Pro tip: A cheap shop vac upgrade made my cleanups way faster

I got tired of my old shop vac clogging with soot every other job, so I spent about $80 on a HEPA filter and a set of those fine dust bags. It felt like a lot for a filter, but it changed the game. Now I can sweep a whole fireplace without stopping to shake out the filter, and the bag holds way more fine ash before I need to swap it. My van stays cleaner too, because less dust blows back out. The real win was on a big job last week with three flues, I finished the cleanup in half the time. Has anyone else tried a specific filter setup that cut down on their mess?

3 comments

3 Comments

kelly63813d ago

My buddy did the same thing but added a cheap cyclone separator from a bucket lid kit. Catches most of the heavy stuff before it even hits the bag, so the filter lasts even longer.

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the_wyatt13d ago

Okay, catching the heavy stuff before the bag sounds smart in theory. But @kelly638, I've seen those bucket lid cyclones in action and they just don't seal well enough for fine dust, which is the real filter killer. You're still getting a ton of the fine powder bypassing it and clogging the main filter. For the cost and hassle, I'd rather just change the bag more often and know everything is actually getting caught.

sandra_bennett5913d ago

My setup's similar to @kelly638's buddy, and that little cyclone really does save the main filter from the big chips.

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