Best type of dust collector for lung cancer survivor

[Chris Parks]

3hp grizzly double bag 3hp set up for $850. I would replace the bags with better.

Every bag type dust extractor ever made leaks fine dust and to make matters worse it chops up bigger particles into smaller particles as well. NEVER have one in the same workshop that you are working in.

[Rod Sheridan]

Every bag type dust extractor ever made leaks fine dust and to make matters worse it chops up bigger particles into smaller particles as well. NEVER have one in the same workshop that you are working in.

When I talk to people about dust extraction I call bag type collectors dust concentrators, as they capture the harmless large chunks and return the dangerous small particles to the shop…..Regards, Rod.

[Chris Parks]

When I talk to people about dust extraction I call bag type collectors dust concentrators, as they capture the harmless large chunks and return the dangerous small particles to the shop…..Regards, Rod.

Rod, and the response when I posted that was silence. I think it is nearly impossible to educate the hobbyist WW community with good information and the problems that micron size dust particles present to their health which sounds a bit like trying to convince everyone that smoking cigarettes is not a good thing either. Every bag type DE should have a label on it saying that it is a danger to the owners health just like cigarette packets have.

[Bill Dufour]

This was. a cyclone with filter bags after the cyclone. like a small baghouse. Are you saying that is still very bad for breathing?
Bill D

[Rod Sheridan]

This was. a cyclone with filter bags after the cyclone. like a small baghouse. Are you saying that is still very bad for breathing?
Bill D

Yes it is.

The dangerous stuff, ( small particles), go through a cyclone and on to the bags which don’t catch the small particles.

Regards, Rod

[Chris Parks]

I wrote a reply to Bill's question but I must have not pressed the go button. Bags leak as Rod has explained and cyclones are inefficient because that is how they separate air from dust, I guess the bags substituted for filters. The bloke who thought up the idea should have been made to breath in the dust from the exhaust for a few days and then decide whether it was a good idea or not. It is not only the bag itself leaking but a bag always leaks around the flange it attaches to so these types of DE should never be used in the work space. Put them in a cabinet if the air is recirculated and return the air via good HEPA filters to the work space or exhaust them to atmosphere. My experience with bag DE's is that none of them have impellers bigger than 14" and that is a marginal size to flow enough air. I bet very few people could say how big the impeller is in their DE that has bags. I have said it before, HP means nothing, the impeller size is everything as long as the motor can spin the impeller to full speed.

[Alan Lightstone]

My hunch from viewing woodworkers (you really can't go by YouTube as people are speaking and therefore aren't wearing their PPE) is that most woodworkers are sadly lackadaisical about wearing good ventilators/PPE.

So, excellent, and perhaps overkill air filters really play a big role here. Workshops need good air filters, with high level filtration filters on them, and they need to be turned on. That way, if your mask is leaking, or you're not wearing it, at least large amounts of the airborne particles will be filtered out. While clearly good dust collection at the source from a good cyclone is extremely important, and should be the first step (collect the dust at the source), at least this helps in situations where people don't have great dust collectors.

Chris's suggestion regarding putting bag DEs in a cabinet with HEPA filters is a really good one. Not a solution for everyone, but a relatively simple, effective one in many cases. And people will be astounded at how dirty the HEPA filters get, proving how bad bag dust extractors are in removing small particles.

Eddie: Which system did you decide to purchase?

[Chris Parks]

So, excellent, and perhaps overkill air filters really play a big role here. Workshops need good air filters, with high level filtration filters on them, and they need to be turned on. That way, if your mask is leaking, or you're not wearing it, at least large amounts of the airborne particles will be filtered out. While clearly good dust collection at the source from a good cyclone is extremely important, and should be the first step (collect the dust at the source), at least this helps in situations where people don't have great dust collectors.

To be honest with you I never wear respirator protection, the dust levels in my workshop are very low as I have all windows and doors open and I try and collect most dust and debris at the machine. The average temp here during a winter's day is in upper teens Celsius and most days a shirt is all I need, in summer I relax in the AC cooled house when it gets too hot. Having to work in recirculated air puts a different angle on things and it should make WW's even more aware of DE. I have seen it said needing an air filter just means that the DE system is not good enough. Having said that dust collection on a mitre saw is like rounding up cats and hand and machine sanding along with lathes are also major dust culprits as well so good air filtration is needed in a closed environment along with PPE. I would install filters so they are easy to change because if a job is hard it gets ignored.