# Bucket of water dust collector



## epicfail48

So in my never ending quest to do what most people arent stupid enough to try to do, im looking to add on some sort of dust filter to my shopvac. The idea hit me when i cleaned up my shop before, multiple times during and after my last project and had to empty my vac. Now, im cheap so ive been looking into designs for a shop built seperator, when i came across this:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Drywall-Sanding-Dust-CollectorSeperator/

Its meant to filter out drywall dust during sanding, and it got me thinking. What if i were to apply something like this to filter wood dust, like my crappy attached drawing. Has anybody here ever tried something like this? Logically it should work, as least in my logic, but i like listening to my betters.


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## nbo10

How would something like this work? A vacuum is being pulled on a tank of water. 

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk


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## Fred Hargis

Why don't you just make a Thein separator?


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## captainawesome

Looks like something I would have made in college.... but that's another story.

It should work on theory but I agree with Fred. Build a Thein separator. They don't cost much and it will be much more effective.


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## woodnthings

*Why not just try it?*

Sometimes you can come up with something that the sceptics poo poo and do just fine. See what happens when you create a vacuum in a sealed container with the inlet below the water level ... will it suck the water out anyway? Who knows for sure. :blink:


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## Sawdustguy

I have the commercially available one for sanding drywall and it does work for that and DOES NOT suck out the water.

There is no dust in the air when sanding drywall and minimal on the floor.

George


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## captainawesome

woodnthings said:


> Sometimes you can come up with something that the sceptics poo poo and do just fine. See what happens when you create a vacuum in a sealed container with the inlet below the water level ... will it suck the water out anyway? Who knows for sure. :blink:


Very true. What's the worst that can happen? Go ahead and give it a shot! Prove the naysayers wrong!


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## Seenya

The only problem I would see with it would be that it would need to be emptied often. The wood chips will absorb the water and also float. It may take some fiddling with the crap in length and the water level.


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## Brian T.

In the winter, I run a water trap lint filter on the exhaust from my electric clothes dryer. $20.00.
Nothing is underwater at all. The lint seems to stick to the water surface. My laundry room is quite clean. Lint should be able to escape directly to the room air through all the vents but it doesn't.
Home Hardware.


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## tvman44

Worth a try IMHO, then report back. :thumbsup:


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## Alchymist

nbo10 said:


> How would something like this work? A vacuum is being pulled on a tank of water.
> 
> Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk


You mean like when you use a wet/dry vac to vacuum up water? :huh:


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## Al B Thayer

I believe the suction side is above the water. So when the vac starts it pulls a vacuum that results in a low pressure in the bucket which is then equalized by incoming air from atmosphere, the vacuum line and the drywall dust. So the dust comes in bubble bubble bubble through the water. It works, kind of. The air coming in is in such a large volume that it doesn't have enough time traveling through the water to filter it completely. If on the other hand there was placed a screen of some kind just below the water. You might break the big bubbles into little bubbles and therefore creat more surface area of the dusty air to come I contact with the water.

Al

Nails only hold themselves.


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## Al B Thayer

Another factor here that is a problem is the amount of power required to pull a vacuum through the water where normally its just pulling air. Great reduction in suction loss.

Al

Nails only hold themselves.


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## Brian T.

GeorgeG (Post#6): Is the inlet for your drywall dust trap under water or just very close to the water surface?
My lint trap should not work well at all. . . . but it does a very good job. The dryer duct just blows at the water surface.


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## epicfail48

Yeah, i was planning on trying it, i just like hearing from thoughts other than mine. I agree that a thien seperator would be the better solution, probably, but when it comes to simplicity you dont get a lot simpler than running 2 pipes in a bucket. Also, to address the question most frequently asked, the pipe going from the bucket to the vac would be above the water line, so hopefully the water doesnt get sucked into the vacuum.


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## jg2259

I believe that it would work somewhat similar to the top of the line home vacuum systems. Rainbow sweepers. 

http://rainbowsystem.com/rainbow-system/how-it-works/


Jim


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## big treble

captainawesome said:


> Looks like something I would have made in college.... but that's another story.


:laughing: thinking the same thing.

But I never made one........learned about it on 60 minutes:yes:


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## Al B Thayer

jg2259 said:


> I believe that it would work somewhat similar to the top of the line home vacuum systems. Rainbow sweepers.
> 
> http://rainbowsystem.com/rainbow-system/how-it-works/
> 
> Jim


What the deuce? Do they still make these things? When I was younger I believe they were gold and had a price to match. You could sent the water to fill the air. 

Al

Nails only hold themselves.


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## Alchymist

Al B Thayer said:


> What the deuce? Do they still make these things? When I was younger I believe they were gold and had a price to match. You could sent the water to fill the air.
> 
> Al
> 
> Nails only hold themselves.


Wife still uses hers. Little heavy to carry up and down stairs, but they seem to run forever.


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## jigs-n-fixtures

Yes the wet filter will "work". But not very well, and at a huge loss of efficiency. The bubbles from the inlet are too large to filter the dust into the water. Been there, built that, didn't like it. Also built one with a continuous stream from a shower head patterned after a wet filter on an asphalt pavement plant. Worked better, but still not worth the hassle.

I use the Oneida "Dust Deputy", on a 20-gal poly drum, followed by a drywall bag in the vacuum, and a clean stream Goretex filter. No problems.

I haven't had to change the drywall bag, or clean the filter since I started using the Dust Deputy. I've emptied it about ten times now. Nothing seems to be getting past the cyclone.


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## Sawdustguy

Robson Valley said:


> GeorgeG (Post#6): Is the inlet for your drywall dust trap under water or just very close to the water surface?
> My lint trap should not work well at all. . . . but it does a very good job. The dryer duct just blows at the water surface.


The inlet (from the sanding pad) is under water, the vac side is above the water.


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## Civilian

George G said:


> The inlet (from the sanding pad) is under water, the vac side is above the water.


My drywall water separator has the dust inlet above the water line and the suction is about the water line. The dust impacts the water surface and sinks. No water or mist enters in the vacuum filter. I have also used the drywall bag as a filter for the shop vacuum. I sanded drywall in the living room and did not have drywall dust in the adjacent room.

With the wood dust and fines, I would think it would stay on the water surface and not sink as easily. So would it re enter the air stream? Not sure.

If you try the wood dust and water, I would be interested in your results.

Jon
Northern Michigan


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## epicfail48

Civilian said:


> With the wood dust and fines, I would think it would stay on the water surface and not sink as easily. So would it re enter the air stream? Not sure.


My theory on it is, with the inlet below the water line, the wood dust and shavings would quickly waterlog and stay in the water. Figure ill try this on my next paycheck and see how well it goes. If nothing else, it cant hurt


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## Civilian

epicfail48 said:


> My theory on it is, with the inlet below the water line, the wood dust and shavings would quickly waterlog and stay in the water. Figure ill try this on my next paycheck and see how well it goes. If nothing else, it cant hurt


If the air to the vacuum is moist, try directing the dust and shavings into the water and let the air out of the inlet above the water line.

Jon
Northern Michigan


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## TimPa

i also have the commercial version for drywall sanding - works great with no noticeable loss of suction. however you are only using a single sanding pad. you actually have to vent open the hose to relieve some vacuum.

the concept is that it is pulling the dirty air through the water, and the water catches the airborn particles. no reason it shouldn't work on wood dust, other than it is a pain to clean out. suspect larger wood particles will mean cleaning wet wood chips often.

the shop vac will pull in some moisture also, so i always clean it out well first.


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## Moark Willy

nbo10 said:


> How would something like this work? A vacuum is being pulled on a tank of water.
> 
> Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk


Ahh...no...it's not. It's exactly how bongs work. You can only pull a vacuum on a sealed system.


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## epicfail48

Moark Willy said:


> Ahh...no...it's not. It's exactly how bongs work. You can only pull a vacuum on a sealed system.


Funnily enough, that was exactly how my thoughts for this went. Works on a bong, why not a shopvac


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## bauerbach

be curious to see if it works... my concern would be that... water and air dont actually mix (duh), rather youd be pulling air pockets (bubbles) through the water.

There would be some surface area contact of the air and water, but not much. The air and suspended dust in the center of the bubble would be completely untouched by water. 

As a reference I would speak of aquariums, bubblers actually do almost nothing for oxygenating the water, because the surface area of the bubbles are so tiny compared to the total air volume. If you can make the bubbles smaller... now your onto something, but theres no easy way to do that, you can churn the air through a needlewheel pump, or force it through a super fine airstone, or pull it through a properly tuned venturi.

None of these will help you with your shop vac water filter though...

Not too hard to do it in your shopvac, plumb some pvc from the hose inlet down to maybe 2" off the bottom, seal it as best as you can with a rag and duct tape or whatever, just as proof of concept, doesnt need to be bulletproof. Fill the shopvac with water somewhere north of the inlet tube, and see what happens... 

I expect the air will just channel through the water, but we might be suprised.


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## Moark Willy

The easiest way to keep the dust out of the shop is to exhaust everything outside. Now if you do that, you will get used to the look of dust covered trees, shrubs and siding...not to mention your windows.


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## epicfail48

Moark Willy said:


> The easiest way to keep the dust out of the shop is to exhaust everything outside. Now if you do that, you will get used to the look of dust covered trees, shrubs and siding...not to mention your windows.


My shop is the car port at my apartment and my dust collection is a 6 gallon shop vac. Dont really think it matters where i exhaust the vac...


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