Shop Vac maintenence...

[jonmulzer]

On mine they clip into the inlet inside the canister body before you put the hose on. I have a front inlet Shop Vac brand. I am not sure if it is different for you with a Ridgid or not. Then they kind of surround the filter body. It is simple, but hard to explain and easy to figure out with the filter bag in your hand.

[dbhost]

Mine actually came with a bag, and I have no idea how to attach it...

[jonmulzer]

Does the hose hook up in front? Is there an air deflector inside the canister that clips into place? Does the hose protrude into the air deflector when it is screwed in? If so, then it is the same basic design as mine and I might be able to offer a better description.

[John Hunter]

If you guys would use bags in your vacs, you wouldn't get clogged filters. I'm not saying to use HEPA filters, but I'd certainly use a bag, too.

Ditto here, I use the fine dust bags and I also use a 5 gal cyclone separator in front of the shop vac. Much easier to empty and cuts way down on the number of times I have to empty the shop vac.

[Bill in Buena Park]

Another vote for using bags to save your filter. I've been using these (http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...26+Accessories), but they have bags that fit the 10-16g range as well. I filled one to capacity with dust from the saw, sanding, routing & planing - and the filter still looked like new.

dbhost, if your vac has a tube/sleeve inside the tank where the hose fits into the tank, I believe you can slide your bag opening over the sleeve, and then position the bag around the internal perimeter of the tank so it surrounds the filter when you drop the lid back on.

[Pappy]

I have an older Craftsman and was never successful getting a bag to fit it. I went to a Coldstream filter which makes things easier. When you wash them you have to allow plenty of drying time before putting it back in service.

When you wash a filter, or blow it out with compressed air, work from the inside to avoid embedding dirt in the pores of the material.

Another trick to keep the filter clean longer is to cut the legs off an old pair of panty hose and put the top part on the filter. The nylon will catch most of the fine dust before it gets into the filter. Pull out and let it snap back into place to knock the dust lose.

[cabinetman]

Another trick to keep the filter clean longer is to cut the legs off an old pair of panty hose and put the top part on the filter. The nylon will catch most of the fine dust before it gets into the filter. Pull out and let it snap back into place to knock the dust lose.

As a safety note, to avoid severe damage to your head and face area, it's not advisable to cut them off while they are being worn (unless they are worn by you).
.

[Mr__Bill]

This may sound stupid, but, if your vac motor is cooled by air that does not go through the vac then when the filter is out just pop the vac back together without the filter and vacuum the filter. It is best to have the discharge of the vac pointed at a neighbor that has aggravated you lately and preferably down wind.

Normally I just wait for a windy day and toss the contents to the wind. Shake the filter out and then vac it. All the dust is carried by the wind off over the mountains to become compost somewhere like Texas where they need the stuff. If you believe that, I have some recycled cat litter for sale too.

Bill, who is glad he lives up wind of most everyone.

[dbhost]

I may have to grab a Coldstream if I mess up my Ridgid HEPA. It looks like it is some kind of paper though...

[sweensdv]

I may have to grab a Coldstream if I mess up my Ridgid HEPA. It looks like it is some kind of paper though...

FWIW dbhost, I have lost count of the number of times I've washed my Coldstream HEPA and it still shows very little signs of wear.

[dbhost]

Thanks. Makes me glad the HEPA was in the box and not something extra I paid for... Can't grab it today as I am about to take LOML out for the evening. I even shaved on a Saturday!

[eezlock]

shop vac maintenence

After I dump the canister portion of the shop vac into the big trash can,
I take the filter off and clean it with the air hose till nice and clean. I also
blow out any dust particles with the air hose and reassemble vac, ready for another round of dust collection! eezlock

[arcas]

I have a 12gal Shop Vac and for a couple years I didn't use a bag. I'd just clean the HEPA filter with water and give it a gentle brushing. Let the filter dry for a couple days and it was good to go. This worked but it was messy and pretty time consuming.

Then I had to do some drywall work and remembered a friend's lamentation about burning out his shopvac while doing the same. I figured it was either because the drywall dust clogged the HEPA filter so badly that it caused the motor to overheat or the filter didn't keep the dust from getting into the motor.

So I decided to buy a new HEPA filter and a couple "high-efficiency" bags made for fine stuff like drywall dust. These are rated down to 0.3 microns. Worked great...the HEPA filter was still pristine afterwards. These days, my shopvac always has a bag in the garage/shop unless I'm vacuuming wet stuff. I figure if they stop 100% of drywall dust from getting to the HEPA filter, they'll stop fine sawdust just as well.