My DC ate my remote!

[Michael Heffernan]

Well, it was late in the day, hadn't eaten any lunch and my blood sugar was off the charts. I finished ripping some stock on my table saw and started cleaning up. I use a quick disconnect on a flex hose from my DC to TS. Decided to vacuum off the sawdust with the hose and sucked the remote for my Jet DC-1100RC up the hose, through the impeller (thwack!) and into the dust bag. Pulverized the remote, but fortunately, the impeller was unscathed.
In a way, it was a fortunate, albeit boneheaded, accident. See, the DC-1100RC is an IR remote that I've always disliked. You need 'line of sight' to the receiver on the DC to start it with the remote. Always seemed to be contorting my body to get the thing started, or walking half way across the shop just for a clear view.
So, I bypassed the reciever module on the DC, bought a Long Ranger III remote, plugged it in, and voila, can start the thing from anywhere in the shop! Now I just need to get a couple more remotes to hang around the shop for what ever machine I'm working on.
Word of advice: remember to eat lunch.

[Scott Hildenbrand]

Get yourself a carabiner and stick it on that.. Then just clip it to a belt loop and you'll never loose it.. End of the day, hang it by the entry door.

http://www.promotionalsourcing.com/images/carabiner.jpg

We use them for our car keys.

[Mike Cruz]

I have mine attached to my leather apron. If I'm working in the shop, I have the apron on. If I have the apron on, I never have to go looking for the remote. Not so easy with pencils and tape measures, though...

[Scott Hildenbrand]

What, no pockets? ;)

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Yikes...now you won't be able to turn your DC off!! :)

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Likely story. Admit it, you threw it under the lawnmower so you had an excuse to trade up. Why didn't I think of that????
fmr

[Steve Vaughn]

I'm sorry for laughing. My bad.

Steve

PS - Sounds like something that would happen to me.

[Don Morris]

I haven't lost a remote to my DC but won't admit until I'm on my deathbed what else. Like the carabiner idea. I put mine on a string attached to my shop apron. Will have to look into the Lone Ranger remote, I agree, line of sight is a PITA sometimes.

[Glen Butler]

Too bad you didn't have a separater, just a cheap unit that sits atop a garbage can does the trick. Makes for fewer bag changes, and saves the impeller, or remotes for that matter. I have sucked up a few things that I shouldn't but thanks for the separater.

Seems if you are having blood sugar issues, working with power tools is not the safest thing. When I feel my mind is not on my work, I get food. The last thing I need is to lose body parts, least of all having to redo my work cause I had a moment of stupidity. Just saying be safe.

[Wade Lippman]

I sucked up a pint bottle of glue once. Fortunately it doesn't affect a cyclone.

[Mike Cruz]

I used to do that but my boss would always yell at me. It is hard to turn the DC on from my house. That is where the remote would end up if I put it in my POCKET!!!! :D

[Christopher Pine]

For some reason this tickled my funny bone! This is the kind of stuff that is the story of my life it seems like! Sorry for your loss! :)

[Kent A Bathurst]

Sorry, Michael, but I had to laugh - not at your misfortune, but at what I envision as the look on your face as the remote disappeared.

I have 2 remotes, no accidents with them, plus a 2-stage DC. I have had to open it up 2 times in 10 years to retreive something that rode the pneumatic highway.

[Chip Lindley]

When it Rains Lemons, Make Lemonade!! Enjoy your new Remote Michael!

[Robert Hill Idaho]

I use the same Long Ranger model and find it very valuable. Like another poster mentioned I keep it clipped to one of the pouches on my apron. I have it to were the clip is on the outside of the apron and main unit inside the pocket. I guess I'm trying to avoid excessive dust in the main unit. After a while of using it this way you learn of what button does what and don't even have to look at it.

And your story had me going with laughter. I'll also agree with another poster, should you have had a seperator the remote would have never met the impeller. At least there was no damage.

[Cliff Holmes]

A few weeks ago my son set a bottle of liquid beeswax too close to the DC inlet on the lathe and it got sucked in. An *open* bottle of liquid beeswax. Stunk up my shop for a week.

[Kent A Bathurst]

A few weeks ago my son set a bottle of liquid beeswax too close to the DC inlet on the lathe and it got sucked in. An *open* bottle of liquid beeswax. Stunk up my shop for a week.

You should fire him.

[Cary Falk]

My DC sucked up my 25' Stanley tape measure. It impeller came out unscathed. The tape, not so much.