When to change my CT filters?

[WarnerConstCo.]

So when do I know if I should change my filters in my 22?

This sounds like a really dumb question, huh?

 

[Brice Burrell]

That's a good question. I know you've had some filter bag blow outs so you may be at that point now. Other than obvious damage to the filter(s) I'm not sure. You'd know for sure if you started to small saw dust leaking through.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

There is a little bit of dust that is inside the vac when I open it up.

 

[Brice Burrell]

There is a little bit of dust that is inside the vac when I open it up.

Yeah, that what makes it through the filter bag. It collects in the main filter if you don't deal with it every now and then. I prefer to take my main filters out of the vac and gently tap them instead of using the filter scrubber (as Festool calls it) the green handle in the back of the 22/33 that rakes the filter. The scrubber only dislodges the dust in the vacuum chamber it doesn't get rid of the dust, so it ends up collecting right back in the filters.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

I tap mine out every time I change a bag, it takes 30 seconds.

They two spots I have to hold and then have it turn red for replace or something.

60 bucks isn't too bad for 2 filters but, no sense changing them if I don't need to.

 

[Inner10]

After running a few bags through my vacs I use one to vacuum out the filter of the other, nothing I hate more then having your head in a cloud of dust as you tap-out a filter into a garbage bag.

I would assume your CT filters stay a lot cleaner then my Rigid ones though. [wink]

 

[JJ Wavra]

I recently changed my filters after the bag came off and I filled the inside, unknowingly, with padauk dust.  The filters had been on the machine for about two years and I thought that it was running great.  I then bought a dust deputy and new hepas and it is like a completely different vacuum.

JJ

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Darcy, sorry for the delay in responding.  I wanted to get the right answer instead of offering an opinion.  I would recommend that everyone check their filters for damage when changing the bag.  Clean the filters by tapping them.  Do not use a compressor because even at low PSI it could damage the filter or create holes that allow particles to pass through rendering the HEPA filtration useless. 

Assuming that you use a filter bag all the time, here's the rule of thumb.

Extreme use: every 6 month
Normal use: every 12 month
Less use: every 3 years

Like any consumable product, the HEPA filters should be changed based on wear and tear so it will be different for everyone.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Thanks Shane, looks like I am over due on changing my filters.

They are pushing 2 years.  I think I have only filled up about 7 full bags, a few didn't quite last that long!!

It may be the reason I have noticed what I believe to be some loss of suction.

 

[harry_]

(mostly directed to Shane)

I had heard that these filters were 'off the shelf' automotive 'cabin filters' is this a truth or should I refer to the adage "don't believe everything you hear"?

 

[jonny round boy]

(mostly directed to Shane)

I had heard that these filters were 'off the shelf' automotive 'cabin filters' is this a truth or should I refer to the adage "don't believe everything you hear"?

Probably the latter, but funny you should mention it. Back in the autumn I went up to farm belonging to a friend of a friend, and there, sitting on his desk, was what looked like a CT filter. I asked about it, and he said it was a spare for his tractor! It looked identical - same design, shape, colour, and very similar in size (I didn't have a Festool filter to compare the exact size!).

 

[richard.selwyn]

I just saw a friend this afternoon who was that a cabin filter for his John Deere tractor was 80 euros.  I told him hed be better to put the doors back on the cabin before he fitted the filter  [laughing] [laughing]
I would have guessed that festool ships enough filters to make it economical for the vacuum manufacturer (not Festool??) to have the filters made to fit the vac and not the other way around.

If anyone from Festool is reading, a quick question.  My reading of the catalogue seems to imply that the new vacs have less overall filter surface than the new ones.  Any comments?

Richard