Shop Vac Cyclone - Efficiency

[peter in ylw]

Hello: I just rec'd a shopvac size Clearvue and I am not enjoying the kind of efficiency shown in this website's promotional video. I must be doing something wrong, I guess.
My vacuum is a new Dirt Hawg from Costco - it says it has a 5 peak HP motor, and uses a standard 2.5" hose. I have mounted the Clearvue cyclone on a circular .5" thick MDF lid. The lid had a rabbit cut around its circumference to register inside the lip of large Rubbermaid trashcan. I have installed stick-on weatherstrip in the rabbit. I have installed a plexiglass window in the lid, and have sealed all the holes in the lid with silicone.
With a bunch of wood chips and sawdust in the trashcan and the lid in place, when I turn the vacuum on nothing is disturbed in the can, and no chips climb up out of the can into the cyclone. When I vaccum chips and dust on the floor, the debris zips around the cyclone, and some of the chips fall down into the can. The remainder of the chips get sucked into the vacuum intake and wind up on the vac's filter.
Does this indicate an air leak from the trashcan? What steps are commonly taken to fix this problem?
Cheers,
pjr

[Matt]

Hi Peter,

Yes It sounds like there may be a leak somewhere on the bottom. It Does not take a very big leak to have a huge decrease in seperation efficiency. Once you get your setup like you want it you could silicone everything. Do you have weather striping on the rubbermaid lid also? If not that may leak enough to cause your problems. You can also try holding something that smokes close to your seals to see if they are sealed. With a Big vacuum like you have that is the only thing that causes problems with seperation as a leak from the bottom provides a straight path to your vacuum.

Don't hesitate to call,

Matt

[Matt]

Hi Peter,

I was just checking to see if you managed to get the problem solved or if there was anything we could to do to help.

Matt