Oneida Pro 2000 Question

[Smith, David W.]

I purchased this DC from Oneida last year. I only had it set up in the previous shop for less than two months before I was forced to move so I had no real experience with it.

Now that I am in a new shop, the DC works fine, plenty of suction and power but the filter continues to clog so much as to be almost completely caked inside. I use it as much as three to four hours straight at a time and at the end of a long run I have to take the filter outside and blow it out. On top of the inside clog, there seems to be an unusual amount of dust on the outside of the filter.

Three weeks ago I pulled the DC apart, cleaned off all the old gasket material, cleaned all the surfaces the gasket would be mounted to, installed new gasket, caulked the seam where the barrel meets the motor housing with silicone, caulked the motor mount bolt heads, reattached the hose from the cone to the collection barrel, removed the wire from the hose where it contacted the cone and barrel, installed some thin gasket material between the cone and hose as well as the barrel fitting and hose and spread silicone around the motor mount where it mounts to the DC. In short, I have done everything I can think of to stop the caking which Oneida says is cause by a pin hole leak.

In short, I am out of options. Can’t afford another brand, hate to have to stop to blow the filter out constantly, dislike all the dust migrating through the HEPA filter ($400 worth of replacement filter) and want to find an answer. Any opinions or suggestions out there?

[mreza Salav]

I understand you have tried to seal all possible locations but the reason for unusual amount of dust/debris in the filter is a leak in the system between where the
dust is supposed to fall ( bottom of the cone) and where the air is suppose to flow out to the filter. There has to be a vaccum at the bottom of the cone and in the
bin for the dust to settle otherwise they'll follow the air stream.
Are you sure your bin is completely sealed (no holes or leaks)? start from there and move up (the lead, the hose connected to the bin/cone, the connection between the cone and the cylinder).

[Brian Kincaid]

If you have that large of a leak you might be able to 'sniff' it out using the smoke from a candle. The leak will suck the smoke in and you will know where to apply the duct tape.

By the way, the leak is somewhere between the joint where the cone starts to taper down and the bottom of the barrel. That area of the cyclone must be as air-tight as possible. Even a small leak will reduce the effectiveness of separation. The rest doesn't really matter (for cyclonic separation).
(just saw that a previous poster gave this information, but I'll leave it in)

-Brian

[Jim Andrew]

When I set my system up, I used some foam weatherstrip on the lid of the bin container. If you were to look at all your joints after using it for a while, should be able to see where it is leaking from the dust showing at the leak point.

[James Baker SD]

My Pro 2000 lifts the dust drum completely off the ground until it is over 3/4 full, so I guess it must have a vacuum in there. When it no longer picks up the drum, that's my signal to empty it.

James

[Michael W. Clark]

I understand you have tried to seal all possible locations but the reason for unusual amount of dust/debris in the filter is a leak in the system between where the
dust is supposed to fall ( bottom of the cone) and where the air is suppose to flow out to the filter. There has to be a vaccum at the bottom of the cone and in the
bin for the dust to settle otherwise they'll follow the air stream.
Are you sure your bin is completely sealed (no holes or leaks)? start from there and move up (the lead, the hose connected to the bin/cone, the connection between the cone and the cylinder).

+2 If there is a leak in/around the drum, the dust will re-entrain in the vortex. Sealing the connection at the fan connection and cyclone inlet is good, but not as critical as the cyclone discharge. Also, if the dust bin gets too full, material will carry over to the flters. Not sure why you have dust on the outside of the HEPA filters, unless it is just from the ambient evironment around the collector?? Maybe you have some leaks downstream of the fan, and with the carryover from the dust bin, it is causing this??

Mike

[David Kumm]

David, did you say what type of dust you are generating? Sanding dust and wood chips are a whole different deal with fine dust being the hardest to separate. Commercial shops with widebelt sanders don't use cartridges due to the loading unless coupled with a cleaning system. Dave