Dust Collection Filter Cleaning (Needs to be done more often)

Woodshop
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Hey Everyone,
It was brought up in the Wood Shop Committee meeting that we haven’t communicated well enough the process of cleaning the filter for the dust collection system.

Here is a rundown from the meeting.

Why do we need to clean / De-Cake the Dust Collection Filter?
With routine cleaning of the dust collection system we make the expensive ($200 to $400) filters last much longer. If we don’t routinely clean the filters they will permanently clog requiring replacement more often.

When does the Dust Collection Filters need to be cleaned?
There is a gauge above the filter that reads the pressure coming from the system. When that gauge reads higher than 3 you should clean the caked up dust from the filter. This gauge should be checked often as the filter can cake quickly in some high dust periods. As quickly as ten minutes of use in some cases. Running the filter while caked with dust can drastically decrease the life span of the filter. So before starting a job if you would take a moment and check the guage it would be appreciated.

How do we Clean / De-Cake the Dust Collection Filter?
Luckily this is a quick and rather easy process. All you need is a air hose and blower attachment. Hook the hose to the air system on the wall and blow out the filter from the outside holding the blower about a thumbs length away from the filter. Try and clover as much of the filter as you can. This knocks the caked up dust off the filter, allowing it to fall in the plastic catch at the bottom of the filter. Every few blow outs you should empty the dust catch at the bottom of the filter. To remove the dust catch, loosen the threaded hooks by hand and remove it from the filter. Take it out to the dumpster and empty it. Then re hook it to the bottom of the filter and tighten it back. Just get it hand tight, it need to hold a seal, but we don’t want to damage the plastic or the filter by over tightening. Once everything is clean and back together the dust collection system is ready for use. The wood shop is also starting a log book for when the filter has been cleaned to help track the maintenance.

Thanks for the help and this is a Wiki post, so if you would like to correct grammatical errors or add pictures to help that would be appreciated.

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Is this practice something we might want to consider making part of the woodshop 101 classes? I don’t even know where to find the filter and can imagine others of us who aren’t woodshop pros might be in the same boat.

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Given that Woodshop basics is already a 2.5 hour class on a good night, we’re reluctant to add more content to it. There’s so many things we’d like to add to the class, but given that its a requirement class for using the shop, we’re staying focused on safety and effective use of the tools.

You can’t miss the filter. Its big, its long, its in plain view, and it looks like a filter.

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It might be good to at least mention to them to check the condition of the Dust Collection system before using the tools. They don’t need to know the whole procedure to clean the filter, just enough to know when they should report an issue with it.

What day are you going to be up this week, I have some East Texas style hot links to bring up. Do we have a grill?

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Had a case last night where the filter was clogged and the collection barrel light was going nuts. The person who was in the shop jointing and planing for an hour and a half just left without emptying it (or even cleaning the tools/floors).

If the light is blinking, please take the 5 minutes to empty the dust barrel. It’s really light even when super full and with the little furniture dolly to wheel it around it can be a one person job if you can lift a 40-50 pound barrel over your head to dump it into the dumpster. If not by yourself, anyone around will be willing to pitch in.

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