like it send it back within 15 days

 

[irishroey]

Cheers lads
The guy in the shop was saying about the bags alright and that they fill up quickly
Would you use the vac for cleaning up also or would this fill the bag too fast

 

[ajones]

I have a few festool vacs, and the midi or mini will be fine for what you want,jmb is right that you have to empty the midi more often and that there is no reusable bag This is something that festoll should address.
what is ideal is its small size which lends itself well to being carried and transported

Oh and the ct26 shares the same motor with both the mini and the midi..

 

[TurnagainD]

If I could only have one vac it would be the 26.  Sure it is a bit bigger but I like that there is a cord wrap on the back and the hose goes straight into the unit.  The Midi has a 90 as it enters the canister and I have had that clog.  Also, it is easier to put the 36mm hose on the 26.

 

[AlexThePalex]

I also think a Midi would do fine for you. I have a Mini and it takes quite some time to fill it up when sawing. But it goes a lot faster with routing and planing. Suction wise the Midi is the same as a CTL 26. The smaller footprint is very nice when you're on the road. It sure is a shame there's no long life bag for it though. When you use bags with a Mini/Midi it's only about 12% more expensive than when you use bags for the 26.

 

[semenza]

I have used the Mini for planing and it fills really fast so would the Midi. A few passes on a board will do it. Even the CT33 will fill fast when planing more than just a few passes.

Not too bad for light routing jobs (round overs and such), but dadoes will fill them pretty fast.

Sawing , sanding, Domino, clean up of saw dust is no problem.

Seth

 

[AlexThePalex]

With planing you can take the bag out because there's not much fine dust.

 

[jmbfestool]

I have a

MIDI
CT22
CT26

out of the 3 I prefer the CT22 because I dont have the hose extension/carriage attached so its not as large as the CT26 but I have a reusable bag for it which the MIDI hasn't.
but
then I prefer the CT26 because the entire thing lifts of  instead of it pivoting and I have a reusable bag for that one swell.  Just hate the fact I cant remove the hose carriage I never use it.

soooo......

I use my CT22 for site work

and CT26 for when im making stuff at home for jobs!     Making a Oak Bar at the moment for a client nothing really fancy!  So im using my CT26 now.

And the MIDI is for around the house.

JMB

 

[jonathan-m]

I'd say have a look at the Protool vacs. I just got one the other week. An AutoClean unit at that, for less than the cheapest regular Festool CTL26 offering I could find.
(With some of the Protool lineup being absorbed into Festool, many shops are having clearance sales)

Like jmbfestool I'm not a fan of the hose garage so it's quite a welcome benefit to me the Protools simply have a flat top. (Saves 95mm in height compared to the CT26)
This puts it just inbetween a CTL Midi & CTL26 in terms of size/portability.

If you're not anal about everything having matching colours, there's some real money to be saved here.

I posted a whole bunch of pictures in another thread. That'll give you a good idea of it's size.

 

[AlexThePalex]

When I'm working, I like the hose garage of my 26. Works as a very nice tool chest. When I need to transport the 26, or store it, I'm not such a fan of it.

But overal I prefer the 26 a lot over the 22 it replaced. The 26 is a much nicer vac.

 

[jmbfestool]

I'd say have a look at the Protool vacs. I just got one the other week. An AutoClean unit at that, for €100 than the cheapest regular Festool CTL26 offering I could find.
(With some of the Protool lineup being absorbed into Festool, many shops are having clearance sales)

Like jmbfestool I'm not a fan of the hose garage so it's quite a welcome benefit to me the Protools simply have a flat top. (Saves 95mm in height compared to the CT26)
This puts it just inbetween a CTL Midi & CTL26 in terms of size/portability.

If you're not anal about everything having matching colours, there's some real money to be saved here.

I posted a whole bunch of pictures in another thread. That'll give you a good idea of it's size.

Shame Protool are going  [sad]  By the time I need another Vac they might not make the Protool version any more.  I recon the festool version will take over the PRotool version vacuum.    I hope its the other way round. 

I hate the hose carriage.

 

[jmbfestool]

When I'm working, I like the hose garage of my 26. Works as a very nice tool chest. When I need to transport the 26, or store it, I'm not such a fan of it.

But overal I prefer the 26 a lot over the 22 it replaced. The 26 is a much nicer vac.

I overal prefer the CT26 over 22 and I agree its a nicer vac!  

BUT I had to rack my Van out to allow for the CT26.    

I could of racked out for the CT22 only!  This would of allowed me to store 2 Extra systainers  or 2 larger systainers than what I can currently store now above the Vac area.

So now when I take my CT22 I have a open space above the vac which I can stick 1 systainer ontop of the vac its self  but if I take my CT26  I loose that 1 extra storage space.

So the CT26 has lost me 2 systainer storage space but I gain one back if I take my CT22 instead of CT26

To top if off I don't use the hose carriage because I use the longer and large diameter hoses so the hose doesn't fit in the carriage any way.  So to me its waisted space

Oh another thing!!!

because its not flat its crap for putting your TS55 on it unless you have a systainer on it.  

So for site CT22 [big grin]

 

[Kev]

When I'm working, I like the hose garage of my 26. Works as a very nice tool chest. When I need to transport the 26, or store it, I'm not such a fan of it.

But overal I prefer the 26 a lot over the 22 it replaced. The 26 is a much nicer vac.

I overal prefer the CT26 over 22 and I agree its a nicer vac!  

BUT I had to rack my Van out to allow for the CT26.    

I could of racked out for the CT22 only!  This would of allowed me to store 2 Extra systainers  or 2 larger systainers than what I can currently store now above the Vac area.

So now when I take my CT22 I have a open space above the vac which I can stick 1 systainer ontop of the vac its self  but if I take my CT26  I loose that 1 extra storage space.

So the CT26 has lost me 2 systainer storage space but I gain one back if I take my CT22 instead of CT26

To top if off I don't use the hose carriage because I use the longer and large diameter hoses so the hose doesn't fit in the carriage any way.  So to me its waisted space

Oh another thing!!!

because its not flat its crap for putting your TS55 on it unless you have a systainer on it.  

So for site CT22 [big grin]

A taller hose garage could be a nice accessory maybe !

 

[skids]

I have a midi, love it. At first I loved the fact is was tool fired, since it was my first vac that did that..As I owned it longer I grew to really appreciate it's portability. Thats where the midi really excels. I now have mine hooked mostly to my Kapex, and with the Kapex it fills quicker than if you were sanding, but not so fast you shouldn't consider the midi. What I have definitely noticed, and I suppose this goes for all the vacs, is as the bag fills suction declines a bit. So in theory, a larger vac would extend this window of suction decline a bit.

If I had it to do again, I would get the CT26 first, just because I started out with an objective of setting a shop, and this vac is better suited to this. If my objective were for a van, I would go Midi all day long. So thats my vote.

I will be picking a up ct26 tomorrow most likely..More than likely you will end up with more than one vac!

 

[BMH]

I started with the 22 and love it till I had to move it from job to job. Got the MIDI and it was one of the best buy ever. The CT 22 stays in the shop and the MIDI is hook up to the Kapex when it is not  traveling with me.

My answer would be the MIDI for site work.

 

[Mark b]

I use the Midi on site and private houses and for me it's perfect
Small light weight and you can stack sustainers on it

 

[Ta2ude]

I use a Midi on site everyday and it works great for me although I don't do any planeing. As far as the bags go when mine fills up I use my cheapo shop vac to suck out/empty the bag. It only takes a minute or two to empty I have done this several times with the same bag and it seems to work fine. Every couple of empties I will also give the bag a quick blow out with an air gun. I have been alternating between 2 bags for over a year now.

 

[NERemodeling]

i dont have any actual experience but i have done a lot a lot of thinking about the same thing as a vac is one of the next items on my list..  the 26 will save you decent money in the long run with increased capacity (less bags to buy)  you wont have to change bags as often saving you time, also it works better with the 36/50mm hoses

obviously it is bigger but are you dragging it around finished homes all day long? 

also as someone else asked, do you plan to suck up any debris with it (general cleanup or light demo mess)  i feel the 26 is much better for this since it works better with the larger hoses (you cant put a systainer on the mini or midi with anything over a 27mm hose)

obviously i decided 26, make sure to let us know what way you go and how it works out for you

John