Dust collector bags

[vavet]

At work, we have two Multicam cnc routers. each is connected via antistatic plastic hose and steel ductwork to a twin bag dust collector. One of them, a wen, has cloth bags on the top, clear plastic bags on the bottom. I understand the plastic bags fill up with the dust. The cloth bags are really just a filter to allow the air to escape.

the other dc is a typhoon brand, it has cloth on the top and a different material on the bottom…maybe a nylon type bag, but they don’t appear to be disposable. They are porous and some dust is able to move through them. Should the “nylon” bags be lined with a plastic bag similar to the wen unit? The instructions do not address the bags at all. The logos ar orientated as seen in the attached pic, so I don’t think the bags were installed in the reversed position when it was assembled, but not sure how this is supposed to work.

 

[RTM]

My Jet DC1100 has cloth bags top and bottom, and some dust does come out through the bottom bag on startup, and a bit more thru the top. It's a dust collector, not a filter, so some dust escaping is inevitable.

 

[neophyte]

For safety, dust collectors really should use hepa filters.
There are aftermarket companies that make larger versions of the can filters found in shop vacs for dust collectors.
If you don’t go that route, then a hepa air scrubber to filter the air filtering thru the dust collector might be an option.
It’s the fine particles from a dust collector that are most dangerous as far as lung health goes.

 

[johnre]

The top one is the only one that filters. Bottom can be anything that will hold the static pressure; I prefer plastic and I don't go that long to replace them - you don't want a tear to open on you.

Agree with the HEPA comment by @neophyte - I use a 1 um filter bag.

 

[mike93lx]

For safety, dust collectors really should use hepa filters.
There are aftermarket companies that make larger versions of the can filters found in shop vacs for dust collectors.
If you don’t go that route, then a hepa air scrubber to filter the air filtering thru the dust collector might be an option.
It’s the fine particles from a dust collector that are most dangerous as far as lung health goes.

This, 100%.

I'd never want to work anywhere near a basic bag dust collector, at least not without a respirator