Cyclone won't suck

[Tim Goins]

I have a Cyclone DC. And I have notice it does not have the power that it had. It seems like it lost the vacuum power over night. I have checked all blast gates. They are closed. And I have checked it for clogs. I Have taken it apart. And still has the same performance. Recently I have installed a new catch box on the bottom of my filters. But that seem to improve it. I made the box air tight. I have let my chip bin get to full. But who has'nt done that. Any suggestions. I'm at my wits end. The motor turns fine. It comes on and turns off with no problems. It is a home made cyclone. with 6 inch lines. It acts as if I have gates open or a clog. But I have neither. Please HELP!

[Jim Foster]

Have you checked for clogs all through the filter-to-cyclone path? My Oneida Air clogged (planing away and not thinking about the size of my barrel) and it worked fine until I turned the unit off and the shavings settled. I had to take the filter off and piping that goes to the filter from the cyclone to get all the clogged shavings out. I was surprised just how clogged up it got. Also it was a bit of a surprise that as long as the tool was on when it got clogged the cyclone kept sucking, not until it was off and the chips settled did it lose power.

[Jamie Buxton]

When mine gets that way, it means that the filter is clogged. While the cyclone stage does take out most of the dust, some does get over to the filter. If it is a canister filter, you can clean it somewhat by banging on it. Or you can buy a replacement.

[Jim O'Dell]

If none of the above cure your problem...make sure the impeller is turning with the motor. Not likely to be the problem, but is something I'd make sure of if all else fails. Jim.

[Steve Jenkins]

Since you said that you let the collection bin overfill you might take the bottom off your filters and look up inside them. They can become packed with chips so tightly that when you take off the bottom the chips won't fall out on their own and you need to take a stick or something to remove them. Be careful not to puncture the fillter.

[Richard Wagner]

I have a Cyclone DC. And I have notice it does not have the power that it had. It seems like it lost the vacuum power over night. I have checked all blast gates. They are closed. And I have checked it for clogs. I Have taken it apart. And still has the same performance. Recently I have installed a new catch box on the bottom of my filters. But that seem to improve it. I made the box air tight. I have let my chip bin get to full. But who has'nt done that. Any suggestions. I'm at my wits end. The motor turns fine. It comes on and turns off with no problems. It is a home made cyclone. with 6 inch lines. It acts as if I have gates open or a clog. But I have neither. Please HELP!

It sounds as though the Cyclone does suck! At least this one.

[Jim Becker]

Are your filters plugged? Overfilling the bin can cause that. (DAMHIKT!!) Also be sure that your chip bin is absolutely sealed to the cone with not even the tiniest of leaks.

[Rod Sheridan]

Are your filters plugged? Overfilling the bin can cause that. (DAMHIKT!!) Also be sure that your chip bin is absolutely sealed to the cone with not even the tiniest of leaks.

I'll second that.

My friend overfilled my Oneida and it lost almost all the airflow.

I took the catch pan off the bottom of the filter, almost nothing in the pan.

It turned out that the filter was full, top to bottom with compacted shavings that didn't fall out when I took the dust pan off.

What a mess to clean out, it took a couple of hours to get the filter clean.

Check the inside of your filter with a flashlight, you may be surprised.

Regards, Rod.