Shop Vac Filter Cleaning Time!

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Charlie_W

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Nov 16, 2011
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Sterling, VA USA
Well, it was that time again.....all my filters for one of my shop vacs were dirty and needed cleaning.
I pulled my air hose out to the backyard and went at it. I had dust mask, gloves and eye protection of course. Now I'm good to go again!
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Dalecamino

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Jan 2, 2008
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Indianapolis, In.
o_O Are you kidding me?? No way have I ever gotten mine that clean. Did you use a garden hose on them? I'd like to know your process Charlie. I've gotten the bulk of debris out of mine but, never that much. I'm going to build a trap like Marks someday. AND, thanks for reminding me it's time to clean the filter. ๐Ÿ˜
 
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Dale Parrott

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Feb 22, 2012
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Goshen, Indiana
I gotta tell you Charlie, it's time for a cyclone. After a half barrel of dust I don't have anything even close to that much gunk in my filter. Like youI do blow my filter with compressed air in the yard.
 

PatrickR

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Apr 8, 2017
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Rural America
Dirty job for sure. after my last cleaning I decided it was time for new ones and I opted to get some of the pre-filters. The cloth kind that stretch over. Hopefully they make it cleaner and easier.
 

egnald

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Jun 9, 2017
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Columbus, Nebraska, USA
I'm on board with JimB - I haven't had to clean my filter once in the past 2 years or more after installing the Dust Deputy on my Shop Vac. For a little extra protection I put a "drywall dust" bag in my vacuum to catch any fine particulates that bypassed the little cyclone, but so far - they are virtually empty! It looks however, that you have a vacuum per machine since you had six filters to clean - six dust deputies would likely cost too much and take up too much space. Amazing job cleaning your filters though! - Dave
 

Charlie_W

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This shop vac is a smaller vac and not hooked to any shop tool. It is one I use for vacuuming cars, home projects, getting behind the bandsaw every once in a while. One day it might be drywall dust, another day, it could be scraps of insulation or shop dust.
I simply used my air hose with 100 lbs pressure and blew the filters from different angles and from inside to outside till most all the dust/dirt was gone.
when I change filters in my vac, I blow out the vac, put the new filter in and power up the vac outside in case there is a little residual dust that might blow out before taking it in the house.
Two of my filters are Hepa rated and I will buy those in the future as I wear out some old ones.
 

workinforwood

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Mar 1, 2007
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Eaton Rapids, Michigan, USA.
I say its time to buy a bosh Shop vac. Its worth every penny. It uses an internal bag to collect debris instead of just going into the barrel. The filter cleans itself as you use it. The suction, omfg, it sucks my carpets off the floor. I cut holes in the wide plastic floor attachment to try and reduce the suction power and it barely helped.๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚. Has better wheels, better design, looks cool. Has two intake hoses, not one. 2 people can be vacuuming at the same time with it! And has a switched plug. If you hook up a sander to it and plug the sander into the vacuum, when you turn on the sander the shop vac turn on too. If your dust collector breaks down, this shop vac will temporarily replace it and do almost as good a job.
 

NJturner

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Dec 4, 2006
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New Jersey, USA.
Count this as another vote for adding a cyclone separator to your shop vac. I use the Oneida Dust Deputy and a 5 gallon spackle bucket for collection. My filters never look like the mess you are seeing in the pics unless I forget to empty the spackle bucket....lol.
 

KenB259

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Dec 24, 2017
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After seeing this post originally, I went out and bought a new shop vac and a dust deputy, works better than I even imagined and in fact I have to be careful vacuuming around my lathe as my new vac actually sucked up a 60 degree live center.
 

Charlie_W

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I say its time to buy a bosh Shop vac. Its worth every penny. It uses an internal bag to collect debris instead of just going into the barrel. The filter cleans itself as you use it. The suction, omfg, it sucks my carpets off the floor. I cut holes in the wide plastic floor attachment to try and reduce the suction power and it barely helped.๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚. Has better wheels, better design, looks cool. Has two intake hoses, not one. 2 people can be vacuuming at the same time with it! And has a switched plug. If you hook up a sander to it and plug the sander into the vacuum, when you turn on the sander the shop vac turn on too. If your dust collector breaks down, this shop vac will temporarily replace it and do almost as good a job.
As I said in my previous post, this is a portable vac for misc chores. I would not drag around a vac and cyclone bucket when using this vac for these varied types of uses/locations. It would be very useful however for a fixed location vac.
I do have a Fein vac under the bench of my mini lathe and use a canister filter on my Jet dust collector. I also have a ceiling hung filter unit and always use a dust mast whenever a machine is runningโ€ฆ.even with a buffing wheel.
Glad you found a setup that worked for your needs.
 

workinforwood

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Mar 1, 2007
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Eaton Rapids, Michigan, USA.
the bosch doesnt come with a cyclone. Its just an upgraded shop vac Same as a fein. I wouldnt drag around a shop vac hooked up to a bucket either ๐Ÿ˜‚. for me shop vac is just for picking up the chips my dust collector didnt capture and just plain vacuuming. I wish they had a power suction head for carpeting. I would vacuum my house with it then. How come you dont use your fein vacuum/dust extractor for every day cleaning, shop, garage, cars, etc? I have not used a fein but they look like they could be Boschs orange brother, hehe. Both vacs come with a crappy 1 3/8" hose. The 2 1/4" hose that comes with a ridgid shop vac actually fits the hole perfectly just in case you didnt know that. i really like the wheels on both units too. The fein should have filter bags inside to capture most of the dirt before it reaches the actual filter. I think the only reason i chose the bosch over the fein was capacity of its bucket. If i am wrong and there is a powerhead for a ridgid shop vac i would be interested in knowing. It kinda seems like there should be. The fein and bosch have power activated electrical plugs on them for power tools. A power brush head could plug right in there. If i just invented an aftermarket accessory item and you make a hundred million off it. Send me a million please. ๐Ÿ˜‰
i dont imagine anyone that wants a clean shop isnt doing some vacuuming. Even in a multi million dollar furniture factory you need to sweep up after your shift.
 
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