Sealing Fiber DC Drums

[Dan Case LR]

I've always been a little queasy about using fiber drums for collection on a cyclone, though they obviously do work. Are there any standard protocol sealing the drum? I'm not talking about the seal between the lid and drum, but the drum itself.

Thanks!

D.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I have mine for several years and have had no problems. I don't do anything special, just use the normal clamping ring

[james glenn]

As Ken mentioned, same for me.

I did use some silicone sealant and construction adhesive around my inlet pipe and the pipe thru the lid. Other than that I haven't had any spots to seal or any issues with the drum.

[Phil Thien]

I'm skeptical of them. I've seen a pretty wide variety of construction quality. And every time someone is asking about symptoms indicative of a leak on their cyclone, it seems they're using a fiber drum (although I admit lots of people use them).

I'd rather use one of the plastic drums instead. The side benefit is they're translucent so you can shine a flashlight at the thing and see how much debris is in it. The downside is that they're only available in limited sizes. I think even the 30-gallon is too large to fit under the cyclone in many home shops because the cyclone isn't high enough.

If I was going to use a fiber drum, I'd go over each seem with some silicone and my finger.

[Jamie Buxton]

Somebody on this board recently made the suggestion of a test for your dust bin. Get a trash bag big enough to enclose the bin, or just sheet-plastic to enclose it. Turn on the collector. If the plastic still hangs loosely, you're okay, and your queasiness should subside.

[glenn bradley]

Somebody on this board recently made the suggestion of a test for your dust bin. Get a trash bag big enough to enclose the bin, or just sheet-plastic to enclose it. Turn on the collector. If the plastic still hangs loosely, you're okay, and your queasiness should subside.

That's one of those "why didn't I think of that" nuggets. One giant lawn bag and you have your answer ;-)

[Jim Andrew]

There used to be a silicone product you could paint on your basement wall if you had some fine cracking and water was coming in. I would try to find that product, and paint your drum with it.

[Ole Anderson]

IMO it is a non issue.

[Bill Adamsen]

I was surprised to discover there is significant air loss into the drums which causes issues in the cyclone itself (see video on link). Thanks for reminding me to place that order for a poly drum.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...e-Issue-Solved

[Dave huber]

Mine was water damaged.
I sprayed it with 3 coats of leftover water based poly.

If not damaged, I would not have bothered.

Works ms as it should.

YMMV

[Dan Case LR]

Since I started this thread, I figured I should follow up.

Executive Summary: Were this not a brand new installation and the drum provided by the manufacturer, right about now I'd use my fiber drum as a one-use burn barrel.

We're not talking major leakage of the sort that blows chips into that expensive filter. In fact, if I didn't want to use bags (and the Oneida bag retainer) it would be in the undetected department, not enough of a leak to matter. Add in that bag and retainer, and that little leak becomes a monster that eventually collapses the retainer. Not at first, mind you -- After my most recent round of silicone and clamp checking, it looked pretty good. Ran it for a while (real usage, not just test running) checked again, and it looked okay. Ran it through the weekend, checked this morning and found the retainer pulling in again. Arrgh.

I've neatly (but thoroughly) siliconed every seam and joint inside and out. I detected some thin spots in the gasket around the lid, and applied a thin leveling coat of clear silicone. I've tightened both hose clamps and checked for leaks with a smoke stick. And before someone asks, it's not a bunched up bag compromising the seal. I'm using a 3-mil thick bag that fits the drum well and is a little tight when pulled over the rim. The result is smooth as glassy lacquer. And yet the retainer still collapses.

I envy you guys who can carry your drums outside and dump them. The subdivision would not take kindly to such behavior.

Any ideas?

D.

[Prashun Patel]

The concerns about a fiberboard drum are overblown, I believe. We receive toxic chemicals in fb drums at my business. If they were porous enough to leak air, and hence dust in appreciable quantity, I doubt they'd let them be used.

I use a Thien baffle on a fiberboard drum for my tablesaw, and I also use on a Dust Deputy for my shopvac. I've never had issues with either. I use a metal container on my CV mini cyclone with another shopvac and don't notice any better performance vis-a-vis my fiberboard binned units.

If you are really concerned with air leak on the FB drum, then paint it or varnish it or sealcoat or drylock it.

If you go plastic, then beware. Standard plastic drum stock for plastic can very thin and isn't always perfectly round. This makes compression and getting a perfect lid for it a challenge vs a fb drum.

[Jim Andrew]

I have a plastic drum, it is heavy enough to have no problem with being too thin, it has a rounded top edge, and I used a steel lid, that needed a little work to fit well. Using a piece of foam weatherstrip on the drum, and spring clamps to hold it down works very well. I can watch the dust just flow down into the drum when I put a trouble light on the lid and plane some boards. Really looks like a cyclone in action.

[Rod Sheridan]

I've had mine for 13 years with no issues..............Regards, Rod.

[David Ragan]

I started out with a darn trash can. LOL. What a joke. Leaked like a sieve. Got fed up with it, went over to U-Line here in Atl, (no shipping made all this possible), and got the 30 gallon metal drum. Major improvement. Then, the issue was how to empty it. That thread is in workshop forums. Finally got it all squared away. If a plastic drum will hold up, that's what I would do, I was just wary of the wall being too thin.