diagnosing dust collection -- leak or poor filtration?

[Matthew Hills]

I've got a Jet DC-1100 with JET's cannister filter.

It works okay for chip collection, and my dylos suggests that the particle count goes down when it is on,
*but* it seems like there is an increase in very fine dust in the garage atmosphere (hard to describe exactly what this is like -- a bit of a smell or eye irritant; my wife notices it as well)
This is true when I just run the collector without a tool being used.

I'm not sure whether this is:

• the natural filtration of the cannister filter (JET described it as a "1um filter"; not sure how this compares to the filtration of oneida or wynn filters)
• symptom of a leak on the filter/bag side of the DC. (I haven't noted any obvious leaks when the DC is running -- no major areas of high pressure air movement or regions where I see visible dust accumulating )

Any suggestions on how to confirm whether there are any leaks or is this a situation where I should be looking at replacing the filter?

Thanks,
Matt

[Jim Andrew]

Sounds like you have a tiny leak, I used furnace tape on every joint of my cyclone, especially between the cyclone and the filter also used foam tape between the barrel and lid, and spring clamps to hold it down. Was smelling the dust, much better now.

[John Lankers]

My old DC had a 1 micron filter and I had the same experience, after about 5 years of service I had black marks on the wall behind the canister filter. After I upgraded to a more powerful 5 hp DC with hepa filter the smell disappeared and the shop air is noticeably fresher, I don't even run my aircleaner as often as I used to.
However, a small air leak after the blower is a possibility too and would most likely be in welded or screwed joint areas, and yes aluminum HVAC tape works great for that.

[glenn bradley]

1 micron is definitely visible. Tobacco smoke, flour and talcum powder have particles that size. Once your filters are "seasoned" with a bit of cake, the capture performance is a little better. The downside to this is the airflow becomes restricted. An easy check on any system that has a bag in the pressure path is that the bag should remain pretty soft, not blown up like a balloon. If your bag is tight as a drum you are definitely providing back pressure on the system which restricts airflow.

I have a cyclone and a bagger. The bagger uses an aftermarket top bag that is about 75% of the size it should be. Still it remains soft and lumpy during use. The cyclone has a small bag at the bottom of the filter. When I notice this one inflate like a balloon, it is time to give the filters a scrub. Ideally, your filter easily passes the airflow of your blower.

[Carl Kona]

Matt,

If your Dylos is suggesting cleaner air (and assuming it is the 0.5 micron accuracy version) then I doubt it is a leak. Since your filter is a 1 micron canister for dust and not allergens, it may be mold, pollen, type buildup in your canister or hoses. Since you did not say what type of environment your garage is in, that is only a guess, but you stated smell and a lower dust count, so I would look down a different path for the source of the smell.

Hope that helps,

Carl

[Chris Fairbanks]

While not super cheap I find a smoke pen to be helpful to find leaks around the house or in a DC. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1. Good luck.