HEPA vacuum

[Franzeska]

This is from a woman who owns 6 - count 'em 6 vacuum cleaners. Well, I need another one! I thought I saw a comment on one of the posts about a good a small? hand-held? HEPA vacuum cleaner for removing nasty fiber residue. Can anyone help me out? There is an empty spot in my broom closet just waiting for this addition. Thanks.

[S.TImmerman]

Dirt devil, Sensio, Shark, Bessil, Hoover, Black and decker all have hepa hand vacuums. Google can be your friend!
ST

[Greg Rawls]

A HEPA vac costs hundreds of dollars and is overkill for a kilm-formed glass artist. I assume you are talking about vaccuming the residue from thinfire paper. Get a shopvac with higher efficiency filter and bag. When you remove the bag, tape over the opening and throw it away.

Greg, retired Certified Industrial Hygienist

[Franzeska]

Thank you for the suggestions. I like the one where I tape over the hole in the bag!

[jim simmons]

Can't you get a hepa filter or bag for your shop vac?
The "other" Jim

A HEPA vac costs hundreds of dollars and is overkill for a kilm-formed glass artist. I assume you are talking about vaccuming the residue from thinfire paper. Get a shopvac with higher efficiency filter and bag. When you remove the bag, tape over the opening and throw it away.

Greg, retired Certified Industrial Hygienist

[Greg Rawls]

Can't you get a hepa filter or bag for your shop vac?
The "other" Jim

A HEPA vac costs hundreds of dollars and is overkill for a kilm-formed glass artist. I assume you are talking about vaccuming the residue from thinfire paper. Get a shopvac with higher efficiency filter and bag. When you remove the bag, tape over the opening and throw it away.

Greg, retired Certified Industrial Hygienist

YES

[Eric Baker]

The Home Depot has a nice HEPA filter that's washable/reusable for about $30 (here in Oklahoma, anyway). I'll try to find the name of it in the shop or on their website and post it here tomorrow. I have 2 heavy duty Ridgid shop vacs that get put through their paces. Additionally, I use this HEPA filter in my Glastar dust collector for my sandblaster setup. I love them.

I'll get the name and post tomorrow--I just did a search, and didn't find it mentioned at homedepot.com. Maybe it's a local thing. I'll check...


warm regards,

Eric

[JestersBaubles]

I just purchased a 5 gal ShopVac for my glass workroom. There were two types of bags that you could buy with it, one was rated for finer particles such as drywall dust. Those are the ones I purchased. I still need to get one of the nicer filters -- just using the foam filter for now.

Dana W.

[Eric Baker]

Okay, I checked in the studio this morning: the HEPA filters I use in my 16 gallon shop-vacs are Gore CleanStream.

www.cleanstreamfilters.com
800-758-6755

Again, I use them for all my refractory cleanup (with fine particle/dry-wall particle filter bags inside the vac, also), thinfire and kilnwash dust cleanup, along inside my sandblaster's dust collector. I've been using the same filters now for four years of pretty heavy use, and I just wash and dry them when necessary.

I can buy them at my local Home Depot, though I couldn't find them listed on homedepot.com, so they may not be a nationally distributed product.

I hope this helps anyone trying to clean the air in their studio...

warm regards,

Eric

[seachange]

A HEPA vac costs hundreds of dollars and is overkill for a kilm-formed glass artist. I assume you are talking about vaccuming the residue from thinfire paper. Get a shopvac with higher efficiency filter and bag. When you remove the bag, tape over the opening and throw it away.

Greg, retired Certified Industrial Hygienist

Hi Greg,

I am looking for a HEPA vacuum cleaner for our sandblasting cabinet. This is for the outlet that is high up on the side of the cabinet, and picks up the fine dust.

We have a Metabo asa9011 commercial vacuum cleaner, it has a heavy duty paper bag. However there are no hepa filters for this model. As you say, HEPA vac are expensive, here about $1000, so wondering if there is a reasonable alternative.

We can for example locate the vacuum cleaner outside (we live in the country), or place it in another room under some sort of sealed cover/hood until whatever dust is lost by the bag settles down.

My use of the sandblaster is related to glass fusing (cleaning devit, or making a sandblasted finish on bowls), therefore only use it once in a while, for a couple of hours at a time.

Many thanks for your help, seachange

[Greg Rawls]

I don't really see the point of a HEPA for a sandblast hood. Assume you are using something like Aluminum Oxide which is considered a nuisance particle. If your booth is well sealed and you have a dust collector, there should be no problem. Since you are concerned, put it outside so the fugative emmisions can be dispered. Trying to put a HEPA filter on it will be very expensive.

[Eric Baker]

Hi Seachange,

I got a dust collector from Glastar a few years back: http://www.glastar.com/catalog/sandblasting/hepa.cfm

It's currently $540, and it accepts the Cleanstream HEPA filters ($30 and reusable) that I mention earlier in this thread. This system has worked great for my large sandblast cabinet, and has many, many hours on it. At the time, it was the cheapest way to get a HEPA dust collector for my cabinet, short of buying a 16 gallon shopvac and adding the HEPA filter to it (which will work, too--I've done it). The shopvac plus filter will cost you less than $150.

I know that you already have a vacuum that you're trying to use, but it sounds like it's going to be hard and expensive to convert it to something more useful for you. The two options above might be helpful to you...

warm regards,

Eric

[seachange]

I don't really see the point of a HEPA for a sandblast hood. Assume you are using something like Aluminum Oxide which is considered a nuisance particle. If your booth is well sealed and you have a dust collector, there should be no problem. Since you are concerned, put it outside so the fugative emmisions can be dispered. Trying toachange put a HEPA filter on it will be very expensive.

Hi Greg

Many thanks for your reply. I use aluminium oxide, and the cabinet (booth) is home made and very well sealed. We will put the vacuum cleaner outside. It will also reduce the noise. The compresor is far away in a shed, no noise at all from it, but the vacuum cleaner really makes a racket.

With best wishes, seachange

[seachange]

Hi Seachange,

I got a dust collector from Glastar a few years back: http://www.glastar.com/catalog/sandblasting/hepa.cfm

It's currently $540, and it accepts the Cleanstream HEPA filters ($30 and reusable) that I mention earlier in this thread. This system has worked great for my large sandblast cabinet, and has many, many hours on it. At the time, it was the cheapest way to get a HEPA dust collector for my cabinet, short of buying a 16 gallon shopvac and adding the HEPA filter to it (which will work, too--I've done it). The shopvac plus filter will cost you less than $150.

I know that you already have a vacuum that you're trying to use, but it sounds like it's going to be hard and expensive to convert it to something more useful for you. The two options above might be helpful to you...

warm regards, Eric

Hi Eric

Many thanks for all the details. I live in Australia, absolutely wonderful living, but not as many things available as easily and as cheaply as in the US.

Luckily Greg has confirmed that it is only nuisance dust...often understanding how much risk is there in reality is rather difficult, without the specialized knowledge. The cabinet is extremely well sealed, so I think I'll live a long life.

The vacuum cleaner might not, if any fine dust gets into the motor, but it is replaceable, and my use is only occassional.

I appreciate your help, all the best, seachange