Is my cartridge filter in need of replacement?

Hello everyone,

I bought this cartridge filter below off ebay in new condition just over a year ago:

https://www.clarkfiltersdirect.com/t...rk-filter.html

I have a frankenstein harbor freight setup with an oneida cyclone. the setup works fantastic and I have no complaints.

When I clean the cartridge filter I blow with compressed air staying back about 4" and blow from the outside in. I have done this 4 or 5 times since I have owned it. I have a piece of clear plastic tarp on the underside of the cartridge and gauge when the filter needs to be cleaned by feeling how much pressure is behind the plastic tarp. When the system was new, when running, the tarp would have essentially ZERO pressure - the flow through the filter was amazing.

Now, even after cleaning the filter, there is still slight pressure behind the tarp. But the bigger issue is that I am pretty sure I can smell the wood being blown through the filter. Its hard to tell, but I think it is letting the finest of fines through while at the same time having restricted flow. Not positive.

I will admit that on two occasions, I let the drum and cyclone fill up entirely with planer shavings, which caused the entire filter to fill up with them...

Another thing I believe worth mentioning - I do a production piece that requires a heavy amount of shaping with a 40 grit flapper disc on an angle grinder. After completing 600 pieces, without the dust collector I would have a pile of extremely fine dust that is roughly 3'x3'x4". This is a lot of dust that I assume does not get filtered in the cyclone, and I typically send it up the floor sweep.

Did I damage the filter via my maintenance, or is the lifespan of these filters just terribly short? Did I buy the wrong filter to start with?

thanks,
DW

You may want to try completely removing the filter from the machine and blowing it out at an angle from the inside with compressed air. This might prolong the life of the filter for a while. I don't think i would trust my sense of smell as an accurate measure of the quantity of fine dust that is escaping. You need a particle counter for that. I have a home made setup similar to yours using a Delta 50-760. It has a plastic catch bag below the filter and I judge the filter induced back pressure the same way you do. If the bag is just barely uninflated, there is no back pressure.

Hi Art,

When I blow the cartridge out, I remove it from the dust collector setup and blow it out outside. I blow from the outside in and do this over the entire pleated surface until no more dust is blowing off.

I would not disagree that my sense of smell is not a perfect indicator, but I can say for sure that when the filter was new, when I would turn it on, I would not get a strong smell of the wood I was previously working on, and now I do...

My main concern was that I damaged the filter when blowing it with compressed air, or that I am using a less than ideal filter to begin with.

thanks,
DW

Is the filter designed to flow from inside to outside or from outside to the inside? Most are from out to in. That can affect filtration to some degree.

You may have damaged the filter with the compressed air or there could be another leak causing some air to bypass. A call to the filter company to get an opinion on your cleaning process would be a good idea I think.

There are companies that clean filters. They will clean, check for damage and do a flow test to see if they are still serviceable. Some use a dry method with compressed air and centrifugal action by spinning. Some wash them with dry cleaning fluids. Your filter may or may not be cleanable and you'll have to find out from the cleaning company or manufacturer if it is possible. I had a bunch done with the first method and the cost was about $40 each. With the cost of that filter being $80 odd dollars you'll have to decide if it is economically feasible. You may have to eat the cost if it fails the testing. Ask them before you take it there.

The company I used as an example. http://www.mcwinn.ca/index.html

Hi Peter, I don't know what direction it is intended to flow. I did not see a spec on the website.

I actually only paid around $60 for the filter on ebay.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Peter Christensen

Is the filter designed to flow from inside to outside or from outside to the inside? Most are from out to in.

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You bring up a good point. Dust collection is kinda the odd one in the filter world. Most to flow out to in, but all collectors I've seen are in to out. I'm pretty sure using one in reverse from what it was designed for would affect its life.