When you overfill your dust bin

[Bob Riefer]

Under my cyclone, I have a 30 gallon blue plastic bin... being a rather small collection tub, I get lost in a task and overfill it more than I'd like to admit. Which in turn stuffs my Wynne cartridge filter (which normally should only see fine dust) with a big blast of saw dust/chips etc.

My process has been to tap the outside of the filter cartridge to shake free as much as possible. Then I hit it from the outside with battery operated Milwaukee "leaf" blower.

Should I be periodically removing the entire cartridge filter and doing "more" (and presumably doing that outside)?

How do you clean your filters?

[Kevin Jenness]

I have taken the filter out and cleaned it from the inside with a vacuum and compressed air. Cleaning from the outside just doesn't do the trick for me, but I haven't tried a leaf blower. You should probably check the inside after the leaf blower and see if it is doing a complete job. If you use compressed air keep the pressure down to avoid damaging the filter. Life was easier when I had tube filters.

[Bob Riefer]

How low is low? If my air compressor is set at 80 psi (which is its most usual setting for nail gun and basketball pumping purposes) is that too much?

[Frank Pratt]

I've stuffed my filter 3 times, and so consider myself an authority on deep filter cleaning

First of all, a leaf blower, blowing on the outside is not going to touch the stuff that's packed inside. By the time I've noticed the airflow reduced to the point of not collecting dust, the filter is packed to the brim. Here's my process:
- use a stick to dig out the bulk of the chips
- use the shop vac to collect dust & chips from the pleats while gently rapping on the outside of the filter
- That will still leave some dust packed deep in the pleats. Now is the time for compressed air. I blow down the length of the pleats, almost parallel to them.
- It usually takes alternating between blowing from the outside in, then on the inside along the pleats until the dust is gone.
- Using low pressure from just the outside is not enough to get it all.

My filter is HEPA rated and is washable, but I haven't had to go that far yet.

[Frank Pratt]

How low is low? If my air compressor is set at 80 psi (which is its most usual setting for nail gun and basketball pumping purposes) is that too much?

That's the question that you won't get a definitive answer for. There are too many variables; type of nozzle, how far from the media, how much air volume. I don't use any more pressure than is comfortable blowing on the back of my hand. Not very scientific, but it's the best I can come up with & the filter media has not been damaged by it. 80 psi is about what I use & then vary distance to the media to regulate the force.

[Mark Bolton]

We blow out our filters every so often when the DC is clearly not pulling like it should. We just pull the whole filter off and take it outside and I blow ours out wide open with a 3/8" air hose, probably 150 psi (we have 175psi mains but Im sure the regulator by that door is not set that high). I dont ever blow really close to the pleats but I blow the whole thing out from inside and out until I get little to no dust. Blowing down from the outside and letting it settle to the bin at the bottom is fine for once in a while but enough fines get packed in there that will never get blown out from the outside. You'd be shocked how much comes out of those filters especially if you run a sander (wood flour).

I feel your pain. We've gotten lost a time or two on a planing project (we dont do a lot of planing in the shop) and packed the thing chuck full. Its a miserable thing. I have no intention of putting bin level indicators on the cyclones but I can see where some would enjoy them.

[Bob Riefer]

Thanks guys, this is helpful (and glad to know I'm not alone on this mistake). Luckily my filter is affixed with 4 easily accessible bolts, so not too much of a chore to pull down. I'll get after it today while the breeze is consistently blowing towards the woods (instead of neighbors).

[Mike Kreinhop]

My Wynn filters took a beating when my 35-gallon plastic bin collapsed and I didn't catch it in time. The Magnehelic pressure differential gauge indicated a blocked filter, but I didn't notice it. By the time I realized something was wrong, it was too late.

I had to remove the filters from the plenum because the accumulation of dust was higher than the filter pan seam, and it would have been very messy to try to clean by removing the pans. I needed to shovel out the stuff that should have been in the bin from the top of the filter. After that, I used a shop vacuum with the brush filter to thoroughly, but gently, scrub the inside surfaces of the pleats.

Just recently, I checked on the bin, and it was almost full, so I stopped to empty it. Fortunately, the filters were still clean and the filter pans were empty.

I now clean the filters every month. I use my compressor, set at 50psi, to blow up and down the pleats from the outside while the filters are still attached to the plenum. I doubt a leaf blower will be adequate to blow any captured dust from the filter material. When I'm done, I remove the filter pan from the bottom of the filter and vacuum out any residue. I also keep a close eye on the Magnehelic while the blower is running.

[Frank Pratt]

I am amazed at how tightly the chips & dust will pack in the filter when it's full. I don't think a trash compacter would get it as tight & compact.

[David Walser]

Bob -- Recently, after several years of hobby use, I finally cleaned the Wynn filter on my DC. I was using a trash can dust separator, but I'd definitely waited too long to clean the filter. I looked at the Wynn website. The recommend cleaning the filter with compressed air. IIRC, they also said not to exceed 40lbs of pressure. While that helped, I found using a vacuum with an upholstery brush to clean from the inside worked the best. I'm using the filter made for the HF 1.5 hp and similar collectors. It has a 12" opening, so there is plenty of room to reach inside with a vacuum hose.

[Mark Bolton]

I am amazed at how tightly the chips & dust will pack in the filter when it's full. I don't think a trash compacter would get it as tight & compact.

The couple times we missed it and packed it full the drum was of course full, the entire cone was full, and I carried the filter outside completely packed from one end to the other and I will bet you barely a single chip fell out in the 40' from the DC to the door. We had to loosen the chips with a stick while blowing from one end to get the big chips out of the filter. Same with the cone. Pulled the drum, put another underneath, and had to reach up in the cone with a stick to pry everything loose. Its a mistake you only make a couple times unless your a masochist.

The real issue for us is the fines in the filter. They will pack in tight as well especially at the ends.

For me I know when its time just by the sound in the shop. When those filters are clean you can hear the difference in air flow. Its night and day. I know we get a bit more fines in one filter than we should because on that cyclone I have a fiber drum that has seen far better days and its likely leaking. Everything Ive ever heard/read says if your getting much material in your filter you've likely got a leak somewhere below the impeller (cone/drum). Ive not had the time to fool with it.

[Charlie Jones]

I spent to many hours cleaning filters and checking the bin. Now mine goes through the cyclone and directly outside. The system never loses power and I never see any dust on the bushes behind the shop.

[Mark Bolton]

If I could come up with a flip of a switch option to switch between venting outside in warm times and keeping it inside in cold months id do it in a heartbeat. But with DC's running all day it'd break the bank on heat in the winter.

[Ben Rivel]

Just out of curiousity, those of you that have become "filter cleaning experts" , do you have bin level sensors of any kind and are they failing or not working for you?

And if you dont have one, check out my thread on settting an inexpensive option one up. Its the same as the Oneida-Air one. LINK

[Frank Pratt]

If I could come up with a flip of a switch option to switch between venting outside in warm times and keeping it inside in cold months id do it in a heartbeat. But with DC's running all day it'd break the bank on heat in the winter.

All that would take is a diverting damper, which could be shop built, or get an HVAC contractor to install one, & an actuator. I've been mulling over doing that as well. It would be great to have that option.