Turning a shop vac into a dry-to-wet dust collector

[Vizier87]

Hi guys,

I've got an old Hoover Aqua Plus shop vac (from a lady who apparently never opened the bucket) for a really killer price (close to 15 dollars) and it still works beautifully.

Now I know it works in both modes - dry and wet. Do away with the filter, and we can collect fluids. However, I've got a plan to turn it into something similar to what the Rainbow vacuums did: capture dust with a water base. I've been more comfortable with the Rainbow vacuums; they do work better to capture dust.

Will it work if I install some sort of a baffle on the air inlet so that dry dust immediately sticks to the water? I've drawn the design to illustrate the concept.

Your thoughts and suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

Vizier87

 

[shortbus=]

Simple answer is yes. I have one I did it to for when sanding drywall joints. But you will still get some dust that doesn't get into the water. Keep the water level around 1" from the end of the inlet. I used PVC pipe on the inlet.

 

[rjenkinsgb]

Is it worth angling the inlet pipe eg. 45' sideways as well as down, to add some centrifugal separation effect??

 

[Vizier87]

Simple answer is yes. I have one I did it to for when sanding drywall joints. But you will still get some dust that doesn't get into the water. Keep the water level around 1" from the end of the inlet. I used PVC pipe on the inlet.

Thanks for the reply.

So does this mean it's better to let some sort of a filter on the motor while it's doing the dust extraction? Maybe just put a thin cloth around it and tie it up? I just don't want to clog the motor in the long run.

I'll update this thread later.

 

[shortbus=]

So does this mean it's better to let some sort of a filter on the motor while it's doing the dust extraction?

I just left the original filter in, to protect the vacuum. You should only remove it when doing wet type stuff. When doing what I did and I assume your wanting to do, there only needs to be a couple of inches of water in the bottom, and the tube has to stay out of the water. But close to the water surface, so the dust kind of gets driven into the water.