Cartridge Dust Filters Lansing MI

Cartridge Dust Filters

Better filtration for single-stage collectors

by Dave Munkittrick

The cartridge filter is the first significant improvement in single-stage dust collection in more than 30 years. 

Cartridge filters offer better filtration, better airflow and easier cleaning than bag filters (Photo 1). They are available on new dust collectors or as a replacement for the old filter bag on your existing single-stage machine. The upgrade doesn’t come cheap (approx $200 for the 20-in. cartridge). What’s really amazing about these filters, however, is they pack five to six times the filter area into a cartridge that’s smaller than the bag it replaces! 

Better Filtration

The filter material in cartridge filters is made of spun-bond polyester, capable of filtering dust particles down to 2 microns. Compare that to a typical woven fabric bag filter that struggles to capture dust at 30 microns. 

A disposable plastic collection bag replaces the lower bag, because the lower bag no longer needs to do double duty as a collection sack and a filter.

A single-cartridge filter offers much more filter area than a single-bag filter (Photo 2). That’s because the filter material is folded or pleated like an accordion (Photo 1). The pleated filter design fits a ton of filter material into a small package. The increased filter area makes it easier for air to flow through the filter. We did some testing on the 1-1/2-hp single-stage collector in our shop and found that switching to a cartridge filter resulted in a 20-percent bump in cfm performance. 

Dust-Free Filter Cleaning

Cleaning a bag filter often means transferring fine dust from the bag to your clothes, shop and lungs. Cartridge filters put an end to that nonsense. There’s no need to remove a cartridge filter from your collector to clean it. Jet and Penn State cartridge filters feature a set of offset paddles built into the filter (Photo 1) that allow you to knock the dust cake off the pleats with a few turns of a crank (Photo 3). All that nasty wood dust drops harmlessly into the plastic collection bag for easy disposal. This system keeps you, your shop and lungs cleaner.

Easy Installation and Bag Changes

The cartridge filters we tried were easy to install on older model single-stage collectors. Just drop them onto the bag flange where your upper filter bag normally goes. The foam gasket on the cartridge filter makes an airtight seal on the rim (Photo 1). 

Better Than Aftermarket Bags

High-performance aftermarket bags cost less than a cartridge, and some claim to filter to 1 micron. The trouble is these bags are undersized and that means reduced cfm performance for your collector. Also, because the bags are too small for the amount of air being forced through them, a lot of dust gets pushed right through the bag and back into your shop. 

Click here to read the rest of the article from American Woodworker