Popular Post Botch Posted March 12 Popular Post Report Share Posted March 12 Well, color me stupid! For the last 28 years I've been using a Delta dust collector. It's a smallish system, but does have a rudimentary cyclone separator under the lid, with a cloth bag for the fine dust; 120v, ~1 hp, 580 cfm, 4" fittings. It has always worked fine for my bandsaw, tablesaw, and even my 10.5" jointer/planer; but, whenever I turned it on, I could see a large "poof" of fine dust being thrown off when the cloth bag inflated, especially if a sunbeam was streaming into the shop. I've started noticing more and more dust collectors with cylindrical, pleated dust filters, with up to 1-micron filtration, and I've been brainstorming how to attach/plumb one to my old Delta (which is paid for and will outlast me). Those filters alone are ~$250 on up, and would take up even more floor space in my tiny shop. Me: "My shop is so tiny..." Crowd: "How tiny is it?" Me: "When I realize I left my pencil on the other side of the shop, I reach over and grab it!" (thank you, I'll be here all week) Today I watched a EweTube video, something like "The Ten Levels of Dust Collection" or something like that, and he mentioned an inflatable bag line that filters down to 1 micron. Say Wha?? I followed his provided link, did some looking around, and saw cloth bags with filtration levels at 1-, 2-, 15-, and 30-microns. I had no idea! He linked this one, Powertech, which filters to 1 micron, has a clear vinyl window to monitor dust level, a zipper at the bottom for convenient emptying, and (the best part) a price of $22.99! It is rated for up to 560 cfm, close enough for guv'mint work. It'll be here in three days. This solves my problem perfectly, takes no additional floor space, and less than 1/10 the cost of what I was expecting. w00t! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Von Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 Be interested to hear your impressions when it arrives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legenddc Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 Same! I have one of those old Jet double bag collectors. It's better than nothing but you won't catch me using it without a respirator. Would be nice to capture finer particles so the air levels can return to normal quicker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 Sounds like it's going to be a good solution. You should definitely do some follow-up reports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 A one micron filter will only let the invisible, most dangerous dust back into the air, so remember to wear a respirator during cutting and for a good while after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 Yep. the science is the science. 1 micron is small but not small enough to be harmless. As always with dust collection, do the best you can. A 1 micron filter will leave a nice layer of super small particles all over everything but certainly kicks butt on a 5 micron bag. Just slip on a respirator while in that air space and you will probably do fine. Getting "healthy" quality air returned into the work area is a challenge for any small shop. I think we all notice the trend of people striving for ever better dust collection solutions. I use a P-100 nuisance filter like the Miller or an old AO Safety that I like. Where folks tend to run into trouble is in not changing filter elements when dirty, not washing washable filters, or not disposing of disposable ones. We use a lot of "wear parts" in the shop. Abrasives, blades, filters; toss them when their life is over. You will get better results and live happier 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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