Dust collector tune up

[Bob Davis]

My dust collector is hardly six months old and it seemed like it was losing its suck. I've been gradually adding more to the duct network and figured I'd miscalculated the loss or something. The plastic bag was about 2/3 full and I decided it was time to bite the bullet and empty it. I also took off the big cartridge filter and cleaned out the dust cake. Wow, its amazing how much dust this cartridge will hold.

After I put everything back together and tried it out, I was amazed. Its like I added another horsepower to the capacity. I have a 4" topside collector for my tablesaw. The old gale force is back and doing what I originally designed it to do - suck up everything but the paint on the saw.

Bob

[Morris Dovey]

You've just made an important discovery. I'm not quite sure why, but people who have no difficulty recognizing that their shop vac works best when empty frequently seem unable to grasp that their dust collector behaves the same way.

( If your shop vac is 2/3 full, then it's probably time to empty that too :-)

[JGS]

[B a r r y]

Maybe you've got a female dust collector?

Actually, you probably need to empty it, as someone else already pointed out.

Barry

[Gerald Ross]

It pays to check the blower itself occasionally. Mine collects curly shavings hooked around the vanes sometimes.

[Steve Knight]

only if you have a cloth bag on bottom otherwise it won't matter. it's the filter material that is clogged.

[Phisherman]

The first thing I check is for a clog in the tubing when the DC seems to bog in performance. Many times I find sticks blocking the way. The felt bags get a 1/2" layer of fine sawdust on them, and I knock that off but never wash them (per manufacturer's recommendations). Over time, flex-type tubing will need replacing as more pin holes appear. Another improvement is rewiring the DC for 220v for better starts, smoother cooler running, and less power consumption.

[Jay Chan]

How do you remove the dust cake from the cartridge filter? If I remember this correctly, you are using a JET cansiter dust collector that uses cartridge filter instead of a dust bag. I have recently bought the same dust collector. I would like to learn from you before the filter cartridge in my dust collector gets filled up.

Do you use compressed air and blow air from the outside of the cartridge filter (and through the wire mesh screen)? How big your compressor is? I assume a small air compressor will not be able to handle this task. Or do you use a tire-inflator to blow air?

Thanks.

Jay Chan

[B a r r y]

Isn't that what the "handles" are for? You should be able to move and beater or brush around the inside of the cartridge.

Barry

[Jay Chan]

I believe that the original poster is using a canister dust collector that also has a "handle" (just like mine). The fact that he needed to take down the filter cartridge to clean out the dust cake seems to suggest that the "handle" alone may not be good enough, right?

Hopefully, the original poster will help us with this.

Jay Chan

[Steve Knight]

the handle would knock off the outside stuff but a air hose is really needed to get the filter clean. You need to get the pores clean of dust or the airflow gets too low.

[Jay Chan]

get the filter clean. You need to get the pores clean of dust or the

Thanks for confirming what I think was happened to the original poster.

Is this OK with you to help me with the following questions that I had asked the original poster:

Thanks.

Jay Chan

[Steve Knight]

right from the outside in just the opposite of the airflow. the more airflow the faster the job will be. You don't want too much pressure though I would not use over 100 psi. I have a cheap 5hp crapsmen compressor that works fine. but if you have a smaller compressor it may just take longer. I wonder maybe a shop vac would do it in reverse? I have not tried it.

[Jay Chan]

Thanks for the useful info. I have a very small air compressor (1 HP or 1.5 HP??). I will try it when I get enough dust built up in the filter cartridge (It is absoluely clean right now).

Jay Chan