How full do you let your collector bags get in dust collector?

[Don Morris]

I'm hesitant to let my 1100cfm Jet dust collector bag get more than 1/2 to 2/3 full or else it will lose efficiency, or become a hazzard. I now have clear bags and the whirling dust particles look like any higher they would come back out the impeller. Am I wrong? When I empty it I always have wondered if I let it get closer to the top I wouldn't have had to do it as often and it wouldn't have been such a PITA. How full do you guys let it get?

[Neil Brooks]

I go about half in the DC bag, and about half in the chip separator.

Course ... I fill up my car, at about half a tank, too.

Hmmm.

[Larry Browning]

I have a Oneida Gorilla cyclone. It has a 35 gal barrel. I emptied it the other day and it was completely full! In fact it was starting to backup into flex hose that connects the cone to the barrel. I had not notice any performance loss, but who knows? Of course you don't have a cyclone so my info is probably useless to you anyway!
BTW: One time the whole filter chamber was full of shaving and sawdust, man was that a mess to cleanup! I really have to start checking that more often. I probably should rig up one of those sensors to tell me when the barrel is full. I think that is going to have to wait until I retire and have a bit more time to piddle in the shop. That retirement task list just keeps growing and growing! I can't wait to get started on it!

[keith ouellette]

I am not only lazy, but aside from that, I hate changing the dust collector bag. I never seem to change mine until it is so full it starts loosing strength. I am trying to build something that will take care of that problem now.

[Mike Goetzke]

I previously had a Jet 1100 and only let it get about 2/3's full or I would loose performance. I now have a ClearVue with a bin sensor and the bag is full every time I empty it.

Mike

[Chris Tsutsui]

Once mine is 50% full, I add it to my to do list to clean it.

If I wait too long it becomes more of a mess to change it and more difficult to do.

[Anthony Whitesell]

I'm with Neil. Half a bag in the collector and what ever happens to be in the separator. The separator is only used for the planer, jointer, and bandsaw. The tablesaw, router table, and drum sander all bypass the separator and go directly into the DC.

But I fill my car to the top, but don't top off. I recently learned that you can foul an evaporative emissions valve hook to the top of the tank if you repeatedly try to squeeze in a little more (cost be $70 for the new valve).

[Myk Rian]

Half full is my max. Haven't had to empty it since installing a garbage can separator a year ago.

[Don Morris]

If a bin sensor lets the bag get full before it senses it and there has been no obvious loss of efficiency...guess what I'm going to do from now on...you got it...that didn't take a lot of brain power did it? Thanks guys.

[Steven Hsieh]

I dump it clean everyday.

[Ryan Baker]

If a bin sensor lets the bag get full before it senses it and there has been no obvious loss of efficiency...guess what I'm going to do from now on...you got it...that didn't take a lot of brain power did it? Thanks guys.

That only applies to cyclones. Your Jet 1100 will lose all its efficiency well before the bag is full, and it will be a much bigger pain to change/dump the bag then. I learned that the hard way with my Jet 1100. I don't let mine get more than half full. If you don't believe it, go ahead and fill your bag to the top or past ... you will see.

[johnny means]

The OP is using clear bags, so the fullness of his bags has no affect on efficiency. I try to catch my bags before they over flow and are still relatively easy to move without covering myself in dust.

[Alan Schaffter]

The OP is using clear bags, so the fullness of his bags has no affect on efficiency. I try to catch my bags before they over flow and are still relatively easy to move without covering myself in dust.

?????

Au contraire! If OP has a single stage DC with a clear bag on the bottom, then (1) he has reduced his filtering capacity and flow by half already, and (2) his upper filter bag will clog even quicker than before, so the height of dust in the lower bag IS an indication of a clogged upper filter AND reduced efficiency of the DC.

The cleanest approach is for OP to connect that Jet 1100 to a cyclone in the push-through configuration and add a cartridge filter. Then he can let the bag fill almost all the way up and still have an easy and dust free time of changing it without getting dust everywhere. But he still should have a bin/bag high dust sensor!

[David Giles]

This thread makes me appreciate not having a final dust filter/canister. Using Alan's setup and external venting, I know the bag needs changing when chips start floating by the window.

[Matt Day]

I'm lazy and let mine go to almost the top (Delta 50-760) because it's such a PITA to change the bag with the clampy thing. I'm looking forward to building a thein seperator that will make this a lot easier.