dealing with dust collector fines in filters?

[David Zaret]

hi there, looking for some advice.. i have a big Oneida 10HP industrial cyclone, with 3 large pleated filters. i noticed the system sounded a little bogged down, so yesterday i took the filters off, took them outside, and blew them out with a leaf blower. it was fairly horrific - they are hard to remove, very heavy, and where obviously caked with very fine dust. took a few hours to get everything clean, but the performance difference is noticeable.

my question is, how do you guys deal with fines in your filters? how often do you try to remove caked dust on the inside pleats, and how do you do it?

thanks.

-- dz

[Dave Cav]

I have a widebelt sander and have the same problem with my Tempest filters. I use a leaf blower, too, but eventually will probably vent the cyclone output to the outside of the building with no filters.

[David Zaret]

dave, we thought of that, and frankly i'd love to do it... my last few shops i did that where we exhausted straight outside. but being here in michigan, and with this beast going, i would suck the heat out of the building in seconds, and i could see it being very expensive. i think i'm stuck with the filters....

[Mark Bolton]

We struggle with it as well. I was always told that other than a sander, if your getting fines in the filter you have a leak somewhere below the cyclone, drum, drum seal, etc.. we have checked as best we can but we blow out the filter on two cyclones perhaps once every couple of months. Oneida said not to bother removing them and just blow them down from the outside and let the fines settle into the pan but we are never able to get them clean that way even with 125psi air. I'm afraid to hit the pleated filters with 175psi air afraid I'll put a tear in them eventually.

[Peter Christensen]

Get a second set of filters and send the first set out for cleaning and testing. They can be cleaned several times before needing replacement. There is a place near you that does it.

http://michiganfilter.com/filter-cleaning.html

I got some from where I was working and they cost $30 or $40 or so each. Eventually the company listened to me and did the same. Saved them thousands a year cleaning two dozen at a time.

They won’t clean those filters with the paddles because they are too flimsy and disintegrated in the machine.

[David Zaret]

peter - having a spare set of filters is a very interesting idea. i will call them tomorrow.

i tried blowing them out with compressed air from the outside, but mine are up against a wall, and i can only get to 1/2 of the filter. i completely concur with the concern about physical contact with a flapper, that feels like a great way to destroy an expensive filter.

thanks for your help.

-- dz

[Kevin Jenness]

If you have the space you could replace the cartridges with tube filters.

[David Zaret]

what's a tube filter?

[Kevin Jenness]

https://www.oneida-air.com/dust-coll...ilter-1-micron

Typically these are hose-clamped to thimbles in a plenum at top and mud buckets below. A good whack will peel off the built-up dust cake on the inside. Cartridge filters are far more space efficient and consequently harder to clean.

[sean meltvedt]

David, build a clean out box at the bottom of the filter stack with an access hole. Put a vacuum cleaner in the access hole, and used compressed air to clean them. The vacuum should keep up with the dust (it won’t if you use a leaf blower). I monitor mine and clean when they reach 3.5-4 inches of water back pressure. I have found that the sander is pretty much the only thing that will generate the flour dust found in the filters.
Cheers
Sean

[David Zaret]

this is the plenum/filter stack that i have:

https://www.oneida-air.com/dust-coll...ter-plenum-kit

the plenum is up high (obviously), but there's not nearly enough room under the filters to add additional stuff, and i definitely can't add 10' tubes. looks like my best bet is to use the leaf blower outside, and/or have a spare set....

[Kevin Jenness]

David,

You are not limited to 10' tall tubes; long ones can be cut down or American Fabric and Filter can make custom sizes. You would have to make a larger plenum in any case which could be mounted higher if you have headroom. The 12" x 96" tubes I had were 25 sq. ft. apiece, so you would need 18 or 20 to match the filtration area you currently have- quite a lot of acreage, which explains why cartridge filters have become more popular.

I recently replaced my old Oneida 2 hp system with a 3hp unit that came with a cartridge filter. I had built a closet only big enough for 4 tube filters so I was forced to use the new cartridge setup to get enough filter area for the new system. It works well, but I know I will miss the old tubes when it comes time for cleaning.

[Stanley Powers]

Don't remove the filters. Blow out in place with an electric leaf blower (7 amp is plenty powerful enough) but make sure you cap the intake or the dust will blow back into your shop. Works great!

hi there, looking for some advice.. i have a big Oneida 10HP industrial cyclone, with 3 large pleated filters. i noticed the system sounded a little bogged down, so yesterday i took the filters off, took them outside, and blew them out with a leaf blower. it was fairly horrific - they are hard to remove, very heavy, and where obviously caked with very fine dust. took a few hours to get everything clean, but the performance difference is noticeable.

my question is, how do you guys deal with fines in your filters? how often do you try to remove caked dust on the inside pleats, and how do you do it?

thanks.

-- dz

[Brian Holcombe]

I just vacuum them out with a HEPA filtered vacuum, while knocking on the sides to loosen the dust. I blew it out one time...never again...

[Allan Speers]

some tech at Onieda once told me that you shouid routine blow them IN, from the outside, letting stuff settle in the pan. (What Stan said, above)

Then just once in a while, after one of those cleanings, take it outside and blow it out internally.

This keeps them from getting too saturated / caked.