Thread: Shop vac as dust collector

Jack, the tools you have listed are usually used with a shopvac, but that doesn't mean they can't be used with a bigger DE. I believe BobL has played around with that idea to some extent. It's reasonably difficult to vent a shopvac outside, but can be done.

So, that means that if you are going to use a shopvac sitting inside the workshop then you should really have one that filters out as fine as possible - that means spending some reasonable dough. You will still have invisible dust being pumped out from the shopvac filters though no matter how much you spend, and therefore a mask and good ventilation is still required.

Cool cool, I'd gathered with those tools it was standard to use a shopvac. I'm thinking if I can some duct so at least some of the outflow goes outside (most likely under a almost closed garage door) and then have a pedestal fan there to ensure as it comes out of the ducting it's blown away from my work space. Looking at Dewalt and a Festool product, really not sure the kind of capacity (Litres) I'll need though, I guess that's dependant on how often I want to empty it!

http://www.gettoolsdirect.com.au/fes...et-273359.html

http://www.gettoolsdirect.com.au/dew...wv902m-xe.html

I feel like these are definitely overkill for the workload I have now (especially the capacity of the Dewalt) but I plan on expanding and I figure better to be more than less

Just my opinion, but I think you would be better off with a cheaper vac, an aftermarket HEPA filter and a small dust cyclone. I have a vested interest as I sell cyclones. I'm sure BobL will be able to give you some valuable information on your dust extraction requirements.

Cheers,
David

M class is certainly better.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

M class is certainly better.

Better than what?

Thanks David, I'd wondered whether rather than investing heavily in one method, investing in multiple. I'll check it out

Originally Posted by JackAttack

Better than what?

Better than L class which is what the Festool Mini is. Festool get into M and H class when you go up to the bigger 26, 36 48 litre models.

I was trying to find the actual spec of the Festool, so thanks for that I'd definitely like to get something in the 'M' category, I'll keep looking around

That was my point: the De Walt is M class.

Originally Posted by JackAttack

Cool cool, I'd gathered with those tools it was standard to use a shopvac. I'm thinking if I can some duct so at least some of the outflow goes outside (most likely under a almost closed garage door)

This may be a waste of time as the lower pressured generated by the vacuum cleaner (VC) inside the shed will suck the fine dust immediately back through the rest of the gap in the garage door. For this to work you will need a good seal around the outlet and the air to be coming into your shed on the opposite wall.
One way to work with a garage door gap is to make up a board the full length of the gap and cut a hole in the board. If it's a roller door it may be poorly sealed anyway, especially around the top of the roll.

and then have a pedestal fan there to ensure as it comes out of the ducting it's blown away from my work space.

this is generally a waste of time as all it will do is spread the stuff all over the shed. When you think about fine dust think of it as a gas.
Think of your tool as a continuous fart making device and then think of how effectively a pedestal fan will move the fart smell away from you i.e. not much.

If you vent the VC outside then you don't really need one with a good quality filter.

The problem with all VCs and DCs is not just the filters but these machines (some even straight out of the box) leak fine dust. On top of that the motor cooling loop generates fine dust so either whole VC is put outside or the VC needs to be put inside an enclosure which is vented outside. Remember the motor needs some cooling air so the VC should vent into the enclosure and its the enclosure that should vent outside - otherwise the motor overheats.

VCs do a good gob of catching coarse dust from most power tools but will not capture all the fine dust at the source of its production. This fine dust will eventually spread all over the shed and VCs cannot vent a shed of this fine dust so additional ventilation is needed. Even a basic bathroom exhaust fan is better than nothing.

There is a discussion on VC enclosure designs in this thread https://www.woodworkforums.com/f200/shop-vac-washable-filters-worth-181779 starting at about post #8

Soooo essentially I'm boned anyway? Am I best off abandoning work in the garage and work under the patio and use a shopvac + face mask? Unfortunately there's no way I'd be able to put any sort of exhaust fan in. Great example with the pedestal fan, I should have stipulated, the fan would be on ground level hard against the door, to further expel the fine dust out of the ducting. However, from what you've said, I get the idea that whole ducting plan is futile

Back to the drawing board, thanks guys

Originally Posted by JackAttack

Soooo essentially I'm boned anyway? Am I best off abandoning work in the garage and work under the patio and use a shopvac + face mask? Unfortunately there's no way I'd be able to put any sort of exhaust fan in. Great example with the pedestal fan, I should have stipulated, the fan would be on ground level hard against the door, to further expel the fine dust out of the ducting. However, from what you've said, I get the idea that whole ducting plan is futile
Back to the drawing board, thanks guys

If you have allergies or sensitivities there is no substitute for the massive air flow that a big DC can generate that vents all the fine crap outside the shed and everything else will be a band aid.

However, like the fart situation just about anything is better than nothing.
A fan is better than nothing
A mask is a good idea in these situations.
and working outside is better than inside

I'm lucky enough not to have any allergies or sensitivities but i definitely want to get something sorted. As far as a big DC system, any recommendation for a system that's rental/landlord friendly? Eg. something that doesn't involve holes in walls and what not

Originally Posted by BobL

When you think about fine dust think of it as a gas.
Think of your tool as a continuous fart making device and then think of how effectively a pedestal fan will move the fart smell away from you i.e. not much.

That is the best and most easily understood explanation ever! There isn't a single person on the planet that wouldn't understand that.

Mind you, at least a fart can be burnt to get rid of it (although not immediately).

Originally Posted by JackAttack

I'm lucky enough not to have any allergies or sensitivities but i definitely want to get something sorted. As far as a big DC system, any recommendation for a system that's rental/landlord friendly? Eg. something that doesn't involve holes in walls and what not

Just like VCs, to tackle the fine dust that generates allergies, DCs also have to be vented outside.

If you have to vent inside then there's nothing that tackles allergy type dust at the low end, and the minimum that would work would be something like

Clearvue with a HEPA filter outlet e.g. http://www.clearvueoz.com.au/index.php?page=cvmax.html
Or
one of the mid size (RL) Felders e.g. http://www.felder-australia.com/au-e...02cb9e824e3f8c

Hope you have a fat cheque book

The other problem for you is any decent size DC system will need a 15A GPO as a minimum