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Thread: Festool Dust Extractor Question

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
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    Lafayette, CA
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    Festool Dust Extractor Question

    I have one of the older PC shop vacs... it has a "HEPA" filter, but that quickly clogs and I lose suction. So, I'm frequently cleaning the filter...which is tedious and messy. I'm wondering the Festool Dust Extractors do a much better job in this regard...I was thinking about the CT26. Or, do you really need to put a cyclone of some sort on top to keep the filter from clogging...
    Thanks!
    Izzy

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
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    Northern Michigan
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    490
    With the Festool you use bags as well as the filter system. The filters can last an extremely long time depending upon usage. My old CT33 from about 14 years ago still has the original filters as the bags are great at pre-filtering. Never ever use it without the bags though or you will be purchasing some replacement pricey filters. The bags are not cheap. If you do work that would use up a lot of bags then the Oneida Dust Deputy works incredibly well as a pre-cyclone. I keep checking my bag using the cyclone and it still works fine a couple years later. Just have to knock the dust loose inside somewhat.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Palm Springs, CA
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    1,085
    The Festool CT 26 is an excellent dust extractor. It uses fleece bags to collect the dust and very little makes it to the HEPA. The downside is that the bags are on the expensive side. It really shouldn't be used without a bag for dry use. Some folks who generate a lot of chips and fine dust use the Oneida Ultimate Dust Deputy in front of the vac inlet which was specially designed by Oneida out of static conductive plastic to maintain the anti static properties of the CT26 and avoid zapping the electronics in the controller.

    I have successfully reused bags by connecting my Ridgid shop vac with a standard dust deputy to the inlet of my CT 36 and reverse emptying the bag. May sound a little crazy but I get at least 3 or 4 uses out a standard bag this way.
    Last edited by Dick Mahany; 12-03-2019 at 6:36 PM.
    Dick Mahany.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    9,467
    I have the Festool CT26E. This is used with a Dust Commander, which is built of anti-static material (the locally available Dust Deputy is not). I also chose to use a long-life bag, which can be emptied when full. This combination is extremely effective. The last time I emptied some shavings from the bag was about a year ago. Everything appears to collect in the paint bin.



    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  5. #5
    I have a Festool vac and love it, however I don't like throwing out the bags, so I purchased a Dust Deputy. I am really impressed with how well it works and how clean it keeps the Festool filter. I've been using the DD for about 3 months and after checking, have yet to see any noticeable dust in the bag. I've emptied the DD been several times.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Atlanta
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    1,592
    Quote Originally Posted by Izzy Charo View Post
    I have one of the older PC shop vacs... it has a "HEPA" filter, but that quickly clogs and I lose suction. So, I'm frequently cleaning the filter...which is tedious and messy. I'm wondering the Festool Dust Extractors do a much better job in this regard...I was thinking about the CT26. Or, do you really need to put a cyclone of some sort on top to keep the filter from clogging...
    Thanks!
    Izzy
    Nope !

    They will do the same with regard to filter clogging.

    The bags are part of the filtration system. Don't use the bags and the filter is going to pull double duty - and clog. Fast.

    With these expensive vacs, you just have to get used to spending the money on the bags. It makes for a better experience too. Even if you get a cyclone, separator, ect...... you are still going to need the bags. There really isn't any way around it if you don't want to keep buying filters. You can only clean those so many times and even then you don't clean them well enough to not diminish performance.

    Also, the economic of these separators is a pretty high hurdle to justify. Their cost, will buy a lot of vac bags before a return is seen. And even then most of those require some sort of collection bag that you'll end up buying.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Sabo View Post
    Also, the economic of these separators is a pretty high hurdle to justify. Their cost, will buy a lot of vac bags before a return is seen. And even then most of those require some sort of collection bag that you'll end up buying.
    Exactly. The off-brand bags for the CT26 (which appear indistinguishable from the Festool brand ones) are $3.60/ea on Amazon. Add in the convenience of the sliding closure that allows you to neatly toss the whole thing with zero mess, and considering what a kludge the cyclone-on-a-vac looks like, I can't see why anyone would bother, unless you were doing drywall dust or something all day long...

  8. #8
    Cyclones become a bargain real quick when you start using your vac for all the rest your toys. A power plane will fill a bag in minutes.

  9. #9
    Now that I have the DD, no bag. Just dump the pale out. I use it with my blast cabinet as well and it works like a charm, keeping the bag clean. Thought it might be a drag having to deal with the added cyclone and pale, but really, no problem at all.
    Last edited by Derek Arita; 12-04-2019 at 10:35 AM.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    TX Hill Country
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    579
    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Friedrichs View Post
    The off-brand bags for the CT26 (which appear indistinguishable from the Festool brand ones) are $3.60/ea on Amazon.
    Do you have a link on bags?

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Los Angeles
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    1,356
    $3.60 per bag is cheap compared with the Festool original.
    One weekend my Festool vac was full. I was due at a client's place. There was nowhere to buy new bags. The only solution was to empty the bag thru the "intake port". Poked at the dust with a stick for five minutes over a dumpster. At least I could get to work that day, once I'd cleaned myself down.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Boston, MA
    Posts
    919
    I have an older CT22 festool vac. I do pre-separate with a cv06 but I ran it with bags for years. The bags are great and lasted a really long time before filling in my hobby shop. The filters stayed clean. Now I have a bag installed that never fills because almost nothing gets passed the cv06.

    IMG_0124.jpg

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Northern Illinois
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    943
    For me, the Festool efficiency of dust collection has always been worth the cost of the bags. You can use the long-life bag, but it is expensive. The main problem I have with the long-life bag is that it seems to defeat the efficient dust collection Festool vacs are great at by putting dust back into the air while your emptying the bag. Unless you're using the vac for collection of chips from a jointer, planer, tablesaw or band saw, the bags don't fill up that quick (but then I don't use the vac everyday on my job). I tried a Dust Deputy for awhile but it just got in the way. It seems to me that, unless the Dust Deputy (or whatever add-on cyclone you use) is connected to a very large container (like the size of a regular dust collector) emptying that container will be a frequent effort.

    I would like to look at the third party bags and see what kind of feedback overall they have. The Festool bags are extremely high quality and work well. I saw no after market bags for the CT48 on Amazon.
    Last edited by Randy Heinemann; 12-04-2019 at 1:17 PM.

  14. #14
    These are the ones I've been using:
    https://www.amazon.com/POWERTEC-7503...dp/B01MZBWDEA/

    As far as I can tell, they work as well as the Festools.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Northern Illinois
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    943
    They don't seem to be listed for the CT48 so I'm guessing they only make them for the more commonly purchased CT's and there isn't as much volume being sold for that CT. I'll keep looking, though, because that would be a good price.

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