Dust collection problem need help

[bobbuttons]

i have a 6hp 16 gallon standard rigid/shopvac collector. my problem is the unit has a pleated round filter that gets totally covered and clogged with fine dust in a few minutes from the router. i have to manually scrape the filter in between the pleats to get it clean every job for it to work well. any ideas how to get that fine dust from building up so fast????THANKS

[webmaster@signmakershop.com]

Hi,
I had/have the same vac and same problem. I no longer use the shopvac for the shopbot, I have converted it to a Delta vac that sits on top of a 55 gal. drum and increased the hose to 4". The performance is great.

As for the Rigid, I still am cleaning the filter after every couple of uses. I use a 4" paint brush to get down inside of the fins.

[sheldon@dingwallguitars.com]

Pleated filters work best with larger chips. Since they are so efficient and compact, they load up quickly.

A better solution is a bag style dust collector with properly sized quality 1 micron bag. Simply shaking the bag knocks off the cake.

[Dan B,]

Hi
I don’t own a shopbot now but I will before summer ends. But I am a woodworker and I had to deal with the dust problem. I first tried a shopvac and I had the same problems you are having. A dust collector is the only answer. The reason for this is the surface area on a dust collector filter bag is much larger then the filter of a shpovac. The walls on a filter bag are smooth. There is no place for the dust to build up. Filter bags on a dust collector tend to be self cleaning.

[papadaveinwy]

here is a system you can make that works great. 1.build a frame about 6' tall 3'x3' divide this in half top to bottom three sides of bottom 1/2" plywood glued to frame etc. top half 4 sides at least 5 micron filter material Top 1/2" ply use a 1hp vac from someone like grizzly imports $150.00 mount vac on top with suction side out discharge down into unit as in drawing. this system works great and the removable box on the bottom makes it easy to dump. will handle one machine at 500cfm with static pressure at 14 keep runs as straight as possible, each bend increases stactic pressure thus reducing suction runs are 4" use metal pipe single wall untill flex at the bot. david in Wyoming. here is a drawing :

[papadaveinwy]

sorry about that my browser must be messed up again will post pic latter David in Woming

[papadaveinwy]

c:My Documents\drawings
8673vac

[papadaveinwy]

To let you know the vac in the posts above is 1 hp padalwheel style.(just like the big dust collectors have) not the small louver vent type fans on a shopvac type of machine. this unit will not plug up. David in Wyoming

[ssmith@skeeball.com]

For my table saw I built a small cyclone separator from two 5-gallon buckets. I empty the separator (5 gallons Of dust at a time) 5-10 times before I have to clean the filter in the shop vac.

The top bucket is the separator. It has a mdf cover with a 2” pvc pipe outlet in the center inserted ½ way into the bucket. The outlet is attached to my vac. The inlet is also on the cover next to the outlet, it has a pvc 90 on it to start the cyclone of air and dust. The top bucket has the bottom cut out and is attached to a mdf ring that fits into the top lip of the bottom bucket. The bottom bucket is what collects the dust and could be made out of something larger.

I plan to build a real cyclone some day but this was a cheep way to keep from constant cleaning of the vac filter.

Scott

[Mayo]

Paper filters are a real pain to deal with.
Do yourself a favor and buy a Clean Stream filter.
They're made from a nylon or polyester material. All you have to do to clean off the dust is tap on them with a mallet or piece of wood and it's ready for action again.

[shuttle]

I use the wet screen filter on my vaccuum, which is inside a sealed wood box with 3 high efficiency 20x24" furnace filters mounted in channels...top, 1 side and the back, it helps keep the noise down too. This is under the table.

[gary]

You might try one of the shop-vac filters made for drywall sanding dust. They have a large surface area and are designed to work with quantities of very fine dust. They are not expensive.

Gary