Shop vac - disappointing

[Ruler2112]

I have an old, old, old Sears shop vac the size of a 55 gallon drum. It's in a muffler box with a thein baffle on top made out of a 6 gallon bucket. Easy to make and I clean the vac bag maybe 2-3 times a year. Otherwise, just dump the shavings/dust out of the bucket when it gets close to being full. No loss of suction.

[Arlin Eastman]

This is what I use before it goes into the vacuum and unless I do not empty the bucket when it starts getting to the top I have Never had a clogged filter.

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index...la=pla_19913727

Arlin

[JDuke]

bennybmn said:

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Dust bags work pretty well. The nature of the shop vac beast is the filter is directly in the debris stream, so it won't be long before it clogs... I have an interesting dust deputy setup, and it, or some sort of separator, is about the only way to prevent clogging.

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I would be interested in seeing more details and pictures about how you built that.

I would like to eleminate the shop vac can on mine and just use the dust deputy like your doing, but hadn't seen any good ideas on how to functionally do it until yours.

Duke

[Big Dave]

sweensdv said:

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The primary use for my shop vac is to collect the fine dust created with sanding. I use those drywall bags in my vac and they work very well for that purpose. When the bag is full I just throw it away and usually the filter is still clean and doesn't require cleaning yet.

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This.

I use two Shop-Vacs in my shop. One is (more or less...) permanent under the workbench and set up to keep my bench area clean. More often than not it is hooked up to my ROS. I use drywall bags in it and have never had an issue with suction loss...



My other vac is on a rolling cart set up with a Dust Deputy and a drywall bag. Again, never a loss of suction...



Dave

[Lynden]

JDuke said:

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I would be interested in seeing more details and pictures about how you built that.

I would like to eleminate the shop vac can on mine and just use the dust deputy like your doing, but hadn't seen any good ideas on how to functionally do it until yours.
Duke

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Here's a link to a picture of a separator (not mine) which is similar to bennybmn's separator shown above. Sorry for the small picture, but you get the idea -- plywood donut for vacuum motor, plywood box to enclose filter and plywood lid on top of vacuum canister.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236...0bc568.jpg

[JDuke]

Lynden said:

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[blockquote]JDuke said:

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I would be interested in seeing more details and pictures about how you built that.

I would like to eleminate the shop vac can on mine and just use the dust deputy like your doing, but hadn't seen any good ideas on how to functionally do it until yours.
Duke

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Here's a link to a picture of a separator (not mine) which is similar to bennybmn's separator shown above. Sorry for the small picture, but you get the idea -- plywood donut for vacuum motor, plywood box to enclose filter and plywood lid on top of vacuum canister.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236...0bc568.jpg

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[/blockquote]

It would be interesting to know if this changed the airflow enough to make the whole setup either more or less effective.

I have thought about doing something like this, but I'm not sure if the space saving is worth any loss of efficiency.

Duke

[Lynden]

JDuke said:

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[blockquote]Lynden said:

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Here's a link to a picture of a separator (not mine) which is similar to bennybmn's separator shown above. Sorry for the small picture, but you get the idea -- plywood donut for vacuum motor, plywood box to enclose filter and plywood lid on top of vacuum canister.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236...0bc568.jpg

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It would be interesting to know if this changed the airflow enough to make the whole setup either more or less effective.

I have thought about doing something like this, but I'm not sure if the space saving is worth any loss of efficiency.
Duke

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[/blockquote]
From what I've read, the fact that the filter stays clean more than offsets any loss in airflow which results from adding a dust deputy to a shop vac. I haven't seen an airflow comparison of a shop vac/dust deputy combination vs. a shop vac with a drywall bag. Before you invest in a dust deputy, you could always try using a drywall bag in your shop vac.

[John Mihich]

Dave

Your rolling cart is similar to what I use.works great.

[JDuke]

Lynden said:

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[blockquote]JDuke said:

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[blockquote]Lynden said:

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Here's a link to a picture of a separator (not mine) which is similar to bennybmn's separator shown above. Sorry for the small picture, but you get the idea -- plywood donut for vacuum motor, plywood box to enclose filter and plywood lid on top of vacuum canister.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236...0bc568.jpg

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It would be interesting to know if this changed the airflow enough to make the whole setup either more or less effective.

I have thought about doing something like this, but I'm not sure if the space saving is worth any loss of efficiency.
Duke

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[/blockquote]
From what I've read, the fact that the filter stays clean more than offsets any loss in airflow which results from adding a dust deputy to a shop vac. I haven't seen an airflow comparison of a shop vac/dust deputy combination vs. a shop vac with a drywall bag. Before you invest in a dust deputy, you could always try using a drywall bag in your shop vac.

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[/blockquote]

I have a dust deputy, and I like it, I have also built a cart on wheels that allows me to roll the vac and DD setup around as a unit.

But since the dust can on the vacuum now seems large, and mostly useless, I am thinking it might be nice to eliminate it, like a couple of the pictures above.

What Im concerned about, is that I know that fluid dynamics is a complex field, and while it may be nice to make a small plexiglass enclosure to house the filter and eliminate the shop vac canister, it may significantly alter the suction that the vacuum is supplying to the Dust Deputy.

Currently like several of you, I have flex hose between the vacuum and the DD and it's a fairly tight 90 degree bend to facilitate having the vacuum and DD on the same platform. I know that if you can eliminate bends you improve flow. Maybe the guy with the Vac on its side did it that way to improve flow also.

I just got a new vac, maybe I will turn the old on its side, and see how it holds up.

Duke

[Cian]

sweensdv said:

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The primary use for my shop vac is to collect the fine dust created with sanding. I use those drywall bags in my vac and they work very well for that purpose. When the bag is full I just throw it away and usually the filter is still clean and doesn't require cleaning yet.

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What he said. Use the bags, and get an upgraded HEPA filter.