Who slits, dumps, then tapes up their paper vacuum bags for reuse?

[jonny round boy]

Peter,

I got them from Toolsave, which is an eBay dealer. This was the listing.

 

[jonny round boy]

Johnny, I can see that there is risk in the tape not holding.  I wrap duct tape all the way around the bag and (so far) it has always held.  Thanks for the warning and next time I will probably use even more tape.

Frank,

The bags for the CT Mini are dual-skin - there's an inner 'fabric' bag (which I assume is the 'filter' part) and then the brown paper outer. When you tape them up, do you tape up both the inner & outer bags, or just the outer?

 

[joiner1970]

The first few times I just emptied my midi bags back out of the inlet I didnt mess about cutting them up. I tried using a Henry hoover once to suck the dust out but it sucked the inner lining out and ripped it. Lately I have not bothered I just use a new bag.

 

[Frank Pellow]

Johnny, I can see that there is risk in the tape not holding.  I wrap duct tape all the way around the bag and (so far) it has always held.  Thanks for the warning and next time I will probably use even more tape.

Frank,

The bags for the CT Mini are dual-skin - there's an inner 'fabric' bag (which I assume is the 'filter' part) and then the brown paper outer. When you tape them up, do you tape up both the inner & outer bags, or just the outer?

I hadn't noticed that.  :-[  So, I have only taped the outer bag.  Doing only that has not seemed to cause any problems but maybe I am wrong.  I will look more closely the next time that I dump the bag.

 

[Peterm]

Peter,

I got them from Toolsave, which is an eBay dealer. This was the listing.

[thanks]

 

[pauster]

I found it easy to undo the folded-over "end" of the bag where it was closed by the manufacturer. It was easier to close again than to tape a slit cut with a knife somewhere. Probably interfered less with airflow, too.

I use the shiny silver "real" duct tape made for ducts, not the dull gray general purpose tape. The former seems to stick a lot better to dusty surfaces.

 

[rjfarel]

One word makes this poll irrelevant..."DUST DEPUTY".

Oh...wait a second...

 

[fshanno]

I use my shop vac to suck the dust out of my CT33 bags.  I have a little wand that came off of some little portable vac that I've duck taped to an adapter for the shop vac hose.
Works pretty well.  It clogs the filter on the shop vac of course so I have to clean that when I'm done.

 

[bonesbr549]

I found it easy to undo the folded-over "end" of the bag where it was closed by the manufacturer. It was easier to close again than to tape a slit cut with a knife somewhere. Probably interfered less with airflow, too.

I use the shiny silver "real" duct tape made for ducts, not the dull gray general purpose tape. The former seems to stick a lot better to dusty surfaces.

That's exactly how I do it. 

 

[vteknical]

Perhaps  consider hot glue.  I use this method to make custom cardboard shipping boxes all the time. 

 

[Rob-GB]

I 've been up since 0200hrs UK time and reading a range of posts, maybe it's the lack of sleep but.......

PeterM wrote that when his bag spilled its contents the inside of the CT was an "unholy mess" does this mean that there was no exhausting of dust from the vent to notify of the problem? and if that is so is it possible to use the unit bagless for collecting say planer chippings that tend to fill things quite rapidly?

I am tempted to upgrade to a CT mini or midi, almost purely for the fact it will switch on when the power tool starts up ;D from an old tin can type bagless vac. The only bonus of using a bag to me is when working on that horrible green moisture resistant mdf, a babies breath of air and it's dust is all over the place. [scratch chin]

Rob.

 

[jonny round boy]

Rob,

If the bag is torn, the dust doesn't exit from the exhaust vents as it still has to pass through the pleated filter (above the bag).

If you were to use a CT 'bagless', then I suspect the pleated filter would clog extremely quickly, reducing the airflow to virtually zero.

JRB

 

[Rob-GB]

Aha! I had not thought of that,( goes to stand in corner with a pointy hat labelled D), though I do blame the weather in my defence.
Had it not been so wet and windy I would have gone for a walk along the beach and not spent hours on the net drooling over tools and such and getting tangental ideas about vacuum cleaners [eek]
Still, think I will get a CT mini and use it for finer particles, like with the TS55. ;D
[scratch chin] I wonder if a few wraps of Sue's stockings will act as a pre-filter to the pleated filter? ;D ;D I need sleep.
Thanks JRB  [smile]

 

[peter halle]

Rob,

Johnny is right.  Think of the CTs as dust collectors.  The bag serves two purposes.  First it collects debris.  The second is that it acts as a pre filter.  The pleated filter is there to perform the last bit.  A mess is an understatement.  Let alone the fact that the final filters are much more costly than a bag.

Peter

 

[Rob-GB]

Thanks Peter, that set me thinking again, don't hit the panic button just yet!
Some people put an intermediate collector in the hose line to collect the more dense matter, such as planer chippings, so maybe I can convert the tin can vac to a chip collector, recycle and work cleaner, smarter, faster and Festool Greener ;D ;D

By the way, I wrote a wish list at silly o'clock and discovered I need a mortgage to replace/supplement my tool kit with Festool stuff. I am on that precarious 'slope' better known as 'sheer lust' [big grin]

Rob

Sue! Fetch me a cold one and restock the cooler, my brain needs coolant...

 

[Brice Burrell]

I'm going to muddy the water here a bit and say you can use the Festool vacs without a filter bag. However, it's not recommended. Without a filter bag the Festool vac has the same disadvantages as a normal shop type vac, reduced filtration, reduced airflow from clogging the main filter(s) and a dirty mess inside the vac. It should also be noted the vac won't last as long without using the filter bags, how much its life will be shorted I don't know. In N. America the CT 22 and 33 come with HEPA filters, they will be ruined in short order without the filter bag. So technically you can use your Festool vac without a filter bag but I don't think it's worth it. 

 

[Rob-GB]

Brice, hence my thinking, if the large stuff ends up in an inline repository the bag will only collect the fine dust, therefore the bag will last longer!
I know I should stop this thinking malarky but it's contagious like the slope, once on it you need the tenacity of a mama penguin or an unlimited supply of ice picks and crampons. It has been a long day, close to 1700hrs here at present, (was 0530'ish on original post) and have to show a good account of myself tomorrow in a new contract. So I am signing off for today,fingers crossed, and look forward to the 'morrow.
Thanks Rob.

 

[JeromeM]

Brice, hence my thinking, if the large stuff ends up in an inline repository the bag will only collect the fine dust, therefore the bag will last longer!

This exactly why I use a cyclone before my CT22. It has already paid for itself in saved use of vac bags.

So far I have dumped over 100 litres from the cyclone and my first CT22 bag is under 5% full and I don't expect it to fill any time soon.

 

[jvsteenb]

I don't know if it's NAINA, but there's a foam-filter set for wet use, to replace the HEPA filters. I have it, but I've never used it - I use an old K?rcher shopvac for wet endeavours. The foam set theoretically could be used for bagless use in dry circumstances but I wouldn't count on to much fine dust capture - which is exactly what I've got the CT22 for.
I tried to empty a bag once, but apparently the dust had got a bit moist, and I seemingly damaged the paper bag somehow. Didn't like the mess the next time the suction deminished..... I'll be a good boy from now on, and use a fresh bag everytime. Saving up for the longlife bag though.....

I'd welcome a small cyclone, but haven't been able to locate an apropriate one in my neck of the woods..... [sad]

Regards,

Job

 

[Roseland]

I've only just got my CTL26 and haven't really used it in anger yet.

My previous extractor was a DeWalt with dreadful paper bags that had the strength of wet toilet tissue when they'd been in the garage a while, and the attempts I made to reuse them never worked.

But the Festool bags are way stronger, and I have high confidence they'll last several uses.  To this end I have Duck taped a ziplock plastic bag neck in one corner of my first bag.  My concern was that the ziplock wouldn't stand the internal pressure, but a quick test shows my fears were unsubstantiated.

I'll keep everyone posted on the success or otherwise when I first have to empty it.

A