I recently put a set of 1 micron bags on my dust collector (Delta). They seemed to work fine until I hooked it up to my planer. It did a great job of collecting the waste but I am getting a lot of fine dust coming out of the sides of the bottom bag. There is not a hole or tear there. Perhaps this is wishful thinking but is it common for them to do this until they’ve sort of of sealed?
Also can I use something like a contractor bag to line the bottom bag to make emptying it easier? I’ve seen bags and canisters advertised but I didn’t know if it would dramatically alter the performance?
As always I appreciate you help
Clem
Replies
Hi Clem - Your new bags should have made an immediate improvement over the stock bags, but perhaps they improve with a little seasoning. You can try adding a few pounds of flower to coat the bags.
Adding a non-breathable bag to the bottom will restrict the airflow quite a bit. To get equal performance, you'd need to replace the upper bag with one of roughly double the surface area to compensate for the loss of airflow through the lower bag. That's where the cannisters help alot, b/c they have 5-6 times the surface area as a bag so can be used effectively with a plastic bottom bag.
scotty,
Thanks for the reply. I sure hope they improve. I'd hate to think this is as good as it gets unless I want to shell out more for the canisters.
Clem
I did the same as you did on a 4 bagger but have no leaks in any parts of the bags. But it showcased some small leaks at the various joints from the blower to the bag ducts that didn't show with the original 30 micron bags because they powdered everything in the vicinity. Any chance that is where your getting the dust? Since it only shows around the lower bag, there is a chance it is defective. Swap it for the top one and see if the leaks move with it. If they do then it's the bag and it should be replaced under warranty. If it's still dusty around the bottom them there is some leaking like I described.Personally I wouldn't use Scotty's suggestion of throwing in the flour. It leaves me with (I have no proof only a suspicion) the worry that the inside will be a "bread bag" that may mold if it gets a bit damp. Not that wood dust won't do the same but it would take more sustained moisture to do the same.
QCinspector,
I can see it coming out the side. Infact the outside of the bag is brown from the dust that has come through. I do have some leaks from some of the connections also. What did you do to seal yours? Gasket cement? I don't plan on putting flour in the collector. Not that it wouldn't work but my wife already acccusses me of taking everything to the shop and taking her bag of flour may be the last straw.
Thanks
Clem
"I can see it coming out the side."The bags are no good. Take/send them back. What's the point of buying 1 micron bags if the're not doing the job? If you can see the dust blowing through the fabric it's a lot bigger than 1 micron which means all the finer stuff is blowing through too! Even though I don't have any issues with the bags that I have, I don't trust that they are filtering to a micron, and will make the change to cartridges in the future (I've got 7 slightly used ones from a downdraft table). The 4 bags that I bought stayed clean and white on the outside until I took them off to empty. And that was what got the outside dirty. "What did you do to seal yours? Gasket cement?"That or any other of your favorite kind of sealing snot. Take the joints apart, clean, and put a little on each surface and reassemble.
You don't, per chance, have a DeWalt 735 planer do you?
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Forestgirl,
No it's an older 12" Delta. Funny I didn't notice any dust before and now that it should just be collecting chips from the planer there is a dust problem.
Clem
Clem,I seem to remember reading somewhere that the 1 micron bags take some time to "season" before they start filtering correctly. If you don't want to run flour through your machine, try running a lot of sawdust through it to load up those bags. I think this will fix your problem.
Just thought I'd check (re: the planer). QC or maybe JWW (if he sees the post) might be able to help. I've never used a bag, as my Jet is of the canister persuation. I have seen, though, in writing even, that the 1mic bags filter best after they've been used for awhile.
That being said, I'd be real surprised to have the kind of leak problem you're reporting!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
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