Shop vacuum and fiberglass dust - Fiberglass RV
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Old 01-21-2019, 06:06 PM   #1
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Name: Alexander
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1300
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Shop vacuum and fiberglass dust

Does anyone know if the standard filter that comes with a shop vacuum is good enough for vacuuming during/after cutting fiberglass? Do I need a special filter? I will be doing some work inside the trailer so I was hoping to use the vacuum while cutting to keep the dust from going everywhere.
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Old 01-21-2019, 06:23 PM   #2
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Alex,


I don't think those std. shop vac filters are good enough. They are basically an open cell foam with a cloth outer covering. I would use a cartridge type filter. I use to buy them a Sears, but they are history around here. Home depot may carry them.

Also I would suggest you get a longer hose and place the shop vac outside of the unit to insure that you do not get any dust around and get a good breathing filter system for you self. Googles might be in the works as well, that stuff is bad...
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Old 01-21-2019, 06:56 PM   #3
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The shop vacs come with paper cartridge filters and some with foam for wet vac.
The one I bought has both a cartridge, a bag, and the foam filters.
You could use the bag and the cart at the same time and be OK.
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Old 01-21-2019, 07:11 PM   #4
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You could rent a Hepa filter vacuum.

But what I use is a cyclone vacuum bucket, it collects the dust before it enters the vacuum cleaner. The guys who use them for drywall sanding add some water to the bottom of the bucket which helps consolidate small particles.

The cyclone units are a fantastic accessory to have for home workshop use. No more need to clean the filter inside of the vacuum cleaner as the dirt does not enter the vacuum. Just dump the contents of the bucket into the trash. But I do use a high quality, washable pleated filter inside of my shop vacuum to scrub any fine particles that don't drop down into the bucket under the cyclone unit.

You can buy cylone units as a kit to put on a 5 gallon bucket.

I have the Dust Deputy made by Oneida. It works great. I bought mine years ago from an online source but nowadays some hardware store chains are stocking them.

https://www.acehardware.com/departme...sories/2408698

Instead of using a plastic 5 gallon bucket for my unit I found one of the tall aluminum pots from a portable propane turkey fryer. Then I cut a plywood top to mount the cyclone to. Bungee cords hold the plywood on top of the pot with some eva foam for a soft gasket. That works very nicely, the sides of the pot don't collapse, and my turkey fryer pot cost only a few bucks as I got it at a thrift store. You do need a tall container about the height of a 5 gallon bucket, a short bucket or pot will not work. Another option is to build a 3/4" plywood box and seal the inside surface with paint and caulk so that there is a good pull from the vacuum. Then make a removable lid for it with a gasket and some latches and mount the cycle to that. You can even put casters on the box so it is easy to roll around.


Or you can get an empty 5 gallon open head steel pail to use for the bucket. It won't be prone to collapsing the way a plastic bucket can from the suction from the really strong shop vacuums.
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Old 01-21-2019, 07:54 PM   #5
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I get the ones rated for drywall dust, they are yellow vs white, at least for my ShopVac.
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Old 01-22-2019, 12:47 AM   #6
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for massive dust pickup, like working on sheetrock, you can get a bag that fits inside the shopvac, makes emptying the shop vac a lot easier.
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Old 01-22-2019, 10:59 AM   #7
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You have to have the vacuum cleaner bag which most newer shop vacs come with and the pleated paper filter which Home Depot has a good supply of from hepa rated down to lesser rated filters. The bag is what greatly prolongs the life of the pleated filter which is why its so important and the combination of the two is more than sufficient for vacuuming up fiberglass dust.
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Old 01-22-2019, 11:55 AM   #8
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Dust Deputy

Quote:
Originally Posted by k corbin View Post
You could rent a Hepa filter vacuum.

But what I use is a cyclone vacuum bucket, it collects the dust before it enters the vacuum cleaner. The guys who use them for drywall sanding add some water to the bottom of the bucket which helps consolidate small particles.

The cyclone units are a fantastic accessory to have for home workshop use. No more need to clean the filter inside of the vacuum cleaner as the dirt does not enter the vacuum. Just dump the contents of the bucket into the trash. But I do use a high quality, washable pleated filter inside of my shop vacuum to scrub any fine particles that don't drop down into the bucket under the cyclone unit.

You can buy cylone units as a kit to put on a 5 gallon bucket.

I have the Dust Deputy made by Oneida. It works great. I bought mine years ago from an online source but nowadays some hardware store chains are stocking them.

https://www.acehardware.com/departme...sories/2408698

Instead of using a plastic 5 gallon bucket for my unit I found one of the tall aluminum pots from a portable propane turkey fryer. Then I cut a plywood top to mount the cyclone to. Bungee cords hold the plywood on top of the pot with some eva foam for a soft gasket. That works very nicely, the sides of the pot don't collapse, and my turkey fryer pot cost only a few bucks as I got it at a thrift store. You do need a tall container about the height of a 5 gallon bucket, a short bucket or pot will not work. Another option is to build a 3/4" plywood box and seal the inside surface with paint and caulk so that there is a good pull from the vacuum. Then make a removable lid for it with a gasket and some latches and mount the cycle to that. You can even put casters on the box so it is easy to roll around.


Or you can get an empty 5 gallon open head steel pail to use for the bucket. It won't be prone to collapsing the way a plastic bucket can from the suction from the really strong shop vacuums.
I bought one of these to use with a drywall sander and it makes a huge difference. It's a regular accessory to my shop vac now. I mounted mine to a 5-gallon bucket using a lid with a rubber gasket and 1/4" bolts and washers on either side. The bucket with lid was $5 at a local "drum and tote" store. Yes, bucket stores are a thing.

After a little searching, I've seen the Dust Deputy specifically, or solutions similar to it, suggested for fiberglass work.

When I have to tote the vacuum around inside the house, I do as others have suggested and use a HEPA filter bag to keep the vacuum's pleated filter clean.

What I did find using both a HEPA filter and the Dust Deputy was that the suction on my drywall sander wasn't sufficient to collect all of the dust, especially when using a coarser grit sandpaper. That may be a combination of factors, like the underpowered Ridgid shop vac and bargain basement drywall sander I was using...
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Old 01-22-2019, 04:06 PM   #9
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I have a dust deputy also but only use if when making sawdust. Everything else I bypass the dust deputy and use the shop vac. I have an older Craftsman shop vac that didn't come with a vacuum bag but only the filter. I modified it so I could use a vacuum bag along with the pleated filter. Here's some pictures of how I modified mine. https://www.flickr.com/photos/106277...57662448608718
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Old 01-22-2019, 10:35 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Adams View Post
Does anyone know if the standard filter that comes with a shop vacuum is good enough for vacuuming during/after cutting fiberglass? Do I need a special filter? I will be doing some work inside the trailer so I was hoping to use the vacuum while cutting to keep the dust from going everywhere.
Alex,

I just use an old household HEPA vacuum for this sort of thing. I try to use a filter bag that's already partly full of household dirt so there's some materials to trap the glass, or sheetrock dust, before it contacts the actual bag. Gypsum dust can clog the bag quickly. I buy Hoover brand Type Y HEPA media filtration bags for our old Windtunnel. They are much thicker and are more confidence-inspiring than the standard paper filter bags. There's also a rubber gasketed secondary filter on this machine which is important too.

I assume you are talking low-volume here. If you are going to cut up a lot of fiberglass or other material, then folks have posted some other ideas that might be more suitable for larger volumes. I used to have an old Rainbow vacuum that trapped things in water similar to the bucket technique folks mention here. It seemed to work very well.

I would also back this up by wearing a N95 or N100 mask to keep any stray particles out of my lungs, regardless of dust collection technique. Safe carving.
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Old 01-23-2019, 08:04 PM   #11
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Name: George
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I always wore a respirator when I cut or sanded the fiberglass. I also pulled my camper outside and put a big fan in the door to blow as much of the dust outside as possible. When I was done with the work, I used a standard shop vac (while still wearing the respirator) to clean up. The shop vac was outside the camper. Then I finished up with a damp rag and bucket of water while still wearing the respirator.
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Old 01-30-2019, 12:54 PM   #12
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For any type of fine dust you have to use the shopvac yellow filter bags, they are for things like drywall dust Drywall bags. I use these in addition to a cartridge filter.
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Old 01-30-2019, 02:35 PM   #13
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Name: Terry
Trailer: 1971 Hunter compact Jr, 1979 Terry 19', 2003 Scamp 16'
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Get a vac hose long enough to place the vac outside. This keep you from stirring up more dust and puts any fibers that are missed outside the area you're working in. A hepa filter is always best for fine fibers, think asbestos. The results can be the same. A strong box fan in the door blowing air out is helpful, but a lot of air comes in around it from the outside causing a loss of effeincy. If you have a large enough window it would be better to put the fan there and seal around it with cardboard and tape. If your worried about fibers outside mount an ac filter to it. Any place you can use water use it. As with asbestos it is your best friend. Even a spray bottle misting the area regularly is a great help. Wet fibets don't float.
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