Festool CT22 or CT33 ??

[Michael Wildt]

Hi,

I'm considering getting one of the dust vacuums from Festool. Though I have a tough time deciding on which of the two to pick. CT22 or CT33. While the CT22 is nice and small the idea of having to change bags every other moment is why I'm thinking about the CT33. I do not have a planer nor jointer but if I got one I would be using the collector for these as well. Maybe with a cyclone in between. Due to storage I will not be able to add a real DC system.

Soooo, what is your experience in terms of capacity for the CT22 ?

Michael

[Chris Padilla]

I have a CT11...yes, most may not have heard of this one (it is NOT the mini) as it was heading towards obscurity, I picked it up for a good price.

I've replaced the bag once a year with good usage. I think youll be fine with the 22 but I dunno about hooking it up to a planer! Even the 33 would fill extremely fast with a planer feeding it.

[John Dugo]

I would go with the 33 so that you can use what ever tool you want in the future. But I would also go with the reusable bag to cut down on the expense of the throw away ones.

[Frank Martin]

... very simply they need more air flow than the vacuum provides. Plus, what you get from a jointer or planer is more chips than very fine dust, which you can simply use a broom if that is your thing.

Where Festool vacs do an excellent job is when they are connected to mostly hand held dust producing tools, such as sanders, routers, etc.

[Rob Wright]

I have the 22 and like it a lot. It is the right size to move around and bring into the house if required. The 22 is a 5.3 gallon vac. I find that if I use this as a "shop vac" then i have filled it up in a few weekends. If using any large " chip" producing tools - I would get a Dust Deputy or ClearVue Mini. The $60 saved with going with the 22 would get you half way there to the mini cyclone.

There are a number of threads on hooking mini-cyclones to CT22/33 at the festool owner's group website.

$0.03

- Rob

[Tim Malyszko]

I've only owned my CT-22 for a few weeks now and have used it when sanding and sawing, and the bag is no-where close to being filled. I can't say for sure how long it will take to fill the bag, but I imagine it will be months and months.

I would not hook either up to a planer because of the amount of waste generated by a planer. I dumped 2-30 gallon trash cans of chips from the seperator that sits between my dust collector and the duct work this past weekend from planing. You will fill either dust extractor up very quickly.

[Dave Falkenstein]

If you plan to use the CT with a jointer and/or planer (which I would not recommend), I would choose the CT33 just for the bag size. I have a CT22 and a Jet dust collector, so the Festool gets used with hand power tools. I change the bag in my home shop maybe once a year!

The permanent bag is VERY expensive. Unless you use the vac a whole lot, paper bags will be just fine, IMHO.

[Bill Wyko]

I have the 33. It has a small storage in the bottom too. Nice thing about that is you can store cords for other tools. Contrary to popular belief, all the cords don't fit all the tools. My ts75 and my 125 sander cords do not exchange.Pretty awsome DC though.

[Jim Kirkpatrick]

... all the cords don't fit all the tools. My ts75 and my 125 sander cords do not exchange.Pretty awsome DC though.

Not entirely true....the saw cord will fit the sander but the sander cord will not fit the saw. (why is that?) My solution: I have my saw cord attached to the boom arm so it will work either way.

[Jim Becker]

How you use the machine makes the difference. For use with the hand-held tools for dust extraction, the CT22 is more than big enough. The only significant difference between it and the CT33 is the size of the load it can carry in the bag...performance is the same. Honestly, a shop vac of any kind, including the Festool, is not the best solution for a jointer or planer. They are optimal for high static pressure/low air flow uses such as extraction from small hand-held tools. Larger machines really need a dust collector that is optimized for high CFM/low static pressure. You "can" use a shop vac, but your results can be iffy...but if you do, especially with a unit like the CT22 or CT33, the separator is a good idea since these machines require bags and they are not inexpensive.

[Michael Wildt]

Hi Guys,

Appreciate the replies. With those in mind I think I'll lean towards the CT22 and then, when the need arises, do some cyclone. Getting the CT22 could let me squeeeeze in a sander, maybe.

I'm fully aware that the dust extractor isn't ideal for a jointer/planer, but it will help the broom work ;-)

One thing I found is that both CT22 and CT33 have two accessories. Reuseable bags and a dust bin. The bin being cheaper, but with shavings it will still be a pain to empty.

Thanks
Michael

[Michael Wildt]

Hi,

Got another Q on this subject. Anyone have a wand kit for the vacuum ? I see several kinds. Some metal pipes other plastic. Quite a bit price difference on those.

Michael

[Jim Becker]

I'm fully aware that the dust extractor isn't ideal for a jointer/planer, but it will help the broom work ;-)

Actually, it might not. Pay close attention to the CFM requirements for any J/P you purchase. Dust collection is required for them, unlike separates that can spew chips out on the floor with out a dust hood, and the CFM to clear the non-removable hoods on the J/P is not small. A shop vac doesn't generate much more than about 100 CFM, give or take...and a J/P will typically require a minimum of 600-800 CFM to properly clear when working wider material. If you get below a certain amount of air flow, you'll have both clogging and marking of the work when chips get caught between the feed system and the board.

On the wand question, I'm actually considering buying one of the kits to use for certain kinds of cleanup...like the barn beams in our great room. But I haven't considered which one at this point.

[John Dorough]

When I was trying to decide between the 22 and 33, I asked the pro, Bob Marino, if there were any other differences in the two units than the collection capacity. He told me that is the only difference. I went with the 22 and am very happy.

[Steven Wilson]

I like the CT22. When I ordered mine I also picked up the Universal Cleaning Kit (around $130). I think it's a fairly good value as far as cleaning sets go. I use it a lot for cleaning up the shop, the boat, the car and truck, and also inside when I'm installing something.