Clogged filters when using a shop vac for DC

[Ronak Shah]

So I finally bought a Craftsman Shopvac/blower 2-in-1 this weekend, and promptly filled it up with sawdust. The problem is that the filter is amazingly clogged, and I've lost most of the sucking power.

I cleaned it out (read: banged the filter against the wall), but it quickly becomes clogged again.

Are there any best practices around using a shop-vac for dust collection? Right now I've just plugged it into the waste port on my BT3K.

[Copper]

I haven't tried it yet, but they sell paper bags that you can put inside the shop vac. I'm having the same problem and will likely try it in the near future. Just be sure not to use them for wet vacuuming. Does anyone use these in their shop vac? Is there a reduction in power?

Here's a link after searching the Sears website:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...id=00917891000

[BobSch]

quote:Originally posted by Copper

I haven't tried it yet, but they sell paper bags that you can put inside the shop vac. I'm having the same problem and will likely try it in the near future. Just be sure not to use them for wet vacuuming. Does anyone use these in their shop vac? Is there a reduction in power?

Here's a link after searching the Sears website:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...id=00917891000

That's what I use on my old C-man vacuum. (After the separator gets most of the big stuff.) After I get the shop remodeled and rewired I'm going to have to set up my real HF DC.

[drumpriest]

I no longer use my shop vac for DC, as I've got a jet, but I used to. I use a bag in the vac, and a hepafilter in the vac. The hepafilter has a lot of surface area, so it's hard to clog, and the bag keeps all but the finest dust away from the hepa filter.

The bags arn't that pricey, I found them at big lots. I didn't really notice any big drop in power.

[Tom Miller]

Get some fine-mesh man-made tubular filter material (OK, panty hose) and pull it over the shopvac filter. You'll still have to knock sawdust off it from time to time, but it won't clog up the pleats as bad.

Regards,
Tom

[jAngiel]

I use the bags with a lot of success. Since I was cutting a lot of MDF I started using the sheetrock bags that capture a lot more of the fine dust. No decrease in suction using the bags.

[mschrank]

I haven't tried one yet, but I've heard about a line of shop-vac filters made with Gore-tex. Supposed to catch really fine particles, and because the material is so slippery, the dust apparently slides off each time the vac shuts down.

[Stick]

quote:Originally posted by Copper

I haven't tried it yet, but they sell paper bags that you can put inside the shop vac. I'm having the same problem and will likely try it in the near future. Just be sure not to use them for wet vacuuming. Does anyone use these in their shop vac? Is there a reduction in power?

All the old shop-vacs HAD was a sponge cover over the float ball, and then a paper bag over that. Works fine for me. Mine's probably 30 years old. (the shop-vac that is, not the bag...LOL!) Like Copper said, just take the paper bag out for wet vacuuming. They still sell a big bag too like in a house vacuum. Works good for general use around the shop, but fills up way too fast when used for dust collection.

[vaking]

shopvac should work well with cyclone lid. Something like this:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...t=1,42401&ap=1
There was a string here at the forum recently where we established those lids are made specifically for shopvacs and are not for real dust collectors.

[Jim-Iowa]

I have fitted both of my shop vacs with the corrogated paper filters. Yes the fine dust bulids up in the corrogations(having two allows that. Which reminds me I need to borrow the smaller one back from my son(There can be drawbacks to having him live 10 blocks away).
About once a week I install the micro nozzle and vacume out the corrogations. The labelling says you can wash them out with soap & water, but I have yet to do that.

[lrogers]

I also use the pantyhose pre-filter. It works great and is cheap. Another thing to try is one of those cyclone lids that fit over a 5 gallon bucket (Rockler and others sell them for about $25). If you put about 4" of water in the bucket and use the prefilter, very little stuff gets to the paper filter. Of course, you do end up with sawdust mush in the bottom of the bucket.

[BobSch]

quote:Originally posted by lrogers

...Of course, you do end up with sawdust mush in the bottom of the bucket.

Where do you think MDF comes from?

[hastingr]

Here is the low dollar cyclone solution to this problem


http://www.bt3central.com/forum/post...83&FORUM_ID=22

[Bulkley]

Experiment with "low dollar" cyclone solutions. Just a note though: I threw away one of those Lee Valley lids that vaking posted. It looks like a good idea in the catalogue, but the one I got didn't fit any of my garbage cans and I couldn't get a decent seal. In short, it didn't work well enough to keep.

After a lot of messing around, I got a proper duct collector. Mine is only a 1hp model, but it works.