I finally got a shop vac setup that doesn't clog every 5 minutes

After years of fighting with my old vacuum getting jammed on drywall dust and small debris, I picked up a new system last month from a buddy's recommendation out of a shop in Phoenix. He showed me how he rigged a separator bucket using a $20 Home Depot lid kit and a 5 gallon bucket, and hooked it to a Rigid 12 gallon vac. First time I tested it on a full day of sanding and cleanup, not a single clog. The bucket caught probably 90% of the dust before it even hit the vac filter. I was shocked how much time it saved me from having to stop and unclog every 15 minutes. Anyone else ever try a dust separator setup like that or do you just stick with the factory bags?

3 comments

3 Comments

adam67525d ago

And it makes you wonder how many times we accept a flawed process as normal just because we never saw a better way to do it. That separator bucket trick is one of those things where once you see it work, you can't believe you ever did without it. Feels like half the headaches in life are just from not knowing the right little hack.

david73925d ago

I was actually reading something the other day about how people used to store their tools back in the old days. They had this system where everything had a peg or a hook and you'd put it back right away. Sounded ridiculous until I realized I lose about 20 minutes a day looking for my wire strippers or that one specific socket. It's crazy how we just accept that lost time as normal until someone points out the obvious fix. Kinda makes you want to reevaluate all the little inefficient habits you have.

mark_cooper17d ago

I mean, maybe it's just me but calling it a hack makes it sound way more serious than it is. @david739's point about losing 20 minutes looking for tools feels like a bigger deal than a vac clogging once in a while, idk.