Dust collector

[cork58]

Just wondering how you clean your dust collector bag. I have the Delta 50-760 and clean the bag every time I take the bottom bag out to dump the sawdust. What I've been doing is to turn it inside out and beat the bag. It's really hard to do by yourself and nobody in their right mind would hold it up for me!

I know there is a better way to do it I was just wondering how you guys clean yours. Thanks for your help
Cork

[toolguy1000]

remove from collector, turn inside out and vacuum with a shop vac, then reinstall.

[JimD]

I switched to a filter cartridge and later added a flapper to clean it. It works better and wasn't much more than $100.

[dbhost]

Add a then separator and you won't need to clean it as often

[os1kne]

Add a then separator and you won't need to clean it as often

True - the Thien separator is a relatively quick, inexpensive project, and they seem to catch about 95% of the dust before it gets to your vac or dc. It's really kind of fun to see how something so simple can work so well.

[crybdr]

The first time I emptied my big dust collector I wrangled the bag outside and dumped the shavings into a big contractor bag. Good, sealed, pitched.

Then, I proceeded to turn the bag inside out and 'shake it'. It was a calm day, and the haze of wood dust hung in the air for a LONG time. Needless to say, it didn't look healthy for anyone in my neighborhood.

So now I simply dump the bag - with no shaking.

So I'm curious. Does anyone out there have a 'neighbor friendly' way of getting that fine wood dust off of the sides of the bag? I'm assuming washing it is totally out of the question. But what else? Should I just shake it out at night? ;-) Just kidding.

[Sawatzky]

I read somewhere that the fine dust buildup inside the bag actually helps the filtering process by trapping smaller particles. Not sure if this is true or not. Anyone?

[Bill in Buena Park]

I believe the buildup is called "cake", and DCs with fabric filter bags with singed finish are supposed to be the best at retaining and releasing the right amount of cake to have the cake be an effective component of filtering dust.

Not sure how much of this is "ad" versus "fact" - but see the info here from American Fabric Filter company.

[Relative]

Turn the upper bag inside out, reinstall it, start it up, and run like h***!

Mike

[Lonnie in Orlando]

Relative -

My upper bag pumps out dust without turning it inside out. cough cough wheeze wheeze ...

- Lonnie

[Relative]

Lonnie,

That's called a screen.

Mike

[BobSch]

Turn the upper bag inside out, reinstall it, start it up, and run like h***!

Mike

You forgot a step. Move the DC outside first!

[mpc]

Got an air compressor & medium/high-velocity air nozzle? Leaf blower? Shop vac that can reverse to be a blower? I use my Ridged shop vac in reverse (hose is designed to clip to the exhaust port as well as the intake) to blow through the outside of the bag, loosening the worst of the cake. Then I just let it slowly settle into the plastic bag below. I don't have to "inside-out" the filter bag, don't have to remove it at all in fact...

And I don't have to go outside either.

I only do this once in a while - when simply slapping the bag isn't enough to dislodge the worst of the cake. As others noted, some bags require a little buildup to filter fully.

mpc