Thread: Workshop Vacuum

I use one of these not cheap but I have been using it for about 5 years with no problems it has the added advantage of being able to
connect power tools to it.

https://sydneytools.com.au/hitachi-w...FQokvQodmWUOZw

If you don't want to spend too much money just buy a cheapie and put a small cyclone in front of it. You can mount the cyclone on a ring lock 15 or 20 litre tin (ex paint can) and as very little material will be getting through to your vac you only need something of 15 or 20 litre capacity. The Ryobi ones from Bunnings or Shop Vac from Masters are fine, heaps of others around too, have a look on EBay.

Cheers,
David

What aldav said.

I recently purchased one of his small cyclones already had an Ozito wet and dry vac(Bunnings,about$65),hooked it up last weekend,very pleased with the result.
Cheers
gidgee 1

I have this shop vac from masters:

https://www.masters.com.au/product/1...-vacuum-silver

I like it quite a lot, but it's not worth the price they want for it (I paid $159 !), and the specials that masters used to do seem to have dried up since woolies announced they wanted out of the hardware business.

I bought a bagless Pirahna 2000w cyclone unit from Kmart for about $105. Hooked it to one of Aldav's small cyclones. Use it connected to my sanders and to vacuum the floor. Great little package. Quick empty and everything can be washed in water once in a while for a full on clean.

These small cyclones are being deleted from my product line-up. I don't care where you buy one, just do yourself a favour and get one. You'll never regret it! I remain as enthusiastic as ever about this product and am happy to help and advise wherever I can regarding model selection and sourcing fittings, hoses, collection containers etc.etc. Every time I empty my collection drum and clean the first filter in my (domestic) vac I'm flabbergasted at how well these work.

Originally Posted by aldav

These small cyclones are being deleted from my product line-up. I don't care where you buy one, just do yourself a favour and get one. You'll never regret it! I remain as enthusiastic as ever about this product and am happy to help and advise wherever I can regarding model selection and sourcing fittings, hoses, collection containers etc.etc. Every time I empty my collection drum and clean the first filter in my (domestic) vac I'm flabbergasted at how well these work.

So why are you deleting them? Mine is great as you say.

Originally Posted by Treecycle

So why are you deleting them? Mine is great as you say.

The manufacturer is less accommodating than he used to be so they've become more expensive for me to import. He doesn't have the necessary export permissions to export in large numbers - say 500 or 1,000 at a time - and he refuses to send them by sea mail to reduce the freight cost. On top of that the competition from Hong Kong based sellers (who can have this item delivered by Auspost for less than I have to pay ) just makes them not viable for me anymore.
Unfortunately, these things are not always as simple as we would hope they would be. But, it's still a great product!

Originally Posted by brendan stemp

I would like some opinions on workshop vacuums that you have used. I need to buy a new one and there are a lot out there. It is NOT for collecting dust and shavings off the lathe but more for general vacuuming around the workshop. I definitely dont want anything with disposable bags. I hate having to spend money on such items (but it can't be avoided) so I would like to get as much as I can for as little as possible.

only comment is check the length and diameter of the supplied hose. some are 50mm, others less than 30mm.
50mm is better for collecting shavings and such off the floor

I have a hand held hook up for my DC so it doubles as shop cleaner/ Also a very small domestic vac unit for cleaning out HV, bowls etc I think $49.

I agree with Hughie as long as the DC is located or vents outside. Vacuum cleaners are not cleaners they are fine dust makers and fill the air with fine dust.

Originally Posted by BobL

I agree with Hughie as long as the DC is located or vents outside. Vacuum cleaners are not cleaners they are fine dust makers and fill the air with fine dust.

So they should be banned from being used to clean houses as well? Not all vacuum cleaners 'fill the air with fine dust'. Although your intent may be laudable in the case of many members achieving your high aims is totally beyond them in a financial and practical sense.

Just my two cents worth.

Originally Posted by aldav

So they should be banned from being used to clean houses as well?

If it was up to me yes but regular household dust (skin, hair, fabric fibres, carpet, etc) is less carcinogenic than wood dust.

Not all vacuum cleaners 'fill the air with fine dust'.

When I tested vacuum cleaners we found we needed to spend about $2500 to get one that didn't make dust.
The older they (even expensive ones) get, the worse they get.

Although your intent may be laudable in the case of many members achieving your high aims is totally beyond them in a financial and practical sense.

Venting or locating a VC or DC outside is relatively inexpensive and in most cases highly practical,
$40 buys 12m of 50 mm PVC pipe, add in a few junctions and for ~$100 - ducted vacuum system - it really surprises me that more woodies don't do this.

vacuum.pngI use a "Dust Collection Wand" hooked up to my generic 2 HP Dust Collector, via some 100 mm flexible hose. I use the clear 100mm flex hose from Carbatec, because it is quite a bit lighter and more flexible that some of the other types of 100 hose that are available - which makes the clear flexible hose from Carbatec more suitable for this purpose. Even with the light weight clear flexible hose, dragging the 100mm hose around the shop can be a challenge, as the whole assembly is not as light and manoeuvrable as a normal vacuum cleane. But, it works a heck of a lot better !

The other main advantage of using your dust collector, and a dust collection wand, is that you're unlikely to fill the dust collector bags simply by vacuuming the shed once. Whereas, with the two different workshop vacuum cleaners that I've tried in the past (one Shop VAC, and one Ryobi), the vacuum cleaner collection bins needed to be emptied two or three times when cleaning the shed, especially if I'd been lazy and not done it for a while. Additionally, most vacuum cleaners can't suck up hand plane shavings without clogging the hose, whereas a Dust Collection Wand and 100mm hose, is much harder to clog. The only time that mine has clogged was when I accidentally sucked up a rag that was hidden under a workbench ... duh !

My Dust Collector is vented outside. After the 20 or 30 minutes that it takes to vacuum the whole shed (70 SqM), there are noticeably less visible dust motes floating in the air, so I assume that 30 minutes of the dust collector sucking the air out of the shed and exhausting it outside helps to lower the amount of fine airborne dust in the shed. I've also tried the wand hooked up to my main 3 HP dust collector, but the suction is not much better than when using the 2 HP dust collector. I assume that the 100mm hose is limiting the suction, and as a result the generic 2 HP dust collector that most woodies use is plenty adequate for this job, provided that your length of 100mm flexible hose is not too long. I've got three dust collection ports positioned around the shed, so I move the wand and it's hose from port to port as I move around the shed.

I got my Dust Wand from Carbatec about two years ago. They're still $ 69.00 (plus the cost of the length of 100mm flex hose to go with it), so it's not bad value, if you already have a dust collector installed.
Wand Small.png
The Dust Collection Wand also comes with a small bristle ended attachment that I use for cleaning benches, machinery, etc. It works pretty well, and is especially useful for cleaning up around the wood lathe.

One thing to consider, is that if you have the typical single stage generic dust extractor, without a cyclone, then any metal objects that you accidentally vacuum up (e.g. screws, nails, etc) will rattle through the dust collector's impeller, potentially doing damage to the impeller or the impeller housing, and/or potentially puncturing the plastic bag/s on your dust collector.Screenshot from 2016-05-12 09-59-05.png

I overcame this problem by building a "bucket separator", basically copying the Rockler Bucket Style Separator design, like the one shown in the adjacent photo. These sort of bucket separators are IMHO notmuch use when collecting dust etc from a bit of woodworking machinery, as they reduce the air flow by a lot - BUT, for separating out the metal and other larger bits from everything that the Vacuum Nozzle picks up, this type of separator is pretty good. I only use my bucket separator when using the Dust Collection Wand - it never gets used when the dust collector is connected to machinery. The Rockler one uses (I think) 50 mm hoses. I built mine out of an old metal drum, with the plumbing assembled from two 90 degree 100mm elbows, glued and screwed to the lid of the drum.

So, I hope the info is useful.

Regards,

RoyG