# 5 gallon vortex separators for shopvacs



## klr650 (Apr 4, 2010)

If I may ask a dumb question - what exactly is the vortex separator for?
The examples that I see are 5 gal buckets hooked to shop vacs - wouldn't it be cheaper, simpler, and better to use the ShopVac all by itself?
The ShopVac is a vortex separator by virtue of how it's designed, add that with the filter and that leaves me wondering what the bucket is adding if anything. Can't be capacity, a 5 gal vortex separator hooked to a 15 gallon ShopVac:huh: means you're losing 10 gallons of capacity.
Like I say, the purpose is eluding me.


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## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

Rob by separating the dust/dirt in the bucket your shop vac filters stay cleaner which means you don't have to clean or replace it as much and you system will work better. 

It's a modified version of the dust collectors but for the same reason less down time and better system efficiency just by keeping the filters cleaner.


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## thintz (Apr 21, 2010)

Being able to separate the chips from the flour-like dust is a very good thing for shop-vacs that are usually pretty underpowered for woodworking machines. I reviewed the Rockler version (link below) which surprised me with how well it worked. They also include a translucent container (on wheels also) that lets you see how full the can is getting. That is a big help with a 5-gallon can when yo are working with larger volume machines.

http://www.newwoodworker.com/reviews/rckvortex.html


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## klr650 (Apr 4, 2010)

So it's for the purpose of keeping the filter clean to maximize flow through it. Fair enough, I know that the filter on mine does get incredibly filthy after cleaning the shop and banging it out is a ritual I go though every time I use it.

Might be easier to modify the ShopVac itself - putting in a hardboard separator right above the hose inlet port. Should accomplish the same thing, but that would only work for the large capacity ShopVac models, for the small jobs like I own - the vortex separator would have to be the option used.


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

klr650

It might be easier to use a separator in the vac, but a lot of vac designs to not lend themselves well to that sort of modification. My Ridgid 12 gallon is one of those, and honestly, probably the majority of shop vacs are not well designed for separation. 

The whole idea is the same behind the Dyson vacuums. If you keep the bulk of the stuff from ever getting to the filter in the first place, the filter won't clog up nearly as fast. This is when / where you use a separator of some sort. True cyclone like an Oneida, or a baffle like a Thien... Either one works well... The concept is the same for full size dust collectors too...

It gets awfully tiring having to empty and knock the dust out of your filter every half hour... At least that is what I was averaging before I built my Thien...Now I clean it out maybe twice a year...


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