[Plankton]

Below is the current and only filter supplied with my vac. It blocks up with muck to quick and is really meant as a dry filter. Question is what else can I use.
http://www.hifi-tower.co.uk/Klarstein-Replacement-Filter-for-IVC-80-IVC-50_i10457.htm

[Kev Martin]

Below is the current and only filter supplied with my vac. It blocks up with muck to quick and is really meant as a dry filter. Question is what else can I use.
http://www.hifi-tower.co.uk/Klarstein-Replacement-Filter-for-IVC-80-IVC-50_i10457.htm

If you are using it as a dry filter then it's fine you just clean it regularly and occasionally run it through the washing machine.  If you are using the vac as a wet vac then the felt bag part needs to be detached and not used at all.  If you want to use a wet filter then you apply a nylon mesh sack instead of the felt filter but most people don't bother.  Be careful because with a lot of vacs you can't just dispose of it altogether because you need the ring to form the seal between the motor and the tank.

[Mike Halliday]

What are you vaccing up? I removed that filter from mine when wet vaccing and tie wrapped 2 women's tights (inside each other)over the vac cage that holds the float. I was using mine as a wet vac for carpet cleaning so it was picking up a considerable amount of water.

[Plankton]

It's being used as a gutter vac so I need some sort of filter. The tights sounds like a good idea, thanks.

[Nick Day]

Hi Alan,

What is happening is because of the damp it's making the fibres expand blocking of the suction. A quick simple solution is to get a scouring pad (the green ones) from your local shop. Cut a hole in the bottom of the filter SMALLER than the scouring pad and then sew in the scouring pad. This will allow airflow to be maintained, if you need anymore help please don't hesitate to ask.

[Smurf]

For me it all depends what's in the gutters if I use the drum filter or not.

When vacuuming wet sludge I tend use the wet vac without the drum filter.
 
I've found when dealing with gutter sludge the gutter vac nozzle, bend, pole sections, hoses etc starts to become heavy to use as the crud starts sticking to the inside surfaces and builds up quite quickly.  Then all I do is have a bucket of water handy and just dip the nozzle with the pole section and hose attached to the vac. Then suck clean water through it as I work then empty the vac if/when need be. Likewise I tend to do this after every job so it's ready for the next one.

If I have dry crud already in the drum I can either empty it out or put a small amount of water in the drum so it becomes damp when wanting to use the vac for sludge removal with the filter removed.

When vacuuming dry crud I tend to put the filter back in to stop it being sucked through the motors and blown out the sides.
 
Regards to  filter cleaning If the drum filter gets clogged I simply use a garden hose to clean it. I do carry spare drum filters on the van as well so don't have to wait until the other dries.

To be honest most wet vacs are not designed for gutter clearing as I’ve found out as have burnt out a few motors in my time.

[Plankton]

Hi Alan,

What is happening is because of the damp it's making the fibres expand blocking of the suction. A quick simple solution is to get a scouring pad (the green ones) from your local shop. Cut a hole in the bottom of the filter SMALLER than the scouring pad and then sew in the scouring pad. This will allow airflow to be maintained, if you need anymore help please don't hesitate to ask.

I think you've actually said that before now that I think about it, only problem is my thumb is not up for sewing anything. I'll try the tights as a filter hopefully it doesn't damage the motors.

[concept]

Grippatank offer a metal filter for Numatic machines, got sick of the mesh filter in the vac, changed it for the Grippa one, and never had any trouble.

[Smurf]

I suppose a metal mesh filter would work to an extent.  All depends how fine the mesh is though as fine particals of dust could still get sucked through the motors when gutter clearing surely?