Shop vac that doesn't pump dust?

[aemeijers]

You say install a central vac for a one-time job? Yeah, right.

aem sends....

[aemeijers]

Thanks, all! It'll have to wait for this weekend before I can take the thing outside and feildstrip it enough to blow the dust out with leaf blower from upwind side, measure the guts, and go to the store and see if any of the cloth bag or paper disc filters will fit. Lowes web site looked promising. None of the industrial supply houses around here are open after my normal working hours. I'm pretty sure none of the cartridge filters that look like truck air filters will fit- mine has no fittings for that locking disk or ring the pictures show.

The one I have is OLD. 600C model number is not even listed on their web page. Metal can, not plastic, looks about 6? gallons. Intake and outgo holes in top, not in side. 1.5 hp. From the styling, early 80s at the newest. Yeah, I probably need a new one, but as long as this one still sucks, and I can rig some sort of dust filter up, well... It works great on normal dirt, it is just the fine stuff like rust/drywall/concrete powder that put it in smoke generator mode.

And as to the carpet- hiring someone is looking better and better.

aem sends....

[RBM]

You could start a new trend, and vacuum your house regularly

[BobK207]

I have some really old mini shop vac (actiually Genie Jet Vacs) they sell filters with "bottoms" rather than the sealing disc.

The ones wil the sealing discs have too large ID to fit my vacs

check out this filter....they give the ID as 5 3/4"

if your filter receiver is about that size (or slightly smaller) a friction fit will work great.

as long as you can get good filters for your shop vac why get a new one?

cheers Bob

[Jim Yanik]

BobK207 wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I wonder if any automotive air filters would work for him? He might have to make a retainer.

But I also wonder why he can't netsearch for the proper ShopVac parts/data.

[aemeijers]

I'm trying to reclaim a basically abandoned basement here. I stacked crates down there when I moved in two years ago, and haven't really used the space for anything since then. Once I get the place sanitized, then yes, it will be cleaned regularly. It won't have carpet, so a broom will do it nicely.

aem sends...

[aemeijers]

My thought exactly. Yeah, I waste a little time chasing geese, but nobody pays me after 5 pm and on weekends anyway.

aem sends...

[aemeijers]

I tried. Mine is too old, and not listed on their web site, that I can find. (my cars have the same problem- they usually have fallen out of the book.)

aem sends.....

[terry]

. That's odd; the paper filter on mine goes 'over' the foam which supports and prevents it from collapsing inwards into the sort of basket thing below the motor????? Paper filters clog rather easily; e.g. plaster dust etc. Just thought I'd ask?

[BobK207]

vacuum your house regularly

Having "reclaimed" abandoned / neglected space myself....I would suggest trying to gently sweep up some of the dirt if possible.

The less material run through the vacuum....less dust generated

cheers Bob

[tksirius]

I take a craftsman wet/dry vac and have a real long hose. Then I remove the internal filter. The vac is placed outside turned on. I take the hose inside and go to town. Sucks everything outside and doesnt clog the vac. Works real well. I got the 20' hose from sears.

[Bob F]

Untill something catches in the impeller and drags the motor to a screeching halt.

You probably do get really good suction.

Bob

[Jim Yanik]

[e-mail] wrote in news: [e-mail]:

but you are pulling dirt into your vac's MOTOR,it's not good for it. Filters keep the dust from ruining your motor bearings/brush contacts.

[George]

But shortens the life of the motor because it lets dust/grit get into the motor.

[Dave Martindale]

Just because it's not in the cross reference doesn't mean that you can't get filters for it. Last time I looked, the filter mount on almost all Shop-Vacs was the same, and took the same size foam filter / bag / pleated filter. You want a filter that has an opening on one end but is sealed by a metal or plastic cover on the other end, and whose opening is a snug fit to your vac's filter area. It will take some force to push it on.

Shop-Vacs are common enough that you can find third-party filters. For example, Gore (the Gore-tex people) make a filter called CleanStream that removes even extremely fine dust from the air.

Dave

[mm]

iirc, AND i'M PRETTY SURE i DO., Craftsman is just another Shop-Vac, in a different color. At least it was last year.

[Dave Martindale]

That's true for ordinary household vacuums, which run the dirt pickup air through the motor (after the filter) for cooling. But all of the shop vacs I've ever looked at have a separate path for motor cooling air. Motor cooling air comes from the space around the motor via slots.

You really need this change in construction for vacuuming up water. The filter for water pickup (particularly if it's just a foam sleeve, not a pleated filter) lets some water through, and you don't want water inside your motor no matter how briefly. Also, shop vacs normally have a float valve so when the tank fills up with water the float blocks the impeller inlet instead of having the vacuum start spewing water out the outlet port. Once this happens, there's no air flow at all through the tank, but the motor still needs cooling air. Again, a separate motor cooling air path solves this problem.

Good central vacs for houses also seem to use separate motor cooling air, though I've seen one that cooled the motor with the filtered air. If you throttled the air flow by putting a small nozzle on it, the motor would overheat and trip a thermal protector after a few minutes on that particular unit.

Dave

[aemeijers]

My plan is to field-strip the thing Saturday, diagram out the bottom side of the lid, and take all that and a tape measure down to the big-box. Hopefully I'll find something that fits, or can be made to. (I figure the borg would get cranky if I carry the lid and motor into the store and start test-fitting stuff.)

aem sends...

[Bob F]

Just take the top of the vac to the store. Then you can't go wrong.

Bob

[Bob F]

There's still the issue of chunks sticking in the blower, stopping it or throwing it off balance, or just plugging it up over time.

Bob