# Have You Cleaned Your Dust Collector Filter Lately?



## DustyMark (Sep 24, 2012)

I use an early (1994 vintage) 1 1/2 hp Oneida dust collector with a cartridge filter located in a shielded area within the cyclone itself. The lower half of the cyclone must be removed to reach the filter. You can't see the condition of the filter as you can on the newer set-ups. I guess I hadn't cleaned the filter since installing the system in this house over a year ago…oops! Planer chips weren't moving like normal tonight. I discovered that the filter was caked solid with dust. I took it outside and cleaned the filter and the system works a whole lot better now. I should start cleaning the filter after every project. So, have you cleaned your filter lately???


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

You should get the coversion kit they sell to put that filter outside. That said, if I'm using the drum sander a lot I have to clean mine twice per container of ships (35 gallon). This is also an Oneida, and it separates the fine dust so poorly it all goes to the filter. I put a magnehelic on it to keep me informed of the filters condition. I recently upgraded to a much larger and tighter filter…I'm hoping the increased media surface will let me clean it just a little less often. My OEM filter, after 6 years, got to the point I couldn't get it as clean as it should have been.


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## History (Dec 22, 2012)

Thats why I won't buy a pleated filter. They are too expensive for what they are, and too hard to clean.


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## Kwit (Jan 13, 2013)

I respectfully disagree…

I just finished modifying my Grizzly DC: upgraded to a 2hp motor/impeller and a Wynn Nano filter - while I had everything apart I added a Thien baffle to the inside of my DC's bag ring (see photos below)

I used my planer and table saw to fill my bag twice - opened up the filter and I had less than few teaspoons of dust and fine chips. At this point I am totally happy with the setup - great suction no matter how much material collects in my waste bag

Just my opinion - we all have different set-ups and uses in our shops - results may vary


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## History (Dec 22, 2012)

With those too machines your talking mostly chips and not much fine stuff, those are results that I would expect. I have an onboard Separator with a Thien baffle in it that separates the dust and chips before they get to the impeller, it works well, so does the 1 micron felt bag.


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## Puzzleman (May 4, 2010)

This is why I vent my cyclone outside with no filter. Never have a drop in suction as there is no filter to clog up. The particles are so small that there is no evidence from the dust in the yard nor in the adjoining park.

No filter solves a lot of problems and expense.


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

No doubt about it, venting outside would eliminate all my complaints about the POS I have. I'm still worried about the conditioned air loss, but I may try it this summer with a temporary setup to see how it goes. It's either that or buy a CV, since I have so much invested already I'm not at that point (yet).


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## OggieOglethorpe (Aug 15, 2012)

My JDS-3100CK cyclone beats the filter every time I hit the "off" button on the remote.

It's got a set of paddles driven by a second, reversible motor and a timer to control it all. As the main motor coasts down, the timer delays the beater. Once the air stops, the beater goes one way for 30-60 seconds, stops for a minute, the goes the other way. The cyclone is so efficient, I very rarely need to empty the bag under the filters. Even sanding dust lands in the drum.


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## Puzzleman (May 4, 2010)

I actually have 3 cyclones in my shop and they generally run at the same time. One of them runs 4-5 hrs, another 6-7 and the third 5-6 hours. There is some heat loss but I feel that it overweighs the dust impact.

I am located in the St Louis MO area so we get pretty cold a few times. We wear layers of clothing to keep warm. Keep the heat about 68


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## History (Dec 22, 2012)

Venting it outside isn't an option for me, so I have an Air Filtration unit hung from the ceiling.


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## JustJoe (Oct 26, 2012)

I didn't know dust collectors had filters (I know the filtration units do). I've got a Delta I bought used a few years ago - I guess I need to dig out the instruction manual and see if there is any maintenance I'm supposed to be doing. Thanks for the heads up.


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## DustyMark (Sep 24, 2012)

Fred:
I love the idea of using a magnehelic to measure decrease in performance and will install one soon.

Jim:
I'm sure I dusted my neighbors' cars last night when I cleaned the filter. I can't routinely vent my dust outside, so I'm stuck using a filter of some kind.

I've used this cyclone set-up in two different basement shops and three different garage shops with great results over the years. These installations included up to eight tool drops and long runs of duct to the tools and it's always worked. I believe the spun-bound filter media is good to 1 micron. I know that they're down to .3 to .5 microns now days, but my shop stays cleaner than most hobbyist shops. My issue this time was that I'd dropped checking the filter condition out of my crosscheck and it took a visible decrease in performance to make me aware of it. There was quite a bit of dust laying in the trunk lines since it sucked a lot of dust into the drum after cleaning the filter.

There are better systems out there now, but I'm putting my "clean-air money" towards a second vacuum system for the portable power tools in my main shop so that I can have a vacuum in my bedroom shop annex and in my main shop. I'm getting tired of hauling it back and forth.


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

Mark, I got the gauge off e-bay for about $25 shipped. I suggest you get a 0-10" model. I tried a 0-4" and had so much needle bounce that it was impossible to read. Oneida suggest (on mine) that you clean the filter when the backpressure reaches 3", and never let it exceed 5". The problem I ran into was that I couldn't clean my old filter and get below 2 1/4" or so. That's when I replaced it. I have to admit, I don't see how you could do it with an internal filter….but there may be a way.


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## DustyMark (Sep 24, 2012)

Fred. thanks for the specs. I've only had to replace my filter twice since I bought it. However, it hasn't seen continuous use either. I get busy with life and sometimes go long stretches between major projects. I've also gotten distracted building a few kayaks and a ski boat which used mostly portable tools.

I think having the filter inside the cyclone is not an ideal design. However, shop vacs operate under the same conditions. Of course, they operate way better with a cyclone hooked to their input line. It's probably the filter size restrictions (8" x 16") that clobber this design more than anything else.


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## jenniferzinger (Apr 6, 2013)

Venting it outside isn't an option for me, so I have an Air Filtration unit hung from the ceiling.


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## TheDane (May 15, 2008)

My DC has a PSI pleated filter canister with a beater bar … I clean the filter every time I dump the cyclone's bin (three times in the last ten days).

I also have a Rikon air filtration system hung from the ceiling … I blow the pre-filter out about once every two or three weeks (depending on what I have been doing in the shop).


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## DustyMark (Sep 24, 2012)

Barry and Gerry, The beater bar sounds like a nice feature.


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