This is pretty genius.

[Martin Wasner]

I may have to get one of these (http://www.shoupparts.com/SH15700/) just for cleaning the filters on the downdraft table. A bit spendy, but it takes me a solid hour to blow all the crap out of the filters if we've been neglecting to purge them on the regular. I also won't do it if its cold outside. (I'm a wimp)


Thank you agriculture!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLnW5qOEdf4


I think the two filters in my downdraft table are quite a bit larger than what they are showning, so it might not reach all the way to the bottom though. I couldn't find the specs for how big the filters are, but I think they're about 18"x40"

[Jonathan Freinkel]

Very cool! Wish it was cheaper

[Anthony Whitesell]

Definitely cool. Too bad it won't work on the DC canister filters...



I'll let you think about that for a second...












The wood dust collects on the inside of the canister filters for the single stage and cyclone DC systems, not the outside (as portrayed in the video). Recall that some canisters have a flapper or beater system built into the canister filter. I don't know how Martin's (OP) downdraft table is built, but it may or may not work for him either. If you tried to clean a canister filter with that system, it would probably damage it by trying to force the dust through the filter material.

Which now has me thinking that we actually have the airflow reversed from what is best practice for filter installation. One should always install a filter where the pressure tries to shrink the pores not expand them.

[Martin Wasner]

My down draft table sucks from the outside in. That will work as the inside of the filter is clean.

For the regular pleated filter on top of a dust collector? No, it will not.
And yes, for that setup, the filters are working in the wrong direction for a few reasons.

[Andrew Hughes]

I'm glad I don't have filters to clean looks very messy.I already have enough allergys.

[mreza Salav]

Isn't vacuuming it from outside an easier solution?
Each filter media has direction of air flow, some from in-to-out some from out-to-in. To clean my DC cartridges (which collect dust inside) I take them out and use a leaf blower to clean them. Works great when it is windy outside.

[peter gagliardi]

Yah but, I've been using a single nozzle air gun by hand and doing that for 20+ years. And I get it much cleaner than the video shows.
Best to do on a windy day, with your back to the wind, and a facemask. $350.00 in my pocket.

[David Malicky]

Like mreza, a shop vac works fine for me.

[Martin Wasner]

I'll use a vac when cleaning the catch tray, and I'll vacuum off the filters when they're in the machine, but once in a while they just need to be pulled and thoroughly cleaned. Eventually the air purge just won't blast enough out of the pleats. Usually only a couple of times a year. Like I said, I spend about an hour blasting then out each time, if my time is worth $100/hr in the shop, doesn't take long to pay for that tool if it even halves the time it takes. Or if an employee costing me $35/hr is doing it that's an hour he's not producing anything.

I've kicked around building a box with a hole in the bottom and dropping a 10" or 12" pipe from the dust collector to it so I can pull air backwards through the filter. There would have to be a door to get the filter in and out, and a piece of plexi glass would be nice to see what's going on. Then just reach up through the home in the bottom into the filter with an air gun and blast it out.

There's also filter cleaning services. I've got no idea what the cost is on that.

A sock over the whole filter would allow most to fall off, but the really fine stuff would just be trapped in between the filter and the sock no matter how many times you purge them in place. It's a down draft table, so it's pretty much only the nasty fine dust from orbital sanding.

[Jesse Busenitz]

We use one of these on the farm and it works pretty good!

[Bill Adamsen]

My cartridge setup has the air go from inside out ... so this wouldn't work. Most filters are designed to work that way, few can be inverted to have air go from outside in.

These could work well with the cabinet type filter. It is a lot simpler than building in the rotating union.

[Anthony Whitesell]

But how to you clean the shop vac filter?

[Anthony Whitesell]

Most DC filters are setup this way. Filters are designed to work (best) when the flow is from the outside to the inside. The way the DC uses them risks opening the pore size and increasing the size particle that does not get trapped. It is just text book filter design methodology.

Don't get me wrong, I still think it is way cool. It would be even better if it traveled up and down the shaft all by itself. Then you could turn the air on and walk away letting it run for 5-10 minutes.

[David Malicky]

But how to you clean the shop vac filter?
Maybe that was tongue-in-cheek? :) If not, I always use a bag.

[Bud Zeien]

I don't see this thing having the air volume and pressure needed to get the fines out. Your purging system already does what that tool is trying to do.
get a barrel a bit bigger than your filter and hook a dust collector into it, put the filter in and get a tight seal with the cover and stick a leaf blower in the end with the DC going. That actually might have too much pressure, but you can throttle back if needed, they're not my filters:p

[Joe Calhoon]

Once we started using the Festo vacs we have not turned on our downdraft table. At first we were excited about the table but a lot of maintainence and time to keep it clean. Even carrying the filters outside to blow seems like we were not getting rid of the dust just re distributing it.

[Bill Adamsen]

Most DC filters are setup this way. Filters are designed to work (best) when the flow is from the outside to the inside.

You need to be careful with selection of cartridge filter. Per this note from Dick Wynn ... "All NANO filters have the NANO on one side only and on the 9L and 2N series filters, it is on the " inside ". On SB (Spun Bond - ed.) filters it makes no difference." Meaning that not all cartridges can be used from out to in.

[Martin Wasner]

Once we started using the Festo vacs we have not turned on our downdraft table. At first we were excited about the table but a lot of maintainence and time to keep it clean. Even carrying the filters outside to blow seems like we were not getting rid of the dust just re distributing it.

To each their own. I've had mine for about four years and I'm convinced it's one of the better pieces I've purchased. Which actually shocked me since it produces nothing other than cleaner shop. It catches basically everything and keeps the shop air quality up. Especially in the winter when we can't have the doors open. Might depend on the table too, ours is 48x72 and moves a massive amount of air.

I have wondered about using a vacuum and the table at the same time though. I've thought about calling the company and seeing if there was a way to put a port on it for a hose, but the velocity is so low there's no way it'd work without some wacky engineering.

[Robert Willing]

I just take mine out side and use a leaf blower. I have the Wynn cartridge filter on my DC which is part of my DIY cyclone DC. I clean it once a year with the leaf blower and let it blow down wind. I clean my shop the same way, just open the doors and blow away. The leaf blower is about 15 years old and has paid for itself many times over. Of course it pays to live out in the country where I return the dust/wood to the woods.

[Tom M King]

I do the same as Robert. A Toro handheld leaf blower is used a lot by us even on jobsites. My shops were built with doors on each end, and facing with the prevailing winds of SW, or NE. When it's a hard blowing nice day, it's shop cleaning day. Pick the right day, and it only takes a few minutes. We're on top of a hill surrounded by fairly long fetches across water, and the wind gets accelerated going up the hill. I also use a 4' wand on an air hose for stuff the leaf blower doesn't reach.

[Martin Wasner]

I try to blow the shop out in the warmer months once a week with a leaf blower as well. I'm a big fan of the shop looking more like a tool showroom than a functioning cabinet shop. Bud gave me crap at my shop about there being mote sawdust in the bathroom than in the shop.

[Justin Ludwig]

When I was using a Porter Cable ROS that didn't have built-in DC, I was seriously considering building a downdraft table using an old squirrel cage 1hp blower. After buying the FS150/5 and hooking it up to the dust deputy, I'm glad I didn't invest the floor space or the time. I'm still lucky in that I exhaust dust/chips outsides, so cleaning anything gets sucked right out with me staying inside.

The squirrel cage is now used as an air scrubber/re-circulation unit.