Looking at making all in one

[Peshi]

Hi i have a Karcher 5.200 wet and dry vac, use it for all jobs on new build houses.

Why has no one made an all in one?
Photos show my vac, drum i would like to use and a render of what i'm hoping it will turn out like.

My plan is to modify the Karcher as a Thien separator:
1 - Use the existing 25litre stainless steel drum as the Thien. Block off existing pipe inlet and make a side inlet. cut out the the bottom of stainess steel drum the semi circle section as per Thien plan.
2 - Then take the wheels and plastic attachement off, they just clip of.
3 - Then connect on to a 30liter Drum. As it needs to be portable and add a wheel base.

I would like to use new set universal hoses and connectors, any one know where I can buy these in uk?
With conector to use festool saw.
hose size around 40mm but open to suggestions, I was thinking of getting a dyson hose as it stretches well. but what about connecting to festool and other tools and attachments.

Any help would be good.

[phil (admin)]

Take a look over at the Woodgears.ca site:

http://woodgears.ca/reader/hector/shopvac.html

I think there may be other similar mods out there, too.

Not sure where to buy fittings, though, in Europe.  In the US I've gotten them from Rockler and Woodcraft.

[Tacuabe]

Hello Peshi and welcome!

I'm the builder of the project you'll see when visiting the link that Phil supplies. Please feel free to contact me if you require any additional info. The setup works very nicely for me and is very convenient to use. Emptying the container is a cinch! As you see, my vac is also European made (Italian, actually).

Here's my e-mail address: topocalc@gmail.com

Cheers!

[Tacuabe]

You can also find it in this forum. Just search for Shop Vac sandwich.

[Tacuabe]

Here's an update on my Shop Vac arrangement.

After reading some of the latest posts, I decided to increase the height of my separator. The original height was 35 mm (slightly more than the 32 mm inlet pipe). I added a new ring on the underside of the chamber. This second tier is 20 mm high, therefore total chamber height is now 55 mm.

The inlet was left unchanged and thus is as high as possible inside the chamber. Following this mod, there was a noticeable improvement in fines separation.

Finally, a much delayed paint job was carried out! Photo enclosed.

[alan m]

great news. have you any pics of the inside.
did you test before an dafter the extra height or is it a a feeeling

[Tacuabe]

Hi alan m!

It's just a feeling, but a strong one at that. Most of the collected dust after the mod has been MDF. Never before had I witnessed a cleaner container. Additionally, the filter has a sponge cover (in lieu of the paper bag originally supplied) and this only shows a minute accumulation of fine dust. Before the mod there was a very noticeable dust coat everywhere.

Here are a few photos. You can clearly see the new 20 mm thick ring I added. The baffle is now removable for eventual cleaning or in case of clogging. Please note that the outlet protrusion (16 mm) into the chamber was NOT modified. I failed to point that out in my previous post. Therefore, the outlet is now 39 mm up from the baffle.

The top of the chamber and the upper side of the baffle clearly show how the dust swirls during operation.

[Tacuabe]

Oops! Forgot the photos.