[OP]
Member
Thinking on buying a Festool ETS EC 125/3 orbital sander the next time I need to use an orbital sander.
Do I need to have a Festool dust extractor also? I'm not up for paying for one of those.
I'm hoping to just use one of my shop vacs with an adapter.
Contributor
I have that sander, along with a couple of other Festool cordless ones.
That particular sander can remove a lot of material, so it does need to be used with a vacuum, but doesn't have to be a Festool.
Contributor
The ETS125 is a great sander, no regrets on owning one. No you can use any shop vac, Festool just makes it "convenient" for their systems to work together is all.
A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. My desk is a work station.
Contributor
You can use other vacuums. Here's some things you get with the Festool one. When you collect other solutions, they're good to have.
* The hose is a smallish diameter, which means it is flexible, which means it doesn't steer the sander, you do.
* The hose fits the sander, without duct tape or the like.
* The vacuum is tool triggered. That is, when you turn on the sander, the vacuum comes on automatically. You can buy aftermarket tool-trigger modules to add this function to any vacuum.
* Low noise. It doesn't scream at you like cheap shop vacs do.
Contributor
Have a Festool 125 also. If I had to replace it I would look at the 150’s. Seems like it would cover more ground with similar effort.
Contributor
The festool vacs are semi-critical to properly using the sander. Without turning down the suction 50%+, you are going to prematurely wear out your pads. Those are $50+ for the 150mm. Before I purchased a ct26, I burned one or two pads in a year and a half.
Member
No one has mentioned the difference in small particle filtration between a Festool vac and shop vac...unless your shop vac has an aftermarket filtration system that is comparable in terms of particulate filtration.
Before I had a Festool Midi vac, I used a older Fein turbo dust extractor with aftermarket HEPA filter for sanding with a 125 sander and it did just fine. The main complaint is my Fein hose isn’t anti static, which can be annoying if you’re doing a lot of sanding and moving around with it repeatedly. They maybe make an anti static hose you can buy? There was no suction adjustment, but I didn’t find myself prematurely wearing out pads. The Festool vac is barely a tick nicer overall in use for more nuanced tasks like sanding, but the older Fein vacs are a close second with aftermarket filtration (~$35)
I found a barely used Turbo (R2D2) model for around $150 several years ago.
Last edited by Phillip Mitchell; 05-05-2020 at 10:23 PM.
Still waters run deep.
Member
Several years ago I went down the path of looking for a small form factor HEPA vac for using inside my 1940's home. At the time I did not know anything about Festool, but once I saw the prices I said never in my life..! Fast forward six months or so and I bought a CT Mini and swore that was the only Festool product I'd ever buy. A couple months later I purchased an ETS EC 125/3 sander. It was so life changing I purchased the RO90 the next weekend. I can't say enough about the Festool sander/dust extractor combo. If I could change one thing I might have purchased the ETS EC 150/3 instead...but I have no regrets. I'm trying really hard to resist a CT26 or the new Midi. Buy both while you can still get a package discount...I missed out by buying separately.
[OP]
Member
My concern was that the two were integrated to the extent that using the sander only would be problematic. Seems not.
But there are several important points raised:
- Both my shop vacs are incredibly loud
- Small diameter hose makes steering the sander easier (very important, this causes the most fatigue during long sanding sessions)
- Vac comes on when the sander does (I've had plenty of those duh moments)
- HEPA level filtration
- Discount when buying the two together
I went for years without PPE, but as an old man, I have a multitude of respirators, safety glasses, hearing protection, dust collection systems, face shields, etc. (wish I had started earlier)
There are several vac options. Do you have any criteria for choosing one? I don't sand a lot, but the projects that need sanding tend to have long sessions using multiple discs for each grit
Contributor
Perhaps just replace the 125 pad with a 150 pad. They're exactly the same sanders otherwise. The 150 pad fits the 125 perfectly.Originally Posted by Ben Helmich
That's what I did, and it works great.
The Festool ETS EC 125/150 is an excellent sander.
I would recommend one of the their dust extractors (one of their small ones would be just fine for sanding) or rig something up with a shop vac as others have mentioned, but it should be used with some form of dust extraction to get the most out of it.
Member
When I started I used an RO150 with a cheap all plastic shopvac. One day while I was sanding the shop vac burst into flames. The fine dust had blocked the filter and, as the air thru the vac also cooled the motor, it erupted in flames. You can appreciate my reaction to having a pile of plastic on fire under my workbench. Luckily I was able to kick it outside and went out and bought a Festool vac.
Festool is the cream of the crop. But the idea that you need to spend close to $1000 on a sander and a vacuum to turn out good work is crazy. You will not burst into flames and crash and die if you don’t have festool. Is that the best choice generally? probably. But you will surely survive with far less.
I just dont get it. Maybe because I could never afford it. What do you guys do for a living.
Contributor
stroke sander, 3 generations of dynbrades. Maybe one day a sander with dust collection, meantime dust is just part of the deal.
Contributor
Hi Mark, buy a small Festool vac if you're using for household vacuuming, sanding etc. I have a CT26 and a Midi, love the Midi, the CT26 is bigger and much heavier to carry up stairs. Both have the same performance, the larger vacs have a larger bag capacity.
Don't worry about the bag cost, they seem to fill them like a bag of concrete so you rarely change them, I change mine once per year. The vacs are great, quiet, true HEPA filtration and an anti-static grounded hose, really important when sanding.
Regards, Rod.
Moderator
Most folks are well served by the smaller vacs...assuming they are dedicating them to tool extraction and keeping the shop cleanup to the big old, noisy shop vacs that excel at that kind of work. The only tools that generates larger amounts of debris for extraction are the Domino joiners; sanders don't generate huge quantities of dust, but it's essential to remove it for both personal health and because it makes the abrasive last longer and work better. That center hole in the base of the sander is part of that "secret sauce", too. I see that Festool is now offering a CTS-15 small extractor which might be just the ticket for the specific kind of application you have.
Last edited by Jim Becker; 05-06-2020 at 11:51 AM.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
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