I have it on top of a second hand 60L metal barrel, i think i’ve empty it from almost full load maybe 10 times in five years.
I already finished 3 rooms(plastering and sanding, very fine particules) and I never had anything that came to the filters of my vaccum, but few very fine dust in the bag.
I use good filter bags, for my festool it is SelfClean SC FIS-CT MIDI/5 ones.
I cut the bottom of the bag and use a piece of cleat and document clips to close it. It allows me to empty it and reuse the same bag for a really long time.
This is all new to me, but this is what I’m trying out. I glanced through and didn’t see that anyone posted this one. I was wondering if anyone had tried something like this?
I was using that one with my Shopvac. The only problem I had was I didn’t pay as much attention as I should have to the levels in the bucket, and it would fill up quickly and then still get to the vacuum. My recommendation would be to cut the bottom of the 5 gal bucket off, and affix it to the top of a 33 gal trash can (or just a larger collection container) so you don’t have to empty the bucket as often. I stopped using it when I got the HF 2hp DC. it didn’t work at all (as was mentioned earlier) as the reduction to get it down and the low pressure CFM was not suitable. Otherwise, it worked great with the shop vac.
I went the HF route and added a dust deputy. It has worked very very well for me. I have it plumbed to all my big tools with blast gates at each. Don’t buy the cheap plastic blast gates if you do this. I’m using the steel ones with the set screw for holding them open/closed now. They work much better.
Rather than adding a window, a strong light either inside or behind the yellow bin may allow you to keep an eye on the fill level without having to cut up (and try to reseal) the container.
@niget2002 I went this route too, though I am using (going to update) a Thien Baffel. I plan to mount my to the wall in my new garage, and I scored a 55gal white plastic drum for $20. I also upgraded from the bag to a Donaldson Canister Filter (Wynn comparable but about $200 less in price). It increased my airflow and getting much better chip extraction/clean up. I took a picture, but don’t have it on me at the moment.
I do have some 44 gal drums sitting around that I was planning on turning in to bar tables. Once I actually get around to building my table properly I`ll see what I can come up with. (the shop vac Will have to stay for now)
I plan on making my own as well. DIY Builds on the YT had a good video on how he made his when he did his dust collection system and I think I am going to just mooch off his design. I have a couple that I got with the HF DC accessory kit that I may use in some places, but not for anything that I will be using a lot, so they’ll most likely stay closed!
Oh, and I finally pulled the pic of my DC off my phone:
I found someone on craigslist giving away fiber barrels with steel lids (basically paper 55 gallon drums). I added a Thien baffle and reworked the layout of my Harbor Freight DC with Wynn filter. I took two since I was sure I’d mess the first one up. It went better than I expected, so now I’ve got the second bin taking up the limited floor space in the shop.
The new one showed up…65db (10gal 5.5HP) on the money, my old is one 75db (4 gallon 3HP). Drastically better sounding. I will do some cuts tomorrow. Now I really want to dial in that dust shoe.
Those readings are from the front 2ft from the exhaust port, that is facing away.
Yeah, very different. Not as annoying and I can hear my little radio on low volume still. So far worth every penny. Odd to say without have even used it yet I know, it is that differnt.
So far very awesome! I have only cut 4 YZ plates. I have a dentist appointment, then I will be cutting four more. I will check the bag then.
I have also noticed it gets more crud out of the tiny 1/8" slots with the current dust shoes. When I had it running on the other side of the garage I did not turn up the radio while it was running. Still loud but not the same kind of loud. I will be adding this to a recommended list somewhere on the parts list.
