Troubleshooting
If, upon inspection of your dust collector, it is obvious that the unit is not operating properly – the following discussion should help.
All problems with the Filter/Clone® dust collector can be isolated through the use of a single test instrument, namely the water manometer.
A water manometer is a very simple device consisting of a clear plastic tube bent into a "U" shape. The tube is partially filled with water so that two columns appear side by side and extend approximately half way up the length of the manometer (see figure). If both ends of the tube are open to the atmosphere, then the water level in each leg of the manometer will be equal.
However, if one leg is connected to a vacuum source, the atmospheric air pressure in the other leg will be greater and will push the water column down on the side connected to atmosphere. At the same time, the column connected to the vacuum will rise. The distance in inches between the two water columns is the measurement of the vacuum in inches of water.
There are two places on the dust collector to measure the vacuum produced by the blower system. Referring to the figure, the upper tap is connected to the clean air side of the filter element. The lower tap is connected to the dirty air side of the filter element. Both taps are found inside the timer compartment (on larger collectors the manometer taps may be on the external body of the collector, below the blower housing and below the dust collector inlet).
The figure shows the manometer connected to both taps at the same time. This measurement would reflect the pressure drop across the filter element. To measure the clean air vacuum, connect one side of the manometer to the upper tap and have the other side open to the atmosphere. Likewise, to measure the dirty air side of the filter, connect one hose to the lower tap and have the other side open to the atmosphere.
Normal readings (in inches of water) for the various configurations are shown in the Service Manual.
For more details on what the manometer readings tell you about the condition of the collector, please refer to the Service Manual on the Download page.
Contact Joe Tipton, Inc. or a Dealer in your area for questions about a Filter/Clone® Dust Collector.