Dust collector bags and other thingies

[steve-norrell]

I am looking for a source of plastic dust collector bags -- the ones that go on the bottom and catch the chips and dust. I need bags that are 14 inches in diameter for my Jet 650 collector. Ones I have found on the net are $14 - $15 for a pack of five and, when shipping is added, seem terribly expensive.

Also, way back in the dark reaches of my old memory, I seem to recall a thread about attaching the bag with some kind of a strap on the outside of the collector, rather than the springy thingie that hold the bag against the inside surface.

All suggestion are welcome and gratefully received. Regards, Steve

[charliex]

Call me cheep!

I have the same issues with emptying the bag on my 650. These things are rather expensive to have too replace every time they fill up. Plus once they are full it's a pain to release it from the DC. What I have been doing is cutting one of the lower corners off, rolling it up and clipping it shut with a clamp. When half full I un-clip it and empty through the hole into a cheap trash bag, roll it back up and clip. Any suggestion on how to improve this will be greatly appreciated by me also.

Chas

[Charlie]

Get or make a garbage can dust seperator so the bags don't fill as often. Phil Thien has a website that can help you if you decide to make one. Another option is to replace the plastic bag with a barrell, someone on the net sells a cloth boot to connect a barrell to a DC.

[crokett]

What Charlie said - make a Thien separator. Somewhere on Woodnet in the Power Tools forum there is a thread on integrating the Thien baffle in your DC to get the advantages of it but still save the canister filter.

[JimD]

I have a Delta AP-400 which also has 14 inch diameter bags. I put a cartridge filter on it and got bags from the same source. They are much too large in diameter. I taped one up and am using it but it leaks.

Your post inspired me to look on the McMaster Carr website where I found 8 mil clear plastic barrel liners, 14 1/2 diameter by 36 tall for $3.44 each. I ordered 3. It is their number 8852K73. I don't know what shipping is yet but this seems reasonable to me. And they should fit. They also have 4 mil bags cheaper. I ordered the 8 mil hoping they will be sturdy enough to be dumped and re-used. I like to tape the clamp to the bag.

McMaster also sells fiber drums for a decent price but you would have to figure a way to connect it. Taping a portion of a bag to the drum and the DC would be one way. Or clamp the top of the section of bag.

Jim

[drumpriest]

I just dump mine out and reuse them. The respirator goes on, the chips go out.

[steve-norrell]

Thanks for all the suggestions. As good as they are, most of them do not really fit my needs.

I have no room for a Thien separator on a 33-gallon can, a least not while my shop / garage is in the garage mode for the winter. I have used the smaller, 5-gallon pail, version of the separator with very good results when I used a Shop-Vac. I may set up a Thien system when I can get back into the shop mode (around mid-April).

I have begun been using drumpriest's technique and will probably continue to do so. I invert a 33-gallon garbage bag over the dust collector bag, tighten it up, and turn the whole thing over so the chips and dust empty into the garbage bag without causing a major health hazard.

And that brings to the the other topic. The LOML wants to use the chips for mulch so I am saving the stuff and now have three bags of it out behind the house. Pretty expensive mulch, but its mostly walnut, maple, cherry and oak. There is a little padauk thrown in for color.

By the way, the Jet 650 is a tremendous improvement over the Shop-Vac system I had been using. Why didn't I make the switch long ago?

Thanks again for the suggestion, regards, Steve

[JimD]

Walnut dust is toxic to other plants. A little bit in a bunch of other dust may not be an issue, I do not know, but walnuts naturally have a substance in the roots and wood that discourages other plants from growing around them. It might affect how well your DC dust works as mulch.

Jim

[atgcpaul]

And that brings to the the other topic. The LOML wants to use the chips for mulch so I am saving the stuff and now have three bags of it out behind the house. Pretty expensive mulch, but its mostly walnut, maple, cherry and oak. There is a little padauk thrown in for color.

I've read that you shouldn't use walnut shavings as mulch because the
chemical juglone in all parts of the tree are toxic to most other plants.

http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/hortcult...s/blkwalnt.htm

I would research this more yourself because I have also read conflicting
reports that the wood does not contain the compound, only the leaves, nuts,
and roots.

http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/yates/MG4.25.01.htm

Paul

[toolguy1000]

jim d ....can you provide a link to the bags you purhcased? i have the same separator. thanks.

[steve-norrell]

Paul, thanks for the advice. The chip bags are probably less than one-third walnut so I would guess that the toxicity, if any, would be minimal when used as a surface mulch. I'll leave it up to the LOML to decide if any of her plants are on the safe list (in the second article.)

And to all, again, thanks for the advice. Regards, Steve

[JimD]

Toolguy,

This may or may not work:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#

If it does not, just go to www.mcmaster.com and use the "find" box in the upper left to search for 8852K73. I just tried it and got to the right spot but when I copied the address, I got the above which doesn't look like it will get you back there.

Jim

[steve-norrell]

Woodcraft sells 14-inch, 7-mil bags in five packs for $14.99, or just under $3.00 each. Depending on shipping costs, that may be a better buy than the ones offered by McMaster Carr. Of course, living up here in God's Country, shipping will be outlandish in any case.

Regards, Steve

Oops, here's the link: http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/202...-5-pieces.aspx

[AlanWS]

If you put a Thien baffle inside your DC, it will not take up any more space, and will increase not only the time between filter cleanings, but also the capacity for dust before needing to be emptied by several fold.

I don't know how the Jet fixes on the bags, but can't you simply line the existing bag with a trash bag, then close it up to remove it for emptying?

At one time I had an HF with a cartridge and Thien baffle. I would simply use two layers of trash bags on the bottom, held on with a strap tightened around the top of the bags. It's easy to install if you tape the bags in a couple spots to hold them up, then tighten the strap to seal. If the outside bag is clear and you leave a little air between the two, you can tell at a glance that neither bag has a puncture by making sure the airspace between remains.

[steve-norrell]

A gloatable (?) solution

Thanks for all the good suggestions, but actually I stumbled upon a solution that might qualify for the "gloat status".

I stopped by my local hardware specialties store and asked them if they carried the 14-inch bags. I didn't think they did because the normally carry the larger (than the Jet 650) dust collectors and they had to special order my 650. But, wonder of wonders, they did have some that were priced at $2.00 each.

I was so surprised that I asked the sales person if he was sure of the price and he said that he was and that the bags had been on the shelf for some time. He also said he had nine bags. I bought them all.

A gloat? Well, maybe a small one . . . . . . and glad to get it.

Regards, Steve

PS: Some local folks might recognize the store from the wording used to describe it.