http://www.jpthien.com/smf/index.php?action=profile;area=showposts;u=269
it seems the fine dust would have no where to go but through the filter. heres another pic
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=thien+separator&hl=en&sa=X&tbo=d&qscrl=1&rlz=1T4ADRA_enUS477US477&biw=1280&bih=656&tbm=isch&tbnid=HWE9hvmGG5XD9M:&imgrefurl=http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php%3Ft%3D40958&docid=wAB7zBAxueMTHM&imgurl=http://www.jpthien.com/smf/index.php%253Faction%253Ddlattach%253Btopic%253D166.0%253Battach%253D323%253Bimage&w=640&h=480&ei=O9utUO_qCuSUiALH2IGgBw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=99&sig=113293683651611212174&page=2&tbnh=156&tbnw=228&start=20&ndsp=27&ved=1t:429,r:41,s:0,i:214&tx=151&ty=84
i have noticed lately my lower bag was getting more scrubbing and more dust lately, then i realized my filter was covered in fines. but i use my tools a lot, minimum 24 hours a week and it took about a year to need a cleaning.
im changing shops soon out of my garage to an actual woodshop for business, eventually i will go larger blower etc but for now i am trying to maximize my hf thien top hat baffle system.
any thoughts would be great. TIA!
Once you get past the separator, there really is nowhere for fine dust to go except the filter anyhow. I know a lot of people look at the clear bag on the bottom of a filter attached to a cyclone and proudly proclaim that not much if any dust is in that bag. The truth is that the bag is not air-permeable, and the filter is. So whatever dust makes it past the separator will likely find the filter media a much better place to settle (compared to the plastic bag).
If you're working 20 hours/week and it took a year for the filter to fill, I'd say you're doing very well. Most guys I know that work in the 20 hours/week and have conventional cyclones clean their filter stage every 3-4 months.
well in all honesty i should have cleaned it MUCH sooner. probaly at the 6 month mark. i dont use too many fine dust producers regularly so its nice to not have to clean the filter often...