Maurice Weitman on fri 3 mar 06
At 06:11 -0500 on 3/3/06, Dawn wrote:
>While on the subject of vacs, I have a question. If I rolled my heavy duty
>shop vac outside and ran the hose (I have lots of hose) in through a small
>opening and vacuumed the clay studio would that cause any problems that
>anyone knows of?
Hello, Dawn,
This is exactly what I've done, and it works fine.
Aside from concerns of noise for my neighbors, I'm assuming that I
may have trouble with the vacuum motor being damaged by moisture from
condensation. It gets cold here at night, and when it's cold and
moist, I'm guessing I'll have rust and/or corrosion problems at some
point.
The "shop-vac" I'm using is quite old, and has been kept outdoors for
years, but it's powerful and still has good suction, even with lots
of hose. But if it does kill the motor over time, I'll replace it
with a larger, quieter model and build a modestly-heated, insulated
box for it.
By the way, my reasons for keeping the vac outdoors are as much for
space savings as for noise and dust problems. I've got about 25' of
hose in 6' or 7' sections. I use as few sections as I can to
minimize air resistance and can reach anywhere in the studio with it.
Most of the evil mess (from throwing and trimming pots, glaze mixing,
and spraying) I make is near the wall having the vacuum, so mostly, I
just use the shortest hose. I need more to reach the kiln, but
that's not nearly as often or critical. I work hard to stay on top
of powdery messes.
I say go for it and we'll both report back over time.
Regards,
Maurice, in Fairfax, California, where despite the nippy weather
lately, our fruit trees are budding with new leaf growth and some
flowers. My favorite wildflower, the Shooting Star, began blooming
last week, and the pollen from the Milkmaids was enough to get my
allergies going.
And where I helped my youngest (nearly 25 year-old) son pack and move
his belongings from his San Francisco apartment into our basement in
preparation for his post-grad world tour, having been delayed by the
sudden appearance in his life of an exotic woman. She's gone nearly
as suddenly as she appeared, and he's back on track. Until the next
derailment.
I can't say whether watching his transition is more satisfying than
being with my oldest son back east three weeks ago for his fortieth
birthday. I guess watching our baby head out to Costa Rica is less
unsettling than trying to understand how I could POSSIBLY have a
forty-year-old "kid."
Dawn on fri 3 mar 06
While on the subject of vacs, I have a question. If I rolled my heavy duty
shop vac outside and ran the hose (I have lots of hose) in through a small
opening and vacuumed the clay studio would that cause any problems that
anyone knows of?
Dawn in Tennessee
Vince Pitelka on fri 3 mar 06
> While on the subject of vacs, I have a question. If I rolled my heavy
> duty
> shop vac outside and ran the hose (I have lots of hose) in through a small
> opening and vacuumed the clay studio would that cause any problems that
> anyone knows of?
Dawn -
As long as you have enough hose, that would work just as well as a
stationary cannister vacuum that vents to the outside.
Good luck -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft, Tennessee Technological University
Smithville TN 37166, 615/597-6801 x111
vpitelka@dtccom.net, wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/
John Hesselberth on fri 3 mar 06
On Mar 3, 2006, at 6:11 AM, Dawn wrote:
> While on the subject of vacs, I have a question. If I rolled my
> heavy duty
> shop vac outside and ran the hose (I have lots of hose) in through
> a small
> opening and vacuumed the clay studio would that cause any problems
> that
> anyone knows of?
Hi Dawn,
Shop vacuums are not generally designed to have good suction with a
long length of hose. I can't say that is true of them all and I have
heard of some potters using them that way, but don't be surprised if
you have poor suction and/or a short life on the vacuum motor.
Central vacuums are designed for that task. That is a good part of
the reason they are much more expensive than shop vacuums.
Regards,
John
Ruth Ballou on sat 4 mar 06
I've done exactly this, both in the US and here in Belgium. The DIY
store in Belgium called the manufacturer for me. They were able to
tell me exactly how long the hose could be without significant loss
of suction. I could have ordered a longer hose from the manufacturer.
It was much cheaper to make my own. I use a pool hose, some PVC pipe
and duct tape to make the extension. You should be able to buy
different types of filters for the shop vac. Just check and replace
periodically. I just roll mine out the door, point the vent away from
the studio and close the door as much as possible. Works fine for me.
Ruth Ballou
Belgium
On Mar 4, 2006, at 1:44 AM, Vince Pitelka wrote:
>> While on the subject of vacs, I have a question. If I rolled my
>> heavy
>> duty
>> shop vac outside and ran the hose (I have lots of hose) in through
>> a small
>> opening and vacuumed the clay studio would that cause any problems
>> that
>> anyone knows of?
>
> Dawn -
> As long as you have enough hose, that would work just as well as a
> stationary cannister vacuum that vents to the outside.
> Good luck -
> - Vince
>
Lee Love on sun 5 mar 06
I always make sure I clean the vac hose outside after use (while wearing a
mask) by putting one end of the hose on the intake (be sure to do this
first) and then the other end on the exhaust. Good thing about my Akita
Taiko, is that she only "blows coat" twice a year. The bad thing is that
each blow lasts 6 months.... Clearing the hose this way will clean out
any fur balls. I usually carefully sweep up any large objects
before I vac. Rather than sweep, I slowly draw the broom into the dustpan,
so as not to kick up any dust.
--
Lee in Mashiko, Japan http://mashiko.org
"We can make our minds so like still water that beings gather about us that
they may see, it may be, their own images, and so live for a moment with a
clearer, perhaps even with a fiercer life because of our quiet."
-- W.B. Yeats
Joseph Herbert on mon 6 mar 06
Hello, All:
Having the vac outside is good and it follows the dictum used in the Nuclear
Power business and many other process industries: "Dilution is the solution
to Pollution."
Perhaps slightly better would be having the vac outside and doing wet
cleaning inside, sucking up the mop water with the Wet/Dry vac located
outside.
Cuts down on the dust for the neighbors and the vac could make more pleasant
gargling noises, rather than the roar of the rampant sucker at full gallop.
(Actually there would be no noise difference but I liked the phrase.)
Still in the party pooper ranting phase, I do not feel that our
correspondents take sufficient concern with their clay clothing (an
unsupported conjecture, but I feel safe making it.) Coal miners (often)
leave their work clothes at the mine changing room to prevent carrying (much
of) the coal dust home. We hope that Asbestos miners did the same thing,
but perhaps not. Nuclear workers wear company supplied clothing that is
collected and laundered in strongly monitored washing facilities. What are
you taking home to your families? I wear coveralls at the studio and change
before getting in the car, and leave them in the car. People who work in
proximity to their homes may find it too easy to sit for a moment before
changing clothes. Are you carrying respirable dust into you living space?
There is increasing awareness of dust problems in our work areas. Do we
inadvertently introduce significant amounts of clay into our living areas
where we are not as aware of clay dust control?
Mister Sunshine,
Joseph Herbert
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