The Origin of the Problem
I’ve known for a while that I needed a way to know when my dust collector bin was getting full. I came across a forum post some months ago that showed a modification someone had made to his dust collector bin. He used some flexible clear plastic sheeting to make a window on the side of the bin. I thought it was a great idea so I ordered some and figured I would add the window the next time I emptied the bin.
Well, I should have added the window right away. A few weeks ago, I was using my jointer and planer a good deal on a project and I was not paying enough attention to my dust bin. By the time I realized that the bin was full, it had actually overfilled and backed up a couple of feet into the cyclone above the bin.
Installing the Windows
Once I realized what had happened, I immediately stopped working, emptied the bin, and cleaned out the cyclone. Before starting work again, I installed the window in the dust bin. I also took the opportunity to install a window in the bucket under the cyclone separator that I have for my shop vac.
With that complete, I cleaned the filter on the outlet of the dust collector. I was worried that when the cyclone got backed up, there might have been some carryover into the filter. Turns out I was right, I just didn’t know how right I was until yesterday.
The Setup
My kids are on fall break right now. My oldest daughter, Jalen, has painted most of the trim in our newly finished basement. The last part to be done is the trim along the stairs, in the hallway at the bottom of the stairs, and a little in the bathroom off of that hallway. I just recently finished the stairway which is why that area of trim has not yet been painted. Jalen asked if she could get that trim painting done this week while she was out of school. I thought that was a great idea so I set to work getting it ready to paint.
In addition to caulking and filling nail holes, I had some cove molding that needed to be installed under the nose of each step. I worked on that yesterday and all went well. After installing the molding, I decided to clean up the mess in my shop before moving on to caulking and that’s when I discovered the extent of the repercussions from 3 weeks prior when I had overfilled the dust bin.
The Filter Fiasco
I was using the dust collector to help clean up around my miter saw and I was noticing that the airflow just wasn’t what it should be. While I knew that I probably need a new filter for my dust collector I also had a sneaking suspicion that there was still a problem leftover from the overfilled dust bin.
I disconnected the inlet pipe to the dust collector and looked inside. Everything looked fine. Next, I pulled the cap off the bottom of the filter on the outlet so I could get a look inside.
Remember when I said that I cleaned the filter after installing the window in the dust collector bin? Well, I remember at the time being a little surprised that the filter didn’t seem to be very dirty. Turns out it wasn’t just dirty but the bottom of the filter was clogged with shavings. When I was trying to clean it, I wasn’t getting anything through the clog. However, I never actually looked inside the filter so I had no idea what had happened. I just thought that I had gotten away with not messing up the filter. Boy was I wrong.
I believe that in the last few weeks, the decreased airflow has just been adding to the problem. With less airflow, the cyclone separator is not as efficient. So with the bottom of the filter clogged after the overfilled bin, the airflow through the separator was reduced resulting in less separation. This in turn meant that more and more dust and shavings were making their way into the filter. By the time I finally realized just how bad the airflow had become, the bottom 2 feet of the filter was full and the rest of the filter pleats were completely caked with dust and shavings.
Jalen to the Rescue
Jalen helped me get the filter cleaned up to be useable again. It took quite a bit of work with the shop vac and compressed air. Once everything was put back together, it was amazing how much more airflow there was (sarcasm).
Long Term and the Moral of the Story
Though Jalen and I cleaned the filter as best as we could, I ordered a new filter. I’m fairly certain that I did irreparable damage to it and as I indicated earlier, it needed to be replaced anyway due to its age. I also ordered a pressure gauge that will be installed in the outlet plenum just before the filter. This will make it easier to see when the filter needs to be cleaned allowing me to do a better job keeping the new filter in good working order.
I plan to install the pressure gauge before changing the filter so that I can see the change in the reading when I install the new filter. I will report back on what I find.
The last thing that I will add is this. If you ever overfill the dust bin on a cyclone separator dust collector, make sure you carefully inspect the filter. Do whatever you need to do to actually get a look inside the filter and look for evidence of carryover. Then ensure that the filter is thoroughly cleaned before putting the dust collector back in service.