Cheap workshop vacuum cleaner

Sounds to be a case of arse-covering.

Its filtration is probably poor. ie it'll pick up fluff and wood shavings but there's no filtration for any kind of fine particles - no HEPA filter or anything like that.

So in a wood shop it might be fine for saw or planer dust but not sander dust, especially not if sanding painted or treated wood.

If you go for something like a Henry you can get bags with a HEPA filter which are designed to catch fine particles. But the wet and dry ones are pricier (although very good).

Theo

It has always seemed to me that this desparation for super fine HEPA filters is completely pointless. How do you empty the vacuum cleaner without releasing loads of (very fine, or not) dust as you do it? OK, you can get someone else to do it but that's a bit of a cop out! :-)

Do it outside and stay upwind?

If it's bagged, the bag often has a flap so it seals as it's removed.

Not perfect, but at least if you empty it outside there's a good chance the particles are diluted if not actively blown away from you.

Theo

With a Henry the main filter is the disposable HepaFlo filter bags which on removing have sealing tab. I've used a Henry with these bags to suck up a variety of building dust (plaster/brick etc.) and still after years of use the original inbuilt filter prior to the motor is clean.

The original post was about finding a vacuum for a friend who doesn't have a lot of money to spend so perhaps a cheap domestic vacuum cleaner with a DIY inline cyclone may be the better answer.

Wear a mask

If you use a cheap cyclone dust collector, with it's own bin or planted on top of your own container, then you can use the cheapest or quietest vacuum going.

A Thien baffle does a similar job, dumping the dust into a separate container before it reaches the vacuum.

If the hose clogs you'll find out just how much vacuum you're pulling & the container may buckle. A PRV (Pressur Relief Valve) either bought or home made, will prevent implosion.

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You really think that works? I very much doubt it, and anyway there isn't always a wind.

The modern world is bagless!

Hmm. But the idea that this super-duper filtration is really helping much seems to me spurious.

I would love to have a cheap, quiet, powerful vacuum to attach to my cyclone collector. does such a thing exist? I vaguely remember hearing that any wet and dry hoover was always noisy, and they all seem to be wet and dry. TW

With a Henry (or a George), the bag itself is the HEPA filter. You just disconnect the bag, close the opening and bin the whole bag.

Is that true though?

Both normal and HEPA bags are available. The main filter gets no real use when you use the HEPA bags - and, of course, they stop fine particles getting loose into the machine in the first place.

I suppose that, in some circumstances, using both would provide some extra protection, if some dust spilled into the casing when removing the bag or a bag was torn by a sharp object.

Thanks for the heads up

In my experience the filter shown in the following Youtube stays completely clean for years if Hepaflow bags are used. The Henry owner in the video obviously didn't know about the bags. I don't think that you don't get a disposable bag in the box when you buy the machine.

The bags are claimed to remove up to 99.97% of particles of 0.3 microns

Probably true for the vast majority of "normal" vacuums that lack HEPA filtering...

It is the difference between a workshop vac and - basically a robust tub style vacuum cleaner, and proper dust extractors with a certified "class" rating. You will pay a somewhat more for a L class machine, and

The reality is that a normal paper bagged vac / cartridge filter shop vac will be "ok" collecting normal sawdust etc. It won't give perfect filtration, but then again you ought to have a decent respirator when actually machining etc. They will start to struggle on fine sanding dust, and clog very quickly on fine masonry dust.

You will need to move to M class if you want to do substantial amounts of fine dust collection - especially (hazardous silica containing) masonry / plaster dust from wall chasing or wall sanding etc, or large quantities of potentially dangerous fine wood dust, like from floor sanders etc. The M class machines will often include mechanisms for cleaning the filters periodically while in use as well. Many have the option of fitting disposal bags as well, to make emptying and containing the collected dust safer and cleaner.

By fitting a collection bag to the extractor so that you can contain the dust. Also by wearing a respirator while doing it!

While being a fan of interceptor style collectors, it is important to realise their limitations as well though.

They can be very good for intercepting large quantities of medium and coarse wood dust before it gets to the vacuum.

It is very much harder to build one that will do a really good job with very fine dust though.

Also appreciate that you may need different extraction strategies for different types of collection. In particular low volume, high pressure drop collectors (i.e. shop vacs etc) are often good at extraction from individual tools, but won't cope so well with large volumes of shavings (like those from a planer or thicknesser), or dust ejected at high speeds (like that from the tips of a table saw blade, where a high volume low pressure chip collector will do a much better job.

Conversely, trying to use a 2hp chip collector with a 4" hose to collect from a palm sander is unlikely to work well either!

Exactly my experience. A 1kw wickes wet & dry vac with a cyclone in front - the cyclone removes all the visible dust and solid debris but the filter gradually collects very fine dust and needs knocking out from time to time. I should put a proper fine filter on it really. On the saw bench it clears sawdust from below but a second 1kw Henry is needed to draw dust from the overhead blade guard.

TW