Maintaining Excellence: Dust Extractor Maintenance Tips

If you’re working with aluminum in your shop, you’re probably taking some extra precautions because you know that aluminum particles from welding and sanding are serious business. Fume extractors keep your techs from breathing in toxic fumes, and dust extractors trap the potentially explosive particles kicked up when sanding aluminum panels. If you’re using these tools, that’s a great first step. Like any equipment, maintaining them is the next. In this post, lets look at the Chief dust extractor.

Immersion Separator

One key element of our dust extractor is the water-based immersion separation system. Here’s what that means in non-technical terms: The machine uses water or mineral oil to wet down the aluminum dust that gets sucked inside, and the particles are filtered out of the water. You can then remove the solids that were filtered out and dispose of them properly. In order for that process, and the rest of the system, to keep chugging along, you need to keep up with the upkeep.

For starters, you’ll need to make sure the water tank is filled up to the liquid level indicator line (7.9 gallons) when using it. Then, after each use or eight hours of continuous use:

• Turn the extractor off and disconnect from power source
• Drain the liquid from the water tank (open the drain valve) into a suitable container
• Properly discard the collected aluminum solids from the containment unit
• Clean all parts of the equipment, including the suction hoses
• Reinstall parts inside the immersion separator
• Fill it with clean liquid

The Filter

Our dust extractor features a HEPA filter that traps 99.995 percent of contaminants. That’s some serious filtration, and even better, it’s very easy to maintain. Most of the time you don’t have to do anything. How often you have to change it depends on how often you use the system. If you’re techs are using it every day, we recommend changing your filter once a year. If they only use it two or three times a week, you can wait two years to change it. Be sure to wear gloves, long sleeves, other appropriate clothing and a breathing apparatus when handling the filter. Then dispose of it following government regulations.

Our tools are built to help your techs. In this case, they help keep them safe. That’s why it pays to keep up with recommended maintenance. For more information about changing the filter, draining the water or emptying collected materials, take a look at the product manual. Or you can learn more about the features of the tool.