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+-- Thread: Where is my dust collection clogged? (/showthread.php?tid=7352864)
Where is my dust collection clogged? - photobug - 02-10-2020
I have been out of town for a week. Before I left I had sucked up a plastic bag in the collection after which it stopped creating a vacuum. My guess is the bag got sucked up into the green part of the motor and clogged or blocked something up there. I was looking for advice before I start taking things apart.
RE: Where is my dust collection clogged? - brianwelch - 02-10-2020
(02-10-2020, 11:53 AM)photobug Wrote: I have been out of town for a week. Before I left I had sucked up a plastic bag in the collection after which it stopped creating a vacuum. My guess is the bag got sucked up into the green part of the motor and clogged or blocked something up there. I was looking for advice before I start taking things apart.
I would check the obvious elbows, but realistically probably caught in the impeller...
RE: Where is my dust collection clogged? - Stwood_ - 02-10-2020
Pull the inlet pipe and look
RE: Where is my dust collection clogged? - photobug - 02-10-2020
(02-10-2020, 01:02 PM)Stwood_ Wrote: Pull the inlet pipe and look
So I pulled the outlet side as it was easiest. I reached in and was able to spin the impellor. Turned it on and was getting air blowing out. Pulled the inlet side and no suction. So the impeller is spinning and there is no obstruction in the piping but somehow there is no suction coming through the separator.
I have got to go run some errands not looking forward to disassembling the unit which is fairly heavy and about 8 feet off the ground.
RE: Where is my dust collection clogged? - iclark - 02-10-2020
Amazon sells some semi-flexible inspection scopes for pipes that you connect to your phone or to a laptop.
If you are not in a rush, using one _might_ let you fish the bag back out without disassembly.
here is an example, be sure to get the right kind of connector for your phone/puter and which (if any) end accessories you want:
USB Endoscope,2.0 MP IP67 Waterproof Borescope,
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0749BQG1B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
RE: Where is my dust collection clogged? - photobug - 02-10-2020
(02-10-2020, 09:26 PM)iclark Wrote: Amazon sells some semi-flexible inspection scopes for pipes that you connect to your phone or to a laptop.
If you are not in a rush, using one _might_ let you fish the bag back out without disassembly.
here is an example, be sure to get the right kind of connector for your phone/puter and which (if any) end accessories you want:
USB Endoscope,2.0 MP IP67 Waterproof Borescope,
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0749BQG1B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I bought something like that when I had a plumbing issue. It was cheap and mostly useless. If I could find one to work it might be worth investing in. I really can't wait though for Amazon to show up. The motor is a Grizzly and I called too late but hope a call to tech support can help me narrow down which part I should try to dismantle first.
I am having trouble imagining how a fan can blow but not suck. It feels like some air is coming out or going in through the motor at the top.
RE: Where is my dust collection clogged? - packerguy® - 02-10-2020
(02-10-2020, 11:10 PM)photobug Wrote: I bought something like that when I had a plumbing issue. It was cheap and mostly useless. If I could find one to work it might be worth investing in. I really can't wait though for Amazon to show up. The motor is a Grizzly and I called too late but hope a call to tech support can help me narrow down which part I should try to dismantle first.
I am having trouble imagining how a fan can blow but not suck. It feels like some air is coming out or going in through the motor at the top.
You are overthinking this. Open that 90 you have capped off before the inlet of the cyclone and see of its there. If not, when open turn it on and see if there is suction there. If there is suction there, its defiantly upstream in the piping. My guess is its hung up at a blast gate, or on a chunk of wood in the ducting.
Its a waste of time to break down the unit.....its more likely than not in the piping.
Other easy thing is to open you collection bin to see if the bag is in the cyclone itself blocking the bottom, where it enters the bin. If you don't have a ton of CFM or a large opening its not real hard for something like a bag to get hung up there.
RE: Where is my dust collection clogged? - photobug - 02-11-2020
(02-10-2020, 11:35 PM)packerguy® Wrote: Its a waste of time to break down the unit.....its more likely than not in the piping.
Unfortunately, it is not. I have approached this as smart and as lazy as I could.
I opened the barrel at the bottom to see if there is some sort of suction there and nothing. I opened the exhaust side and it was blowing. I opened up the intake side and no suction there either.
I think from here I need to open up the unit and or take it down to perform surgery on the unit.
RE: Where is my dust collection clogged? - fredhargis - 02-11-2020
When you had it open at the barrel, did you look up into the cyclone? That bag may be hung up on the center tube (just a shot in the dark).
RE: Where is my dust collection clogged? - TDKPE - 02-11-2020
(02-10-2020, 11:10 PM)photobug Wrote: I am having trouble imagining how a fan can blow but not suck. It feels like some air is coming out or going in through the motor at the top.
If you're reconnecting the outlet before checking the inlet, then the clog is in the outlet. It can't blow air out without getting air coming in.
The air through the top of the motor is independent of the blower unit. It's a Totally Enclosed Fan Cooled frame (TEFC), which means the motor is sealed up and there's a small fan on top sucking air into the slots in the fan shroud near the ceiling and blowing it around the outside of the frame. Has nothing to do with your problem, though.