Is a Festool Dust Extractor Really Worth it?


RJsumthn

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I am looking into getting a wet/dry vac and I keep thinking about the Festool Dust Extractor and wondering if it is really worth it. 

 

A little background on my situation; I currently do not own a wet/dry vac, any dust collection, or Festool products. I do however plan on getting dust collection and diving into the world of Festool. I am still new to woodworking and am building my tool collection and I want to get the best value out of my purchases. 

 

I know that for a shop-vac to last in a woodshop you need a cyclone dust separator. I am expecting to spend $200-$250 for a shop-vac plus a separator. But a Festool Dust Extractor will be at least $600 dollars. Is it really worth the extra money? 

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I do plan on definitely getting a Festool Track Saw and Sander in the future but that is probably a year away. I will be getting a jointer and planner first.

I have the TS 55 and ETS 150/5 from Festool. I used the TS 55 with a normal shop vac and had no issues at all, but the sander is where the variable suction on the sander comes in handy. I used the sander with my shop vac and I could see the dust caked up between the pad and paper. Also, not all the dust was getting caught. I decided to buy the CT midi, and thankfully I was within 30 days from buying my sander, and got the 10% discount. I noticed the difference immediately.

 

Believe me, they are expensive, but they are worth every penny. Especially with a sander and a vacuum. You will use those on every single project.

 

Remember RJ, these vacuums use bags. You can use them without a bag, but it is not recommended. 5 bags run $30. However, with the new material on the midi bags I can see it being very easy to cut open on the bottom and then clamp closed. I have not tested that theory yet, but I will soon.

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The Fein Turbo II has all the same features and costs $300.  There's a cheaper aftermarket HEPA filter available for it, called Cleanstream by Gore, but it's hard to figure out exactly which model is the one that works since they don't directly list Fein compatibility.  There's a cheap adapter that fits the hose to Festool stuff.

 

The Festool vacs are more usefully designed, as far as being able to put the hose away and what not.  The Fein is just this awkward round blob.  But for shop use and by the time you add in a cyclone in front of it, it generally becomes a stationary object and that doesn't really matter. 

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They are definitely worth it. I have the CT36 and there is zero saw dust when sanding or using the TS55. The thing I am most impress with is the noise level. It's probably less than half a shop vac. Festool is like crack, as soon as I got the CT36 and a sander I was back the next week buying the $375 boom! Now I'm considering buying another $150 hose so I don't have to unstring the hose from the boom to use the track saw .... 

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I have a Festool CT26 that I use with my Domino , ets150 sander and trim router and it works quite well. I also use a Dust Deputy with a Ridgid shop vac on my 16/32 drum sander, it is louder but it does a great job for a lot less money. Hooked up to a stationary tool I would go the cheaper route., but for multiple uses and the long run the Festool or Fein are a better choice.

I also have an old Fein vac that the tool triggered circut died on. IVac makes a switch box you can add to any vac to make it tool triggered. So that is a lower budget option. I got a rebuilt one for about $40 I think. The biggest Ridgid vac has a noise suppressor you can add to the exhaust port, it helps but the noise is substantial anyways.

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You have not picked a cheap hobby to go into.  I constantly shake my head at the cost of Festool products.  Then I bite the bullet and buy them, and I always end up happy that I did.  They just work really well.  I have a Festool TS55, MFT 3, CT 26, OT 1400.  They all work great.  The 2 that were the hardest for me to justify were the CT 26 and MFT 3.  And I wish I would have bought both of them years ago.

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Remember RJ, these vacuums use bags. You can use them without a bag, but it is not recommended. 5 bags run $30. However, with the new material on the midi bags I can see it being very easy to cut open on the bottom and then clamp closed. I have not tested that theory yet, but I will soon.

 

If you've seen those bag clips in grocery stores used to close potato chip bags, the following is the same concept. Go to the BORG and buy two plastic pipes, 3/4" and 1/2." Cut both sections of pipe a little longer than the opening you're making on the bag; probably cut off a small corner, keeping in mind the plastic pipe has to fit into the CT bag chamber (so don't cut the entire bottom of the bag off). Cut the 3/4" pipe into a 'C-shape,' fit the 1/2" pipe into that. Use this contraption to clamp off the corner, remove it when you need to empty it. Congratulations, you have a long life bag for under $10.

 

I'm still on my first bag, and the bag chamber has never seen a speck of dust.

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I have 2 shop vac and a festool. I use the festool for sanding since I have the festool sander. I use a a small shop vac for my kpax. And the large shop vac for my planer and jointer. Since you don't have a planer or jointer. I would save the money on the festool and get one of the machines.

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Yes In a word. I keep one plugit cord attached to my hose secured with a sleeve of cordura nylon I sewed into a sleeve, cord loosely spiraled around hose and a couple zip ties. Leave tail long enough for different arrangement to tools and I just grab a tool, plug in vac and power and go!

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I am looking into getting a wet/dry vac and I keep thinking about the Festool Dust Extractor and wondering if it is really worth it. 

 

A little background on my situation; I currently do not own a wet/dry vac, any dust collection, or Festool products. I do however plan on getting dust collection and diving into the world of Festool. I am still new to woodworking and am building my tool collection and I want to get the best value out of my purchases. 

 

I know that for a shop-vac to last in a woodshop you need a cyclone dust separator. I am expecting to spend $200-$250 for a shop-vac plus a separator. But a Festool Dust Extractor will be at least $600 dollars. Is it really worth the extra money? 

 

Go to home depot and look at the Hoover GUV. I think you will be surprised at what a good vac $159 gets you with 30ft of hose.

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"Is a Festool Dust Extractor Really Worth it?"

 

It depends.... For the record I have a CT26/UDD combo and a Midi permanently mounted in the Kapex cabinet. I also have an old Fein Turbo II that's been drug around and beat on for 10 years or so, still runs like a racehorse. I tend to use it more than the CT26 with tools, save the Festool for cleaning up messes.

 

The Festools are great vacs, take up minimal space and suck like nobody's business. BUT: compared to the Fein they're noisy, the wheel arrangement makes them clunky to maneuver around, the bags are expensive and the vac itself costs a God-awful lot of money.

 

If I were to do it over, I'd go for the Fein Turbo III HEPA for $50 less than the CT26, cheaper bags and a lot less noise.

 

But back to your original question: There's a HUGE difference in performance, longevity and usability between a high-end vac like the Festool or the Fein and your run-of-the-mill shop vac from the box store. For me that difference is well worth the cost but YMMV. I got by for years with the big-box vacs but back then every tool in the shop didn't have a dust port, the vac ran during cleanup and that was about all. Now that almost every power tool I use gets plugged into the vac I find that performance and noise levels are more important so I like the more expensive, quieter models. And the kids are out of college so I have more disposable income to afford such luxuries.

 

Like I said, it depends.....

 

HTH,

Bill

 

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The bag is also used as a pre-filter. Dumping it will reduce your bag usage but when you start loosing suction or the exhaust gets noticably hotter it is time for a new bag. I am getting a Dust Deputy to intercept most of the dust before it gets to the bag.

Definitely do a little research on this before you do. I have heard of folks frying the electronics in their CT vac due to static from the DD. Here's one example: http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tool-problems/toasted-ct22-motor-module-(thanks-to-dust-deputy)-!/msg253808/#msg253808

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If you're planning to get Festoys in addition to the vac you migt want to look hard at combo sets if they are available in your area. Love my CT26 and I'm still using my first bag after a half dozen emptyings of it. I'll eventually get the long life bag since its about the same price as a dust deputy kit and fits inside the vac without the hassle of finding a place for the cyclone.

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  • 3 years later...

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