Cleaning DC bag filter

[Rich Torino]

I have a ShopFox DC with the original bag type filter. Periodicly I take it off and shake it out (not fun). Do you ever "wash" the filter?? I have to believe it will affect performance if it can't breathe properly...

[Jim Becker]

Rich, you actually want a little "cake" on the inside of the bag, especially the original ones as it increases the filtration efficiency. Washing them would remove the "cake". Unfortunately these bags usually don't flow air very well (I'm making an assumption about the bag type here)...which is why they "inflate"...that's resistance to air passing through them. You might want to consider replacing the OEM bag(s) with a high-flow felt upper back (usually larger in size) and something of heavy plastic on the bottom to collect the chips in. (I know you didn't ask about that, but...)

[Rich Torino]

Thanks for the Info Jim,
Actually I'm looking at replacing it with a Wynn Polyester cartridge type filter. There have been several posts and the results seem to be favorable. It's on the (ever growing) list...

[Jamie Buxton]

I've run a canvas-bag type of filter through the washing machine. It cleans up just fine, and afterward there's much more air being flowed through the DC. However, the cake of dust on the inside of the bag actually helps the filtering effect. So you have your choice: higher cfm, or finer filtration.

[Rich Torino]

Decisions, Decisions,....
I just received my the latest copy of FWW and they did a DC comparison..
to start the test on equal ground with shop conditions they actually seeded the filters with diatomaceous earth. They used quite a bit but you could probably cut he dose down to start up a new/clean filter bag... Something to think about.. If I had read this article a couple of years ago i probalbly would have made a different choice....Oh well..

[Tom Clevenger]

Hi All

I have an oversized (huge) felt bag from American Fabric Filter. It filters to 1 micron and is hands down, better than the dust dog cannister I had. You can charge it with diatomaceous earth but I used about 5 lbs of regular flour per the mfg instructions. It can be removed, hosed or washed in the machine.

Tom