Shopvac rubber band

[Stormin Mormon]

Used my six gallon shop vac yesterday. The old one, with the metal canister. Decided to empty it.

Well, the rubber band that holds the paper filter is no where to be found. Filter is, of course, laying in the bottom of the canister.

I have a couple spare filters. I remember they came with spare rubber band, but that replacement rubber band is no where to be found.

Today I was in Dollar Tree, and they had "childrens head bands" in various bright colors. Eight for a buck. Sure, worth a try. And wonders, they are the right size. I used four of them on my shop vac filter, and put four on the shelf with the empty bags.

[RicodJour]

Bicycle inner tubes. Free and you can make almost any length/width band you could want.

R

[DerbyDad03]

What kind of shop-vac uses a rubber band to hold filter on?

My Craftsman *had* a plastic bar with a nut in the middle that screwed onto a threaded rod to hold the filter on.

That bar is long gone - years. Now I use a small spring clamp on the end of the thread rod. It's actually much easier to use than the threaded bar. Squeeze on---squeeze off instead of spin-spin-spin off--- line-up-nut-on-rod, spin-spin-spin on.

[RicodJour]

I think he's talking about the paper filter that fits over the pleated filter.

R

[hrhofmann]

I replaced the metal cannister for my shop vac with a spare 5-gallon plastic bucket. It mounted on the wheel base without any adjustments. The original rubber band that holds the paper filter over the filter cartridge is likewise long gone, I requisitioned an old bunge cord to replace the rubber band.

[DerbyDad03]

I know nothing of "paper filters over pleated filters" which might explain why I never heard of that whole rubber band gizmo.

Strictly pleated filters in my Craftsman wet-dry vac.

[Larry Fishel]

Use a long bungee and wrap it around twice...

Hit the local office supply store for a bag of those big red rubber bands and use several...

Buy a few feet of elastic at a fabric store...

[Vic Smith]

My ShopVac "hangup" has a pleated filter, but they sell a foam jacket that goes over it. I should get one. The pleated filter raises a lot dust when I clean it. Basically you have to take it outside and bang it on something hard. That's what I do anyway. Seems I never clean it except when I need it, and I don't want to wait for it to dry Thinking the foam might clean up easily with a rinse in the laundry tub, and make for less frequent cleaning of the pleated filter. Any pleated filter cleaning tips welcomed. And thanks for "mulching wet leaves" advice.

--Vic

[chaniarts]

the foam doesn't catch much fine stuff, just the large stuff.

blow it out with your compressor. i've found banging it on something tends to crack it over time.

[DerbyDad03]

re: "Basically you have to take it outside and bang it on something hard."

There's more than one way to "bang it on something hard".

I take mine outside and throw it up as high as I can, letting it come down and "bang" on the street or in my yard. That tends to keep the dust well away from me since I can throw it outward as well as up.

Three or four throws and most of the fine stuff is blowin' in the wind.

[clare]

Nope they still make a model with a chromed metal can - at least sporadically. Mine is significantly less than a decade old - 8 gallon (US, I think)

[Vic Smith]

Thanks. Didn't think of that. Maybe because I got a compressor after my last filter cleaning. Not much of a compressor, but it can handle that.

--Vic

[Vic Smith]

That's pretty funny. Thanks. Pretty sure if I did that it would end up in a tree or on the roof.

--Vic

[Andy]

Andy comments

When my foam filter became unuseable, I took one of the one dollar

20X25 fiberglass air condx filters and wrapped it around the dohickey a couple times, and secured it with a piece of wire. Seems to work OK, and now I have a use for used air condx filters.

And they are easily removed and washed......

In a later version, I slip one of the wife's old nylon panty hose legs over the fiberglass and secure it...... Also works OK.....

Andy in Eureka, Texas PE

[krw]

Sure, they still make them. I still see them in stores, occasionally.

[clare]

When you shop for the "lowest common denominator" all you can find is junk.

[IGot2P]

Actually it is a stainless steel tank and you can see them at

Don

[J O E]

Get ye to your local Big Box store and buy a pack of replacement paper filters for your model (those for mine come in a 3-pack).

Included in the package will be a replacement rubber band.