Hydramaster CDS filter enhancements.

[sweendogg]

If you own a Newer Hydramaster CDS unit, you know how annoying the steel mesh filter basket can be. Here is a way to add a mesh bag to make clean out a lot less of a hassle.

Materials: Screw driver or drill driver

8 5/8 screws

10"x18" mesh bags.

Drive screws into top of filter basket until just the tip of the screw is barely poking through

The filter when then stretch around the screws on the basket

And Here you go:

Finished filter that is much easier to clean out!

 

[Nate The Great]

Nice job Davie. Do you have to use a mix of rounded head screws and flat head screws to make it work better? shiteatinggrin

 

[sweendogg]

absolutley... anything you can pillage from the parts bin!

 

[Nate The Great]

absolutley... anything you can pillage from the parts bin!

shiteatinggrin

 

[Ron Werner]

rebuilt mine with stainless 40mesh, cleans off really easy with a brush or a hose.
I found the mesh bags were a pain to clean. SO the stainless mesh will be easier to clean and you can now struggle with the plastic mesh :roll:

 

[sweendogg]

Quite the opposite, all the lint pulled right out of the bag, vs scrubbing with a steel bristle brush to get the lint to detangle from the stainless steel mesh. Used it several times already and it's saved me probably about 1.5 hours in clean out times over 3-4 clean outs.

 

[-JB-]

nice, tanks!

 

[TimP]

My filter basket looks nothing like yours. Mine is square with holes in stainless metal. I've actually removed it cause I don't like to clean it out. I just let the fuzz cover my lawn.....

 

[sweendogg]

Yeah... I tried that option but the sludge can get pretty thick in there.

 

[TimP]

Yeah... I tried that option but the sludge can get pretty thick in there.

I can see how it can happen. I don't do enough work to worry about it though.

 

[Chris A]

It doesn't get that bad, rinse 'er out once a month or when the tank stops draining. I have the same PITA basket as tim and took it out about a year ago.

 

[sweendogg]

Guess I'm just anal retentative.. but the bag is a lot easier to clean out than trying to rinse out the waste tank.

 

[benjam99]

I'm just running the stainless mesh pool filter, which I feel is an improvement over the mesh bag. I just use the lance from the in line sprayer to power wash it clean. Imo a lot easier. You just need to set up your inline sprayer with quick connects.

 

[sweendogg]

quick connect on my line!? I've used our 2000 psi power washer with a 0 tip and it still leaves crap between the mesh filter. The mesh bag is what I added. I can take it out and clean it out in a tenth the time it takes to clean off stainless mesh filter. And If I don't feel like messing with it, I throw it out and put a new one in.. total cost $0.50. :roll:

 

[-JB-]

So, okay, Dave, sounded like a good idea, I installed the bag, TWOT imo, just rinse the tank out every day or two, no funk, no stank.

As far as the filter; it taint like I gotta eat off'n it, rinse all the crap off it, call it a day, or better yet, have your helper(s) do it, then it taint no chore at all!

Do you guys really go weeks n moths n such w/out cleaning the tank?

That's gotta REAK!

 

[sweendogg]

Weeks and months with our rinsing out the tank... HELL NO.. (unless my brother is going along.. I may let it stew a day just to piss him off! ) Different strokes for different folks. I rinse my tank out every day. I went a year with out using the filter. But on extreme soiling, even after a wernerization of the carpet, my tank was full of so much crud, that even after power washing it, I had to scrape and scoop the bottom of the tank to get all the crap out. The lint filter helps that ALOT, But the factory filter gets so felted that even it takes scrubbing with a steel brush to get it off of the filter. I know you say you don't need it perfect, but it gets bad enough that it cuts down on the suction. I've already filled the wash bags on some jobs, and mind you this was after taking a couple of canisters out of the carpet.

So While it may be a TWOT to you, its an option that works quite well for me, and I don't have purchase a seperate pool filter to accomlish the same task.

 

[-JB-]

Yeah maybe so, but come on, if there was a "Like" button you would have hit it for TWOT.

 

[sweendogg]

Ummm HELL YEaH! (especielly since I had to look it up.. thought I will admit.. I read TWOT as TWAT first few times! )

 

[RGH269]

Where do you get the filter bags from? I can't find that size and nothing close to the price, everything I see is $9 - $20.

 

[sweendogg]

I've been looking for bulk distribution for them.. but the best price i've found is in a multipack for 5.00.. basically you get two plus a larger one.

http://www.google.com/products/catalog? ... FgQ8wIwAA#

I get mine at my local meijer store

 

[RGH269]

Thanks I'll look into it. Right now I am using a pool filter with Jim Martins modifications, it's a big improvment over a standard one. Today though I ran out of knee hi's and did a job without it and was suprised at the increase in sucton. I did some testing when I first modified that filter and couldn't tell any noticable difference in vac so I don't know what to make of that.

 

[sweendogg]

I think If I had to purchase an exterior filter it would have to be mytee's or saphire filter box.. as they both have 2.5 ports with out reduction.

 

[RGH269]

I like the looks of Mytee's the low initial cost plus the cost of filter bags make it a very atractive option. The Saphire one looks like a good one also but the cost is more than I can take until things improve.

 

[Chris A]

I try to rinse out once a week. My wife says it smells terrible when she goes out with me, I don't notice it anymore...

 

[sweendogg]

haha not going to lie.. my brother says the same thing.

 

[Chris A]

"petting zoo" is how she describes it...

 

[gimmeagig]

Don't you guys use a filter like this?
My in line filter catches most of the gunk before it gets to the tank and there is hardly ever anything in the filter basket inside the tank.
I have a stainless insert for my in line filter but even though it is easier to clean I prefer using the mesh type. It seems to be the better filter.

 

[sweendogg]

I run 2.5 inch hose with out restriction to the wand with cool cuffs.. up until recently inline filters that do not restrict air flow did not exist. But $10.00 in stuff to make our existing filters easier to clean up is still way better than investing an extra $200.00 in a new filter.

 

[gimmeagig]

So are you saying the inline filter that I posted restricts the airflow too much? I have not thought of that. I still like the idea of catching all the gunk before it gets to the tank.I always start the job with a clean filter.and if I don't have another mesh filter inside the tank, just the steel basket and I wonder how significant the restriction is....

 

[sweendogg]

well consider this. our cds units from the factory are dual ported with "2" inch couplinging barbs which have a restriction of 1.75 inches. Then each concurrent hose barb if you use factory couplers reduces again to 1.75 inches. some people flute it down even more to a whip line of 1.5 inches which depending on barb connection can reduce it down to 1.25."

Our machines are plumbed from waste tank to blower to exhaust with 2.5 piping. Why restrict our blowers's potential? I want all of my maximum vacuum at the carpet wand interface. I admit running 2.5 all the way to the wand is extremly cumbersome. But I have a modified 2.5" port off of my waste tank to 50 or 100 ft of 2.5 hose with cool cuffs to prevent any restrictions. Then its fluted down to a true 2" cool cuff for a 50 ft 2inch whip to a 2" wand or rotary tool. no restrictions below the ID of the wand thus maximizing vacuum to the wand.

If you put a pool filter that has a smaller ID than the two hoses that connect to it.. you restrict your vacuum.. This will force your blower to use up some of its valuable lift to maintain air flow thus ultimatly hurting your vacuum performance/and or making your blower work harder as well.