Yet another dust collection question

[Matt Wolboldt]

I've been reading the multitude of threads on dust collectors and systems. How is it that a bag filter filters a smaller particle than a canister filter. Up to this point I've had a delta dust collector, but I still get a lot of dust everywhere. So my plan was to upgrade to a canister filter, but it seems that a lot of people have a Delta 50-760 (a bag filter). Any help with this clarification would be great. I'm still trying to make up my mind in this regard.
:)

[Rick Malloy]

Matt,
I've only reviewed dust collectors and looked them over at the store (have a 1200CFM Steel City on order as of this weekend). But from what I could see, the 1 micron systems are using thick felt for the filtering. My wife is a seamstress and she confirmed this for me. She also pointed out the difference in material used in some other models that did not filter down to 1 micron.

[Prashun Patel]

It's not about style (bag vs cannister). It's about the filter size.

You can get bags and cannisters as coarse as 30micron (cheap) and as fine as 1micron (and better, but 1micron is generally considered acceptable).

The Delta 50-760 ships with a 1micron bag, which is why some consider it a good buy.

Bags are generally cheaper than cannisters because they are a little messier to clean.

[Matt Wolboldt]

So I guess as long as it claims that it filters down to one micron, I'm good to go? If that's the case then I'm good to go. Thanks for the help.

[Phil Thien]

So I guess as long as it claims that it filters down to one micron, I'm good to go? If that's the case then I'm good to go. Thanks for the help.

But, if you still have dust everywhere, perhaps you have a leak in the bag or the collection at the tools isn't catching everything?

[Phil Thien]

Matt,
I've only reviewed dust collectors and looked them over at the store (have a 1200CFM Steel City on order as of this weekend). But from what I could see, the 1 micron systems are using thick felt for the filtering. My wife is a seamstress and she confirmed this for me. She also pointed out the difference in material used in some other models that did not filter down to 1 micron.

Is the felt special, or is it just a standard (I think felt is sold by weight) off-the-shelf felt?

[Steven Wilson]

Besides worring about what particle size the bag filters too you need to look at total filter area; canister filters have much more filter area than a bag of similar overall dimensions.

[Rick Malloy]

I think you can get felt in different weights. I picked my DC up last night and put it together and the felt on that is definitely thicker than some of the stuff my wife has used in sewing.

[Mark Engel]

The bags I have on my collector are called shaker felt. I have also heard them called needle felt. They are rated @ 1 micron. I got this pair on ebay from a company in Connecticut.

The felt is pretty thick and stiff. My collector uses 2 filter bags on top and 2 plastic bags on the bottom. The filter bags do not need any kind of support, they stay upright on their own due to the stiffness of the fabric. When I fire up the collector they billow slightly, but I do not get the big clouds of dust like I used to get with my old 1hp Reliant using 30 micron bags. This collector is a 3hp Reliant.