What dust extractor to go with? What is best? Hilti, Festool?

[Fatandre]

Hello guys.

I am looking for a dust extractor both for concrete grinding and for my wood saws when I am at a job site.

I need the best stuff and price is not a problem.

I just want the best thing out there.

[paulengr]

The filters and blower are basic tech until you get into large systems where you get pulse jets and Torit systems. The thing is there is a balance called the air to cloth ratio which needs to be under about 4 and the pressure drop needs to be between 2 and 8 inches: for ANY filter. If air flow is too low or high it doesn’t work: Also you need a certain CFM based on the opening it is sucking air through, the gaps around the tool. If it’s too much it won’t capture the dust and you are forced to use a bigger blower which means a bigger filter. Just saying so you get what the technology limits are.

So the best dust collector is the one built specifically for a specific tool. Everything else is meaningless. Using a Festool dust extractor on a Dewalt grinder is not a good idea.

With saws it’s a different story. They have built in dust ports and just take any shop vac. Shop vacs come in a variety of CFM but the saw manuals give a minimum CFM. More is not better. If you are above minimum you get maximum collection efficiency.

Buying super high filtration filters kills air to cloth ratio over OEM filters. 3M is famous for selling overpriced filters that reduce system performance. Don’t do this. Especially with concrete and drywall dust that plugs filters quickly.

[Fatandre]

I looked at the bosch one. Looks promising.

I need one that is good for everything

I like the hilti one but is it really better?

 

[wingless]

Welcome to the forum.

 

If going w/ Festool, I use their long life bag, then dump / shake out over and over, until the bad fails.

[Fatandre]

Well. I think I might go with the Hilti one.

Maybe you get me of that idea?

[Fatandre]

no more input?

[regopit]

You could look into Flex Vacuums. I have the festool and the Flex. The flex works just as well as the festool and it cost less then the festool

[Fatandre]

Flex looks nice. How is it compared to Hilti?

I like it has a small filter for the motor

[Fatandre]

Decided to go with Starmix

[Eric - TIA]

Sweet, I am curious to get your thoughts on it.

[Fatandre]

Went with the H 1635. Should be a good performer I guess

[Rexbri]

So the best dust collector is the one built specifically for a specific tool. Everything else is meaningless. Using a Festool dust extractor on a Dewalt grinder is not a good idea.
 

[okpermanent]

On 6/26/2020 at 5:15 PM, paulengr said:

The filters and blower are basic tech until you get into large systems where you get pulse jets and Torit systems. The thing is there is a balance called the air to cloth ratio which needs to be under about 4 and the pressure drop needs to be between 2 and 8 inches: for ANY filter. If air flow is too low or high it doesn’t work: Also you need a certain CFM based on the opening it is sucking air through, the gaps around the tool. If it’s too much it won’t capture the dust and you are forced to use a bigger blower which means a bigger filter. Just saying so you get what the technology limits are.

So the best dust collector is the one built specifically for a specific tool. Everything else is meaningless. Using a Festool dust extractor on a Dewalt grinder is not a good idea.

With saws it’s a different story. They have built in dust ports and just take any shop vac. Shop vacs come in a variety of CFM but the saw manuals give a minimum CFM. More is not better. If you are above minimum you get maximum collection efficiency.

Buying super high filtration filters kills air to cloth ratio over OEM filters. 3M is famous for selling overpriced filters that reduce system performance. Don’t do this. Especially with concrete and drywall dust that plugs filters quickly.

concrete grinding tampa

Festool is probably hard to beat. Some of their bigger models have a feature that will automatically shake the dust bag to maintain suction- but a special bag may be required. Festool/Tanos Systainers will attach to the vacuum for transport. I have used a CT36, and it works great. Never have had a problem with bag clogs or dust not completely filling up the bag. It isn't unusual for the bag to look like the cavity it is in when it is full of concrete grinding boston. It won't suck up big debris like a typical "Shop Vac". The only Festool disappointment I have had has been with their dust cyclone system. Bought it, tried it, sent it back. I had zero success with it when trying to catch fine drywall/sanding dust- but it worked great with planer shavings. Not working with the fine dust was a deal breaker for me.

[Altan]

On 7/10/2020 at 1:27 AM, Fatandre said:

Decided to go with Starmix

Starmix is great, their cordless vac can be used either with one single 36V battery or 2 x 18V batteries, the design of battery slots (one for 36V battery and two for 18V batteries) was amazing to save space. 

[okpermanent]

On 11/12/2022 at 11:07 AM, Altan said:

Starmix is great, their cordless vac can be used either with one single 36V battery or 2 x 18V batteries, the design of battery slots (one for 36V battery and two for 18V batteries) was amazing to save space. 

thank you so much for your suggestion concrete grinding jacksonville

[okpermanent]

On 6/26/2020 at 5:15 PM, paulengr said:

The filters and blower are basic tech until you get into large systems where you get pulse jets and Torit systems. The thing is there is a balance called the air to cloth ratio which needs to be under about 4 and the pressure drop needs to be between 2 and 8 inches: for ANY filter. If air flow is too low or high it doesn’t work: Also you need a certain CFM based on the opening it is sucking air through, the gaps around the tool. If it’s too much it won’t capture the dust and you are forced to use a bigger blower which means a bigger filter. Just saying so you get what the technology limits are.

So the best dust collector is the one built specifically for a specific tool. Everything else is meaningless. Using a Festool dust extractor on a Dewalt grinder is not a good idea.

With saws it’s a different story. They have built in dust ports and just take any shop vac. Shop vacs come in a variety of CFM but the saw manuals give a minimum CFM concrete grinding orlando. More is not better. If you are above minimum you get maximum collection efficiency.

Buying super high filtration filters kills air to cloth ratio over OEM filters. 3M is famous for selling overpriced filters that reduce system performance. Don’t do this. Especially with concrete and drywall dust that plugs filters quickly.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge on dust collectors and filtration systems. It is important to understand the balance between air to cloth ratio and pressure drop for any filter. The CFM requirement for a dust collector depends on the tool or opening it is sucking air through. It is also important to note that using a dust collector that is not built specifically for a tool may not be effective in capturing dust. For saws, built-in dust ports are available, and any shop vac can be used as long as the CFM meets the minimum requirement mentioned in the saw manual. It is important to maintain the balance of air to cloth ratio and pressure drop, especially when using high filtration filters, which can reduce the system's performance and lead to filter clogging, especially with concrete and drywall dust.