festool dust collectors

[Zack Teal]

hey guy im thinking about getting a dust extractor for my shop and was wondering about the fes. i have herd great things about fes and have used my freinds fes track saw a lot and love it. im thinkin about the mini and i was woundering if it is worth the money.

[Van Huskey]

hey guy im thinking about getting a dust extractor for my shop and was wondering about the fes. i have herd great things about fes and have used my freinds fes track saw a lot and love it. im thinkin about the mini and i was woundering if it is worth the money.

For hand power tools or machines?

[Jon McElwain]

It was worth it to me. Loads of features, loads of accessories, well built, and works as a system with all the other Festools. Festool touts their tools for use as systems, and I for one am a believer. I have an MFT table with a dust collector under it and it is very nice to be able to switch from tool to tool easily by connecting power and vacuum from the dust extractor to each new tool as I work.

Worth it? Well, of course that is a very individual choice (finances, amount and type of use, need for other tools, etc), but I use mine nearly every day, and it has changed the way I work.

Now, all that said, I have a $30 loss-leader 10 gallon 5 hp sucker from the BORG that see's a lot of use too. It is used for general clean up, sucking up shavings and such from hard to reach places, my clothes and piles on the floor. It is much more difficult to connect to tools though. The Festool is a really nice addition for collecting the dangerous dust that comes off sanders and other tools that make fine shavings/sawdust.

Hope that helps!

[John Piwaron]

I have a Festool CT-22. I like it a lot.

But the CT-22 (or it's siblings) aren't meant for use as a full on dust collector. And considering the price of the bag inside it's not my choice for general shop clean up. I use an old shop vac for that.

So, what's it good for? Routers and sanders. Mine is getting the bulk of the waste from my routers that are equipped for dust collection. And it's fabulous for getting all the dust from my sanders. FWIW, my routers and sanders are Porter Cable brand. The standard hose that came with the CT-22 connects directly to all of them without a special adaptor.

In my opinion it's well worth the money to grab the dust from the smaller tools that might otherwise simply spew their waste into the air unabated. You know how much a ROS or router can foul the air. The Festool takes care of that.

But don't overlook the big tools. But don't use a Festool dust extractor on those. They'll require a full on dust collector. Simply for the greater volume of air they move and the much larger amount of waste made by the average planer/jointer/table saw.

[Greg Portland]

IMO the mini is not worth it because of the size and power. The CT22 and larger models are ideal for small tool dust collection. For large stationary equipment you'll want to get a full size dust collector (not a shop vac).

Fein also makes an excellent shop vac, it just doesn't have variable suction capability.

[Mike Heidrick]

I think the new Feins have the variable suction capability.

From the Fein Turbo III Vacuum 9-20-26-FB 1 Micron ad:
Electronic variable suction control with LED indicator

[Alex Leslie]

The CT22 & CT33 are being replaced by new models so you may be able to find these at a discount. The new CT26 & CT36 are improved, but the older models are certainly capable and will have parts available for at least 7 years.