This is my old dust collector, under an 8' ceiling. I built a Thein separator into the ring between the trash can and the filter. The filter never needed cleaning, just some tapping to get the loose dust out when I emptied the bin.
Yes, the separator consists of the top with the outlet in the center, the ring with an inlet to send the air around and around, and the bottom with the slit to let the heavy stuff drop down when it hits the wall, and keep the pile of sawdust underneath from getting stirred back up. Whatever is under the baffle doesn't matter, although it works better if it's air tight.
Good to know. I see that most of those use a round baffle(not sure if that is the correct term) (the piece below with a notch out of it) that fits to the shape of the container. Obviously, mine would be a round baffle sitting alone in the middle of a large space. Will it still function well like that?