Author Topic: CT Mini... Is it sufficient for use with the Kapex? (Read 16432 times)

adubeau · « **on:** December 26, 2011, 10:25 AM »

I am kicking around the idea of purchasing a Kapex to replace my current miter saw... Will my CT Mini be suffcient enough for the dust collection on the Kapex...?

Kev · « **Reply #1 on:** December 26, 2011, 10:41 AM »

Depends what you're cutting. If you're cutting bigger stock I think you're going to want something that takes the bigger hose - I got a CT36 for mine.

Festool USA · « **Reply #2 on:** December 26, 2011, 11:02 AM »

Yes, all five of the CT dust extractors now share all of the same specifications, with the exception of capacity. So, you may have to replace bags more frequently with the Mini, but it's certainly capable of the task. Just a note... The larger 36mm hose and/or a shorter hose has proven to offer better dust extraction on the Kapex.

Erik63 · « **Reply #3 on:** December 26, 2011, 11:12 AM »

I think mobility is the biggest factor to consider. If you will only be cutting in a shop, there is really no factor other than price to get a mini. If you move from job to job every day like me, a mini is a good choice. I use my Midi way more than my 33. I don't mind putting in a new bag more often.

Brice Burrell · « **Reply #4 on:** December 26, 2011, 11:35 AM »

Quote from: Kev on December 26, 2011, 10:41 AM

Depends what you're cutting. If you're cutting bigger stock I think you're going to want something that takes the bigger hose - I got a CT36 for mine.

The bigger D36 hose fits on the CT Mini/Midi vacs.

PeterK · « **Reply #5 on:** December 26, 2011, 12:09 PM »

The new Mini and Midi have the same suction as the larger units now. Only "catch" is if using the larger hoses, the hose comes out from inside the hose garage and has to stick out vertically so no Systainer can be mounted. The factory supplied 27mm hose has a right angle connector so it comes out horizontally.

Steve R · « **Reply #6 on:** December 26, 2011, 03:12 PM »

It was a quite role out that all extractors have the same power... it really is a game changer. The Kapex taken on site needs an extractor.

When you work on site you look at the cost of operation..to a point. The CT48 bag cost in the long run is best...but when you need to pack it to a site.. a midi or mini would be of a lower cost of space and wall/door dings getting up a flight of stairs.

Would I buy a mini as my only Extractor....no, but once I get into more than one extractor ... woohoo... small and lighter weight... is good.

I also told my Festool rep at a Woodcraft event what Festool should really do to reduce Extractors SKUs and add more functionality and add even more value to the Festool Extractor line... NO BRAINIER to me and it seemed by his reaction... he agreed Why would not Festool not haven't done this already I don't know... I'm waiting to hear back for him/Festool.

Cheers,
Steve

Kev · « **Reply #7 on:** December 28, 2011, 03:23 AM »

Quote from: Shane Holland on December 26, 2011, 11:02 AM

Yes, all five of the CT dust extractors now share all of the same specifications, with the exception of capacity. So, you may have to replace bags more frequently with the Mini, but it's certainly capable of the task. Just a note... The larger 36mm hose and/or a shorter hose has proven to offer better dust extraction on the Kapex.

Shane,

If I read between the lines - does that mean a 36mm hose can be connected to a Mini ?

Kev.

Festoolfootstool · « **Reply #8 on:** December 28, 2011, 04:48 AM »

Hi not Shane but yes, it can leave the vac vertically which is good when attached to the kapex

Kev · « **Reply #9 on:** December 28, 2011, 05:08 AM »

Quote from: Festoolfootstool on December 28, 2011, 04:48 AM

Hi not Shane but yes, it can leave the vac vertically which is good when attached to the kapex

Now that's interesting!

I think we need some hardcore volumetric stats ... something like how many straight 4x2 cuts through oregon constitutes 10 litres of CT volume. To me, a stat like this would really help scale a Kapex user's work to their target DC.

Brice Burrell · « **Reply #10 on:** December 28, 2011, 04:10 PM »

Quote from: Kev on December 28, 2011, 03:23 AM

Quote from: Shane Holland on December 26, 2011, 11:02 AM
Yes, all five of the CT dust extractors now share all of the same specifications, with the exception of capacity. So, you may have to replace bags more frequently with the Mini, but it's certainly capable of the task. Just a note... The larger 36mm hose and/or a shorter hose has proven to offer better dust extraction on the Kapex.

Shane,

If I read between the lines - does that mean a 36mm hose can be connected to a Mini ?

Kev.

You could have saved some bandwidth if you'd read reply #4.

jmbfestool · « **Reply #11 on:** December 28, 2011, 05:48 PM »

Quote from: Kev on December 28, 2011, 03:23 AM

Quote from: Shane Holland on December 26, 2011, 11:02 AM
Yes, all five of the CT dust extractors now share all of the same specifications, with the exception of capacity. So, you may have to replace bags more frequently with the Mini, but it's certainly capable of the task. Just a note... The larger 36mm hose and/or a shorter hose has proven to offer better dust extraction on the Kapex.

Shane,

If I read between the lines - does that mean a 36mm hose can be connected to a Mini ?

Kev.

That will take some time! Easiest thing would be put a counter near the kapex hinge and every time you drop the kapex head it clicks the counter! Once your CT is full the counter will say how many times you chopped you know kinda what size stock you have been cutting on average you then measure the width of the blade lets say 3mm you chopped 500 times till the CT was full thats 1500mm long and if you say you chopped 4x2 size timber on average then you know it will be a piece of 4x2 1.5m long.

JMB

Kev · « **Reply #12 on:** December 28, 2011, 06:38 PM »

Quote from: Brice Burrell on December 28, 2011, 04:10 PM

Quote from: Kev on December 28, 2011, 03:23 AM
Quote from: Shane Holland on December 26, 2011, 11:02 AM
Yes, all five of the CT dust extractors now share all of the same specifications, with the exception of capacity. So, you may have to replace bags more frequently with the Mini, but it's certainly capable of the task. Just a note... The larger 36mm hose and/or a shorter hose has proven to offer better dust extraction on the Kapex.

Shane,

If I read between the lines - does that mean a 36mm hose can be connected to a Mini ?

Kev.

You could have saved some bandwidth if you'd read reply #4.

Nope - didn't for me ... and this only served to increase ...

Peter Halle · « **Reply #13 on:** December 28, 2011, 06:51 PM »

Quote from: Kev on December 28, 2011, 06:38 PM

Quote from: Brice Burrell on December 28, 2011, 04:10 PM
Quote from: Kev on December 28, 2011, 03:23 AM
Quote from: Shane Holland on December 26, 2011, 11:02 AM
Yes, all five of the CT dust extractors now share all of the same specifications, with the exception of capacity. So, you may have to replace bags more frequently with the Mini, but it's certainly capable of the task. Just a note... The larger 36mm hose and/or a shorter hose has proven to offer better dust extraction on the Kapex.

Shane,

If I read between the lines - does that mean a 36mm hose can be connected to a Mini ?

Kev.

You could have saved some bandwidth if you'd read reply #4.

Nope - didn't for me ... and this only served to increase ...

Kev,

The 36 mm hose fits the mini. It has to go straight up from the CT Mini.

Peter

Festool USA · « **Reply #14 on:** December 28, 2011, 07:37 PM »

Kev, the 36mm hose will work with all models of our CT dust extractors, including the Mini. As was already said, the hose will be in a vertical orientation coming out of the top of the Mini. Also, it probably would not fit within the space provided by the hose garage if that's a consideration.

Kev · « **Reply #15 on:** December 28, 2011, 11:26 PM »

Quote from: Shane Holland on December 28, 2011, 07:37 PM

Kev, the 36mm hose will work with all models of our CT dust extractors, including the Mini. As was already said, the hose will be in a vertical orientation coming out of the top of the Mini. Also, it probably would not fit within the space provided by the hose garage if that's a consideration.

Ah - ok. I've been looking at my CT-Mini (thinking maybe it's the older version ... thinking maybe this is only the case for the newer CT-Minis) ... if I was to take the hose garage off and remove the right angle connection I think the chute looks to be about the 36mm hose size (looking from the underside of the port).

So it's technically possible, but it's not as simple as connecting a 36mm hose to the CT26/36/etc ...

(I wanted to do a few KAPEX cut comparisons with the CT-Mini and the CT36 - both with the 36mm hose to offer a hands on result - but I didn't want to take the mini apart)

Festool USA · « **Reply #16 on:** December 28, 2011, 11:31 PM »

As far as I know, the Mini's design has never changed. You should be able to just pop a 36mm right into the port.

Festool USA · « **Reply #17 on:** December 29, 2011, 12:20 AM »

Kev, maybe I should add that the connector end for the hose is the same for the 27mm and 36mm on the dust extractor inlet side.

Edit: the hose supplied with the Mini has a 90 degree whereas other hoses do not. But that should not prevent you from using them.

Tom Bellemare · « **Reply #18 on:** December 29, 2011, 02:32 AM »

The end that connects to any of the Festool dust extractors is 50mm and that includes the 90-degree fitting that comes from the factory with the CT MINI and CT MIDI. If you want to connect any of the standard Festool dust extraction products to a CT MINI or CT MIDI, just pop out the 90-degree fitting and you have a 50mm receiver.

Tom

Brice Burrell · « **Reply #19 on:** December 29, 2011, 04:21 PM »

Here's a picture of the D36 hose attached to my five year old Mini.

Kev · « **Reply #20 on:** December 30, 2011, 12:43 AM »

Thanks for all of the info on plugging the big hose into the CT-Mini guys.

Finding out little "future proofing features" like this makes me like Festool products all the more!

Now if someone could telll me how to stick one of the drill batteries into the Festool job site radio

Timtool · « **Reply #21 on:** August 05, 2012, 03:31 AM »

Reviving this old thread,
I bought a CT mini for on site work, and in the workshop for under the kapex. DC is fairly poor with the D27 hose, i guess it collects around 50-60%. The Kapex nicely throws all the dust into the port, but half of it bounces back out.
I ordered the shortest 2.5m D36 hose already, but i was wondering if the difference was significant enough? Or if any have made it shorter (mini sits right under, so 1 m would be enough) to see a significant DC improvement?
So far the kapex spot has been the most messy of the shop(up to now hooked to a 2HP DC system with a 50mm hose, worked so bad that i rarely bothered turning it on), and getting all that dust from around/under the kapex base is a PITA.

Don't want be cutting up a €100 hose if it doesn't improve DC, though i have no idea what that hose could be used for otherwise in my shop.

Tom Bellemare · « **Reply #22 on:** August 05, 2012, 03:55 AM »

This video I made a few years ago shows the dramatic difference in the 27 mm hose and the 36 mm hose. The Festool CT's are really being constricted by the 27 mm hose but that's just fine for sanding.

I used a Festool Turbo Suction Brush, which uses the airflow produced by the CT (and its hose) to propel the brush. Turn up your sound while playing the video and you will see that "dramatic" is not an overstatement. I first have a 27 mm hose and then a 36 mm hose. When I put the big hose on, it's almost like a small turbine.

Tom

RvB · « **Reply #23 on:** August 05, 2012, 05:36 AM »

Using my midi with my kapex with a d27 hose doesn't work very well,
but even with a 3,5mtr D36 hose the difference is huge!! So i'll say,
Just try out the 2,5 mtr d36 and see if it meets up with your expectations..
If it doesnt you can always cut it shorter.. But for me, the midi with 3,5m d36
hose works as good as with my ctl 26e!

Thnks!

Timtool · « **Reply #24 on:** August 08, 2012, 04:43 PM »

Thank you for the replies, i will report back as soon as i pick up the hose.

Cav Guy · « **Reply #25 on:** January 16, 2019, 10:50 AM »

What kind of adaptor do I need to connect the 36mm with the CT Mini? It doesn't have to look pretty, Thanks

RKA · « **Reply #26 on:** January 16, 2019, 11:37 AM »

You don't need an adapter, the 36mm fitting will fit tight into the mini. The connector is a straight connector though (not right angle like the one that comes with 27mm hose included with the mini). So if need to stack systainers on top of the mini, you may or may not be able to do that with the 36mm hose.

Cav Guy · « **Reply #27 on:** January 16, 2019, 12:30 PM »

Great RKA, thanks!

Gregor · « **Reply #28 on:** January 16, 2019, 02:15 PM »

All festool hoses have a 50mm connector on the side to the vac.