Re-visit the Wet/Dry vacuum problem.

Guys I hate to bother you again but I am stuck! I have been searching for reviews on the "Net" to no avail so I need to present my vacuum question again. I have decided on getting the Ridgid R 2600 ROS sander. It comes with a connection (round) for 1 1/4 or 2 1/4. But as you guys have told me I can probably find an adapter for the connection to the Vac if I have to.
This brings me to the vac itself. i have been looking at the Ridgid WD1245. My problem is as follows:
I have a lung problem and can absolutely not have any dust problems if possible. None of the reviews say anything about "LEAKING" of the vacuum process for the various vacs.
Do you guys have any leakage problems with your vac's? Please be honest!
Changeling

 

If you are concerned about total air quality, let me point you to the Dustfoe 66 dust mask by 3M. It keeps out dust so well that odor just about won't penetrate it. You cannnot smell cigarette smoke through it. It is at least as effective, in my opinion, as an N95 mask. It is not for organics. At $30 it is an excellent investment. The frame fits well and lasts for years. The filter medium is easily changed.

If residual dust in the air is of concern, a dust collector with 0.5 micron bags and a cyclone may be what you want or one of the air cleaners to mop up the residual dust over time.

The dust collection - air filtration part of this bulletin board has a lot of excellent resources in equipment and people to get deeply into dust collection and air quality.

http://talk.woodmagazine.com/woodtalkindex.html

Hope this helps.

 

The cartridge filter supplied with the vacs are not very good and leak. The cleanstream filter are much better, and even stop dywall sanding dust. Buy two so you can clean one and let it dry while using the other.

 

In response to your earlier inquiry about a quieter shop vacuum, I am in a similar situation. I have an old (25 yrs) ShopVac which still works well but it sounds like a KC135 at takeoff when it is running. (I always wear hearing protectors when I use it.) The quietest shop vacuums that I have seen/heard are Fein. They have an excellent pull and are incredibly quiet. The only problem with Fein is that it costs about $280. A couple of months ago I bought a 16 gal. Rigid at Home Depot. It was on sale and a great buy. The tool salesman said that it was quiet. Well, I got it home, took it out of the carton and plugged it in. I couldn't tell that it was significantly less noisy than my old one, so I returned it for a refund. Maybe Santa will bring me that Fein. Anyway, this is a rather wordy missive to say that I believe that the Fein line of shop vacuums are the best available, albeit about the most expensive.

 

I had heard about Fein, but that price is to hard to take . I am looking for other answers. I was really sorry to hear about the noise on the Ridgid Vac! I have been looking at the WD 1245 model, now I don't know.
I have been thinking about (and probably will) running a Vac line to the outside of my shop and installing a vac out there. This should help a lot but I am not quite sure.
Changeling

 

changeling:

You have the right idea about putting the vac outside.
My air compressor is out there with a 150 watt magnetic heater on ther crankcase and when I get around to building an insulated and heated enclosure my vac will be out there to.
In the meantime my Craftsman has a 2 1/2" outlet for blowing and I will just make a hole and dump the exhaust outside.

 

Greg, picture this. My whole shop building is from "0" to 9 feet off the ground on 6x6 pressure treated posts. I was intending to put a vacuum (motor and all including can) under the shop on one of the posts and just run a hose up through the floor and have a disconnect nozzle there for various tools, especially the ROS. The vac would be out of the weather as far as rain or snow. Is there any holes in my thinking? If so, guys please expound to your hearts content as I need all the input I can get!
Changeling

 

In the overall issue of shop vacs and collecting dust, one point has been talked around: vacuuming up dust and collecting dust when it is generated are two different things.

Collecting dust from a ROS with a vac is easy because the ROS does not make much volume of air with dust. A vacuum does not move much volume, but can handle all that comes from a ROS.

Other shop tools make too much volume for a vac to handle. A dust collector moves a large volume of air at a lower static pressure, enabling it to collect dust. Collecting dust is not the same a cleaning up wood chips. The stuff that falls from a tool onto the floor is not the airborne hazard. The objective is to keep the fine dust out of the air to start with.

Most dust collectors pull air at several hundred cubic feet per minute. I wonder what the rate is for vacs.

 

Chfite I understand what you are saying, I think! Are you saying my idea is not sufficient for the shop and I should install a dust collection system under the shop? If this is so give me some idea of what it would cost?
Changeling

 

A unit such as this will do an adequate job with the one micron fine mesh filter bags.

http://www.pennstateind.com/Merchant...Category_Code=

I have a modified Penn State collector with a cyclone, similar to this:

http://www.oneida-air.com/systems/1-2/1-2main.htm

Almost nothing gets past the cyclone.

Hope this helps.

 

Chfite, that type of system is down the road for me. I just have to many iron's in the fire right now. You must have one fantastic shop!!!
Changeling

 

Chfite, I have changed my mind! I am designing my own collection system. One thing I do need is a "Cheap" motor/air mover to exhaust the dust into the environment not a collector at this point. Since the dust is wood which is biodegradable, and I will be putting it down on my own land, the yuppies shouldn't have anything to pick up a "torch" over. Actually, it is good for the soil.
Changeling

 

changling-

Will you ever cut OSB, flakeboard, or particle board in your shop? The resins in these products aren't biodegradable. I once dumped my dust collector bag into the yard and tilled it in as a soil amendment. There was a fair amount of sawdust from particle board in it and nothing would grow!

 

Dave, I appreciate the reply and information. I normally only deal with natural wood ! However on occasion I do cut some of the materials you describe! I think one of the big ones you forgot is "ANY" pressure treated wood. Thank you for the reminder. I can do a bypass to a filtered can when these materials are being cut.
Once again, thanks a lot.
Changeling

 

I also forgot to mention plywood. Most of those glues would probably be a problem.

 

Dumping a bunch of sawdust would rob the soil of nitrogen, unless you compost it first. That would keep things from growing. I have always composted my sawdust. It does nicely in the flower bed then.

Whether or not the resins are biodegradable would not really be important. Much of the soil itself is not biodegradable. The organic material in the soil provides a medium for the biological activity. The preservatives in pressure treated lumber might contaiminate the soil and any plants.

Disposing of pressure treated lumber and its byproducts should be in an approved solid waste chain, such as: household garbage.

Hope this helps.