TheSergeant
Member
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2015
- Messages
- 103
Thought this might be of interest to some people who have a CT vac and are contemplating the lifelong filter bag. I was considering one for my CT22 but when I saw the price I almost fell out of my seat. $240?!?! A couple years ago I upgraded the 5 micron (?) cloth bag on my 2hp dust collector to a canister filter and had the old bag folded up and unused. I decided to cut it part and sew together my own reusable CT bag using the plastic port from a paper bag and then sewing in a 9.5" zipper into the back. I epoxied the plastic port on and it's not budging but if it does I'll add an internal backing plating and then rivet it on and sandwich the fabric. The zipper is a 'water resistant' zipper with the urethane side facing in and the teeth facing out. Dimensions are 10x10x10, which was based off the measurements of the paper bag.
EDIT -- Adding "self cleaning": Just finished installing and using the bag. Everything works great and dimensions are good, although I could have made it an inch wider. I noticed when I opened the CT up the bag was holding its cubic shape. To add in a "self cleaning" feature I'm going to sew a couple patches onto the top of the bag and put a stack of washers in each. That way when you stop the vacuum the bag collapses down from the weight and breaks off any caking that may occur from fine dust.
Btw, hi Freya.
Interior: heavyweight thread is used for the primary construction (T40 or T70 preferably) with ~10spi (tight gaps to minimize air leaks) with an overcast edge to add an extra layer of protection and to prevent fraying. The water resistant zipper is best because it won't allowed dust to escape but it also protects the zipper teeth from dust/debris. Sew the zipper on and then sew an additional stitch 1/32-1/16" from the outside edge of the zipper tape to keep it flat against the fabric. Keeping it flat against the fabric will keep debris from accumulating under the seam.
EDIT -- Adding "self cleaning": Just finished installing and using the bag. Everything works great and dimensions are good, although I could have made it an inch wider. I noticed when I opened the CT up the bag was holding its cubic shape. To add in a "self cleaning" feature I'm going to sew a couple patches onto the top of the bag and put a stack of washers in each. That way when you stop the vacuum the bag collapses down from the weight and breaks off any caking that may occur from fine dust.
Btw, hi Freya.
Interior: heavyweight thread is used for the primary construction (T40 or T70 preferably) with ~10spi (tight gaps to minimize air leaks) with an overcast edge to add an extra layer of protection and to prevent fraying. The water resistant zipper is best because it won't allowed dust to escape but it also protects the zipper teeth from dust/debris. Sew the zipper on and then sew an additional stitch 1/32-1/16" from the outside edge of the zipper tape to keep it flat against the fabric. Keeping it flat against the fabric will keep debris from accumulating under the seam.
