Dust collector canister life span

[Ole Anderson]

I have worked in clean rooms and HVAC for over forty years.
Use a manometer to check the differential pressure across the filter when it reaches .5 inch of water column drop across the filter is reaching a higher efficiency i.e. plugged.

And to be perfectly honest the subject of dust collection on the web is hilarious with the 'micron readings" by a bunch of rank amateurs tossing around CFM and velocity blah blah blah.
They are actually important measurements however never on any of these dust collection threads does one mention the methods and means to measure these terms. Has anyone mentioned a hot wire anemometer or a particle count meter or even a lowly manometer to make measurements. Or even the calculations converting velocity to CFM?

Actually there are a fair number of engineers on this site that have some experience in the subject at hand. Some go as far as hot wire anemometer and particle counters. I am a retired civil engineer having specialized in open channel and closed conduit hydraulics and many on this site are much more experienced in the field of air filtration and movement. I use a HVAC Velocitor (fan anemometer) for measuring air flow and have two Magnehelic gauges (0-5 in for filter loss and 0-15 for cyclone pressure (suction)). I keep a copy of my cyclone's performance curve mounted on the wall next to my gauges. Some filters, depending on design, will have more than 0.5" of loss even when new. The filter that came with my Oneida cyclone is a G.E. Certified H-12 HEPA. http://www.oneida-air.com/PDF/gehepa.pdf. A lot of us take the issue of dust collection pretty seriously.

I always perk up when someone starts a sentence with "And to be perfectly honest...".

And to answer the OP's question, it depends.

[Richard Dooling]

Talked to Jet technician and he said these filters can last for many years if not abused. Stated that the V fabric will not deteriorate with normal beater bar use. It's also OK to gently rinse after blowing or brushing out - obviously off the machine. Mostly he recommended blowing air from outside in while mounted to remove fine dust.
As others have noted though, cleaning may improve air flow while allowing coarser particles to escape.

[Andy Giddings]

Richard, the coarser particle issue is temporary, not permanent. I suspect if you use air to clean instead of washing, it won't even change the loading as its hard to get all of the dust out of a pleated filter using air alone

[Richard Dooling]

Andy, I tend to agree. I think from what I have read, that a moderate mechanical and air cleaning may be the appropriate method. Clean enough to maintain good air flow while allowing some loading of the filter to help with particle size.

I've decided to give up woodworking in favor of chasing the ultimate dust collection system. My Grail.

[Andy Giddings]

Andy, I tend to agree. I think from what I have read, that a moderate mechanical and air cleaning may be the appropriate method. Clean enough to maintain good air flow while allowing some loading of the filter to help with particle size.

I've decided to give up woodworking in favor of chasing the ultimate dust collection system. My Grail.

LOL I know the feeling. Good thing is you already have a pretty good system compared to many

[Alan Schaffter]

For a lower mid level clean room such as a pharmaceutical clean room or an operating room the air is purified to 5 microns since viruses larger than 5 microns.

It is posts like yours that don't help the discussion. For someone who has "worked in clean rooms and HVAC for over forty years" you should know the difference between microns and nanometers! Viruses run in size from 5 - 300 nanometers (0.005 - .3 microns)!!

To qualify as HEPA by US government standards, an air filter must remove (from the air that passes through) 99.97% of particles that have a size of 0.3 µm (microns). Obviously, most but the very largest viruses are smaller than that! You also need to read up on what the EPA and various health organizations have to say about the dangers of wood dust- by the way, the most dangerous fall within the .5 - 10 micron range. The Flanders corporate office is just down the road from me in Washington, NC, and by the way, Japanese-owned Daikin Industries Ltd., through its subsidiary American Air Filter Co. Inc. purchased Flanders Corporation in 2016. Flanders located here because of the cheap labor and availability of cellulose for filter media. I'm not making any of this up- straight from Mr. Google.

[Ole Anderson]

Many of us have found that the final cleaning of a filter can be accomplished outside with a leaf blower. More gentle than 60 psi on an air hose.

[James Gunning]

Dick Wynn recommended cleaning with air no more than 60 PSI as I recall. A leaf blower works just fine as well. Dick also said the "flapper" type cleaning paddles were not a good idea as they would damage the filter media well before the normal time it would wear out.

[Richard Dooling]

Thanks James,

That's good to know.

Despite what the Jet technician said I have my doubts about the beater bar not damaging the filter. The 60 psi upper limit recommendation is valuable info.

Looks like Wynn has no units with beater bars.

[Malcolm McLeod]

Richard, just a minor hi-jack...

I've been around a considerable number of industrial dust collectors, 'tho never designed, spec'd, or installed them. Virtually all of those industrial units that I've seen use out>in flow (dust collects on the outside of a canister-style filter, or 'sock'). All of the 2-stage woodworking cyclones (that I've seen), use a in>out flow.

The cyclone manufacturers reverse the flow to avoid the cost of the filter enclosure and related pulse cleaning gear (valves, timers, etc.). I presume they think the market won't bear the extra expense?

I think the only real difference is in how the cartridge is cleaned. The industrial units can be cleaned by a hi-flow diaphragm valve opening an air reservoir to 'pulse' hi-pressure air into the filter's interior (flow is momentarily reversed and the dust knocked off the outside of the filter). This pulse occurs with the unit in operation, and no interruption to the process.

In the never ending quest to over-engineer something/anything/everything, I have a scheme in mind. Most of the cyclone DC's could be modified to put the filter in a (plywood?) box. An internal divider would serve to both mount the filter as well as route incoming air to the exterior. The interior of the filter could be vented to the shop. To clean the filter, just stick your leaf blower or 60psi air nozzle/wand into the vent(s). Dust is knocked off the filter and drops to the bottom of the box; open a door in the box and vacuum out. Simple if you have room for the box.

This eliminates the mechanical contact of 'beaters' with the filter media, and hopefully extends its life....? Food for thought.

Now I just need to acquire the marital capital reserves sufficient for a new cyclone.

[Alan Schaffter]

Here is another way to clean the filter(s) indoors if you have the typical in>out flow setup-

I have two cartridge filters (286 sq. ft. ea. Farr-type) connected in parallel for max flow. I remove one filter at a time to clean it and add a blank-out over the inlet hole. I place the filter to be cleaned over a small clean-out box that I connect with a DC port. I turn the DC on which now pulls air from outside to inside of that filter. I also rap on the wire mesh with a small mallet to help break the dust free from deep in the filter pleats.

My long cone cyclone is at garage level, below my shop, with the blower near the ceiling and is configured in a push-through configuration. It discharges into a small plenum located between the shop floor joists directly above:





A filter box, that is vented to the shop, sits atop the plenum. One filter has been removed, but the blankout not yet installed in this photo:



I use a length of 6" flex to temporarily connect a small "clean-out box" to the DC port that serves my jointer:



Filter being cleaned:

[Richard Dooling]

That's okay I guess but I don't think that it really compares to my Jet 650.

Seriously, I haven't seen anything like that outside of a large commercial shop.
Outstanding!