Continuous cleaning of my Dust Collector

[Roger Feeley]

I have a 1.5hp dust collector with a plastic bag below and one of those barrel filters above.

There is this crank that you turn to dislodge the acculuated dust. I have a vacuum gauge on the collector and it shows that the air flow drops almost immediately.

I wonder if anyone has retrofitted a motor of some sort that would turn the paddles continuously whenever the collector is running.

[eugene thomas]

My 2 stage dust collector worked great, filter stayed clean. Then I bought wide belt sander and could not keep clean.

[Rod Sheridan]

Roger, I would think that your filter would be ruined very rapidly in that scenario.

Regards, Rod.

[Andy Giddings]

Roger, a single stage with a fine filter cartridge is going to block quickly. This is why they typically use fairly open filter bags. If you want to cut down on the filter cleaning you will need a separator before the cartridge or a Thein baffle in the bag area of your existing setup

[keith wootton]

roger, you can get a or make a baffle or cone to keep the fine dust from recirulating back up into your filter after it has gone down into the bag. lots of advise if you google vortex cone retrofit, or look on this site for dust collector help. adding a cone or wok or thein baffle will make a big difference.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I would not expect you to be able to clear the filter while it is running.... I thought that you did this while it was not running so that you could knock the dust loose and have it fall out. If you do this while it is running, it might drop some and then be pushed back into the filter.

[Joe Kaufman]

A couple of the manufacturers did offer the motorized flapper option on cyclone systems. I don't remember specifically but as a guess Grizzly and JDS ?
They only operate for a couple of revolutions after the unit shuts down. Try yours while it is running vs stut down and see how long it takes before reduced performance each way.
Agree with all of the comments above.

[Frank Pratt]

I would not use the rotating paddles even if my filter had them. They are just too expensive for that kind of abuse.

[David Kumm]

Buy an oversized filter with cloth spec'd properly. I run singed poly 6-8' high on my direct bagger to handle the fine dust from a widebelt. Too little filter area causes too much pressure and air velocity in the bags, jamming dust into the cloth and plugging it up. Slowing the air transfer through the media allows the dust to only surface mount and fall off easily. Call American Fabric Filter and get a good bag. Cartridges need either a preseparator or pulse jet automatic cleaning ( even better if they load from the outside rather than inside ). A thein type modification may be enough to help a cartridge but fine dust is not what cartridges excel at. Dave

[Bob Hoffmann]

I saw those motors that would turn the flappers when the DC turned off, and decided that I could do that! It takes a bit to get a motor that runs slow enough and wiring up a relay timer and several other relays to get the system to run after it is turned off with a remote.

The timer relay runs about 20 seconds when it turns off -- the relay is adjustable, don't remember the time, but it is set to make 2-3 revolutions after it turns off.

So far I am happy with the results -- but I have no way to tell if it makes a difference -- not measured, but it is nice to hear that it runs when I turn the DC off.

It was not inexpensive -- probably about $100 when it was finished and about 2 months to get all the parts (and getting parts that worked after I got ones that didn't (like trying to use a grill turning motor -- did not have enough torque, and would switch directions when it got stuck -- not something that the flaps would tolerate) and waiting for relays to get here from Amazon that were shipped from China.

So, it is possible.

[James Gunning]

Wynn Environmental recommends NOT using the paddles/beater bars, as they will damage the filter media and cause premature failure. Doing it continuously would hasten that outcome. As others have indicated, the real problem is a single stage dust collector that is passing virtually all the chips and dust into your filter. It clogs rapidly, and then needs cleaning. Using compressed air no more than 60 PSI (Wynn recommendation) or a leaf blower will clear much of the dust from the media. Problem is, it will clog rapidly again. The single stage collectors work better with the cloth or felt bags. The issue with those is they pass the fine dust (sub-micron) that is a health hazard right through to coat your lungs and shop in fine dust.

The solution is a cyclone. That will collect something like 95% or more of the chips and dust going through it. Your canister filter then collects the rest and stays cleaner and effective much longer.

[Roger Feeley]

Thanks for all the responses. To summarize why this was a dumb idea:

1. Excessive wear
2. Won't work will running because (duh) airflow will redeposit the dust.

I will look into a separator.

[Frank Pratt]

It sounds like you've done some good engineering there, & I hate to be a downer, but I'd rethink using that system. Any kind of friction on the edges of the filter pleats is going to quickly break down the media. I just checked online & a replacement filter for my system is $450USD, so I'm super careful with it.

I saw those motors that would turn the flappers when the DC turned off, and decided that I could do that! It takes a bit to get a motor that runs slow enough and wiring up a relay timer and several other relays to get the system to run after it is turned off with a remote.

The timer relay runs about 20 seconds when it turns off -- the relay is adjustable, don't remember the time, but it is set to make 2-3 revolutions after it turns off.

So far I am happy with the results -- but I have no way to tell if it makes a difference -- not measured, but it is nice to hear that it runs when I turn the DC off.

It was not inexpensive -- probably about $100 when it was finished and about 2 months to get all the parts (and getting parts that worked after I got ones that didn't (like trying to use a grill turning motor -- did not have enough torque, and would switch directions when it got stuck -- not something that the flaps would tolerate) and waiting for relays to get here from Amazon that were shipped from China.

So, it is possible.

[Bob Hoffmann]

The canister that I have came with the flappers, and while you are probably right that it will reduce the life span, making sure that it has a clear path for the air to pass thru the filter is more important to me than a longer life.

My system has been going strong for about a good 6 m0nths without any noticeable degradation in the filter. It runs about 10 seconds after I turn it off. The replacement cost is around $200, so I will be OK if it last 2 years.

[James Gunning]

Bob,

You can use compressed air (max 60 PSI-a leaf blower works too) to clean the inside of the filter. You can do a more thorough job than the paddles and not risk the expensive filter.