wyaple
Well-known member
My goal was to have all my machines using paper bags upgraded to HEPA bags. Not really a problem, except one holdout. A 1988 Hoover Spirit using a type K bag. I couldn't find any manufactured HEPA bags for it, so I decided to make one (okay, so maybe two...).
Step 1: Find a suitable HEPA bag. My first attempt was modifying a Riccar 8000 series bag collar and the results were OK, but I new a could do better. I found that the Perfect HEPA C bag was a better candidate than the Riccar bag because it was shorter. You'll see in pic #1, the Perfect bag collar peels off very easily.
Step 2: Create a tight fitting cardboard collar. This wasn't too difficult and in pics 2 through 4, the test fits went well.
Step 3: Attach collar to bag. While there are surely better adhesives than what I used, I did find that common rubber cement did work well. I'm told by my wife that something called "modpodge" will probably work better. See pics 6 and 7 for completed examples.
Step 4: Actually use the bag in the Spirit and hope you discover no leaks. Test bag for airflow performance. Pics 8 and 9 show that my "frankenbag" inflates well and I was able to measure a higher airflow when compared to the factory paper K bag.
Without any bags, I measured 76 CFM from the hose end. With the newly created HEPA bag, the CFM dropped to 71. A clean paper bag was 69 CFM, so I know I'll have not only more airflow to start, but when the bag gets full, I won't lose nearly so much.
Bill
Step 1: Find a suitable HEPA bag. My first attempt was modifying a Riccar 8000 series bag collar and the results were OK, but I new a could do better. I found that the Perfect HEPA C bag was a better candidate than the Riccar bag because it was shorter. You'll see in pic #1, the Perfect bag collar peels off very easily.
Step 2: Create a tight fitting cardboard collar. This wasn't too difficult and in pics 2 through 4, the test fits went well.
Step 3: Attach collar to bag. While there are surely better adhesives than what I used, I did find that common rubber cement did work well. I'm told by my wife that something called "modpodge" will probably work better. See pics 6 and 7 for completed examples.
Step 4: Actually use the bag in the Spirit and hope you discover no leaks. Test bag for airflow performance. Pics 8 and 9 show that my "frankenbag" inflates well and I was able to measure a higher airflow when compared to the factory paper K bag.
Without any bags, I measured 76 CFM from the hose end. With the newly created HEPA bag, the CFM dropped to 71. A clean paper bag was 69 CFM, so I know I'll have not only more airflow to start, but when the bag gets full, I won't lose nearly so much.
Bill
