Cleaning Filter Bags

[Andrew Nemeth]

I am cleaning up my shop and had a few dust collector questions. I have a 7 year old Jet 1200cfm collector unit with stock Jet bags. I don't know if it is just me but my DC just does not seem to suck my socks off like it used to. What maintenance should be preformed on the filter and collector bags? I am a little embarrassed to say but since I have bought the unit new I have never washed them. I just beat the filter bag out into the collector bag every time before emptying the bag.

Additionally, i have thought about upgrading the bags to something a little higher performance. Of course I would like to reduce the number of airborne particulates but not at the expense of reducing the CFM the system is moving, infact, I would like to maximize it for better collection at the tool. How well do the different aftermarket bags and/or canister filters work? I already have an el cheapo plastic two stage lid that I may upgrade to a Phil Thien Baffle soon.

[Fred Hargis]

Don't know which bags you have, but if they are the 30µ ones, you will get a huge performance increase and better filtration with a tighter weave. AFF is an excellent choice, there bags have a small premium (used to be about 15-20%) but they are made to order and you can get them made oversize for even better performance. A well made bag is supposed to shed excess cake once the right amount is built up, even so I cleaned mine about once a year by going outside on a windy day, turning the bag inside out and beating it. I would then vac it off with the shop vac. With the AFF bags, washing is not recommended. I do think a canister conversion would be even better ( a but more expensive) and I have never read anythiong bad about the Phein separator, though I've not tried it.