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vacuuming metal dust

G

Gretch Flo

Joined
Jun 9, 2004
Messages
1,223
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Location
Haslett, Michigan
I was using my shop vac a few months ago and vac up the metal dust under the grinder. There was an immediate decrease in vac power. I checked the filter and it seemed ok, but replaced with a spare cleaned one-same loss of power. Did I do something bad??????? Could the magnetic filings done something beyond the filter???Home depot replaced it as it has a life time guarantee. Some of you may know my electrical knowledge can be put in a thimble and changing a light bulb can be dangerous😀😀😀 Gretch
 
Off the cuff, you might have put a bunch of that metal and carborundum dust into bearings magnetized by the coils on the motor. Small tear in the filter or a less than secure hold could do it.

Shop vacs work on pressure versus volume, so the dust would stay airborne a bit longer than it would into a cyclone on a DC.

Have to say that I gave my SiL a Shop Vac brand of thirty five years vintage that works fine for him, and it had vacuumed a lot of weird stuff in its lifetime. A lot of sand and salt from the car upholstery, for one.

NB: Before you buy a new vacuum because the filter for your old one isn't made any more, check how neatly the part for the new one fits. Same goes for new H&L pads for your old Bosch ROS. The new ones required reaming a larger hole.
 
I'll be interested in the responses. I purchased a small shop vac specifically for the purpose of vacuuming metal shavings and attaching to my grinder for the grinder dust. Since it pulls the vacuum through the body of the collector and then the filter before it gets to any of the fan and electronic parts I thought it would be OK. So far I haven't had a problem but I've only had it for a month or so.
 
cheapskate?

Don't be cheapskate when it comes to your filter on the shop vac. It's amazing how much difference a new one makes. I always thought blowing the old one out took care of the problem. WRONG WRONG !!!!! I admit to being one of the worst offenders but have seen the proof and the light has turned on.

Vernon
 
I have the largest vacuum that Sears makes. I replaced the filter with one I bought from one of the woodworking stores that claimed it would filter out smaller particles. I have used this vacuum and filter for 15-20 years. Since I make knives it has vacuumed up a lot of steel particles and dust. When the vacuum seems to be loosing suction I take the filter outside and gently tap the dust off.
I bought the filter so long ago I don't remember who sold it, but it has worked well for me.
 
you can over heat the vac by not cleaning the filter and running it of a too small of extension cord. you can mess up any electric tool by running it off of too small of wire in the extension cord.
 
I have a Shop Vac brand vac and it will just randomly drop in power once in a while, like the motor is over heating. I didn't have that problem with the old motor, which was replaced when the switch went bad. Seems the switch isn't use replaceable or available as a spare. When i complained they sent me a whole new top half with the motor.

I would recommend getting two Clean Stream Gore-tex filters. One to use when you are cleaning the other.

But I have never had the problem you are describing, and unless you are running with a bad/torn filter, you shouldn't have that problem either.
 
[FONT=&quot]My old Sears, 16 gal, 3.5hp, shop vacuum has been sucking up everything from water to wood to various metal filings and grindings for over 12 years and has not complained about any of them directly. Though about a month or so ago I said (out loud where it could hear me) that I reckoned it was about time for the motor to die after all this time and abuse. Sure enough, two weeks ago it started making bad growling noises when I shut it down. They have not become much worse yet, but are still there (and to an old retired aircraft mechanic of 40 years, that noise is NOT GOOD). I am ordering a real Shop VAC 16-gallon, 6.25hp on Amazon for $117 cuz I know this one is on the last train west. BUT, it still sucks up woodturning leavings like it should (just kinda loud now). The new one is rather like the new PM3520B in color too, so that is good.
http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Vac-962-..._2?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1223696587&sr=8-2
Good luck with yours, Gretch.[/FONT]
 
shop vac

I really don't use the shop vac much except for attaching to my belt sander and the occasional deep cleaning of the shop every now and then (or is it 5 years???😀). Home depot replaced the previous half power vac so I can't check the filter attachment, but the same problem existed when I changed the filter too. I have a dust collection system that works for dust-I don't vac the shavings-they are swept up and put in 3 mil contractor plastic bags for use in the garden around trees, etc. What brought this to mind again was attending a 2 day wood demo in Sept with Betty Scarpino, and she mentioned 2x that she blew out a motor (2x's-said she was a slow learner) on one of her power carving tools by laying near the grinder. (I think that was the scenario). Gretch
 
[FONT=&quot]Yep, I know 6.25hp is not a sane value (especially at 120vac), but it is how they all advertise these days to consumers who generally do not know any better. It is a questionable (and useless) value that may occur on some test bench indicator at 38.8385amps just as all the smoke is let out of the windings, and the whole thing melts down into a smelly puddle. All I really care about is that the vac reliably does a good job of cleaning up this mess in my shop when needed, and does not whine about being asked to suck up copious amounts of wet shavings and other stuff.[/FONT]
 
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