I have dust in the box under the filters

[nortana]

I may be a little premature in my concerns.
I have a 35 gal trash can to catch my dust and have applied a weather stip material twice now. Both times they have came loose and allowed air to pass. Or at least it seemed to be loose when I removed my can lid. I have only had to empty my trash (dust) can twice so far and I had about 6" of dust and chips in the 6"x6"x12" high box under my filters.
I have pulled the weather stripping material and I seem to have a good vacuum with just the metal lid sealed against the metal can.
If the weather stipping was my problem................then I may have it fixed. If it wasn't the weather strip.................where else could my problem be????? I believe I have all connections sealed, so I can-not imagine it is a leak in or above the cyclone.
I hope I have made sense here.
Thanks,
gary

 

[dwdrury]

Leaks

Leaks

Gary,

Trust it is a new trash can. Or at least one that is structurally sound and doesn't have pinhole rust leaks. Only places for leaks would be the vertical seam of the can, the bottom to cylinder, and the handle mounts. The latter is most likely if you're sure of the lid to can seal. But given the evidence of the weatherstrip coming loose, I'm speculating that's where your upflow was coming from.

I've tried something on mine you might want to play with. Not sure the results are worth mentioning, and haven't taken photos yet, but it was sort of fun. I put four "tufts" on the bottom of the clear plastic of the cyclone and four more at the bottom of the bellmouth piece I'm using for the flange into my bin's lid. Got the idea from a lot of years of watching the aero guys tufting wings to help visualize the airflow. I just used some 2 to 3 inch long pieces of ribbon and a bit of duct tape for each tuft. You can use string or anything similar at your disposal.

There is a lot of turbulence generated, thus not entirely sure if my bin's fully sealed or not. The upper row of tufts are essentially horizontal in the flow, and in no time at all the ends are well frayed. The lower row just seems to flutter around more or less randomly, but doesn't show evidence of upward motion. At least in my very short test. And the lower ones do not fray as fast, an indication of less energetic flows.

Another way I recall folks attempting to find leaks, think it was in Steve (Woodman's) gallery, was to use an incense stick to generate smoke, which would then follow the airstream. Ignite, hold close to the suspected leak, see if the smoke goes that way. Alas, I used all my incense back in college!

I'm also wondering if you've schemed a way to "compress" the weather strip via some method to clamp the lid to the trash can. The addition of the weatherstrip may disengage the lid from the can enough so some movement can happen, and when it does, the adhesive on the weatherstrip, which is usually meant to be in compression, may be in shear and fail. So another potential solution, assuming it is the lid to can seal that is leaking, may be to find a different weatherstrip with a better adhesive. There are some at McMaster, for instance, that use acrylic adhesives instead of the cheaper and more typical rubber based. The acrylic bond is supposed to get stronger over time, and I can state where I've used some, if you don't peel off a mistake within a week, prepare to get out the jackhammer. OK, so I exaggerated a little, but it is tough to remove.

Happy hunting!
DWD

 

[nortana]

Hey DWD, I won't ask the purpose of the incense in college.
The first weather strip I used was the hardware store stuff used typically around you house doors. Then I went to the auto parts store for what I thiought would be heavier duty weather strip. I think it was old stuff and did not stick real good. But the more I think of it, the vac that is pulled in that can, may have been more than the adhesive could handle. They ordered in some new stuff, it should be here today, and I will try this route one more time...............but will watch my can a lot closer this time.
Yes, my can is brand new.
Also, I haven't had a good cigar for years, so I may go that route insted of the incense. Then I can smoke it so it don't go to waste.
Thanks,
gary

 

[Matt]

Hi,

If you continue to have troubles with the seal it may be worth making a solid top by routing a groove in a piece of plywood or mdf and putting the weather stripping in that groove and reattaching the flex hose. Other than that i think dave covered the rest.