Have a Harbor Freight dust collector… Dust was escaping from the collection bag like no tomorrow. I took a nylon bungee that just barely fit Cut the ends and used a shrink tube to mend the ends together. Works like a charm as an “O” ring
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Hey @Zman would you happen to have any photos or links to the products you used? There are a lot of these DCs out in the wild, I’m sure this tip will come in handy.
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I have seen several youtube videos about modifying the HF dust collectors. The videos are about changing the impellers for a better dust collection CFM. Also you can buy better bags from several companies.
The trouble with HF stuff is the tools are just the bare minimum description of what ever they are selling it for. For instance a wrench needs to fit a specific size bolt and be strong enough to actually tighten/loosen a bolt. The HF wrench is so soft it bends during tightening and loosening and eventually breaks in half. I occasionally go into HF but seems like everytime I buy something in there I regret it. I bought some Nirtle gloves recently and they are so thin they break putting them on. So technically they are Nirtle and Gloves but unusable.
In Japan they cannot own guns so they have a replica market for enthusiastic. The replicas look and feel like the real thing but are not operational firearms. HF is much like the Japanese replicas, they look and feel real but do not function. Seems like it would be as much trouble to make a real tool as it is to make a fake tool.
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Guy:
There are some ‘gems’ at Harbor Freight among the less than stellar products as you point out. The dust collector is one of the better products for the price point. I use the original impeller / motor on a home made cyclone and it works very well with one tool at a time.
Adding a Thein Baffle is a major improvement to the base unit. Throw in a Wynn Environment filter and it a very good dust collector.
The Thein Baffle is inexpensive to make while the filter is a cost but still less than a pre-built from other vendors.
As always - YMMW.
Bill
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As you can see it is just a bungee. Worked for a while now the dust is creeping out. Damned MDF. Thinking about a 16th inch of silicone.
The bungee is just too firm and doesn’t mash down
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