Milwaukee Dust Extractor and Accessories - 8960-20

Milwaukee Tool recently announced an expansion of its Dust Extraction System centered around the new 8-Gallon Milwaukee Dust Extractor (model 8960-20). The Milwaukee dust extractor features an automatic filter cleaning mechanism that allows sustained airflow at 148 CFM in dust-producing applications. It also includes a dual filtration system with HEPA filter. This captures up to 99.97% of all particles greater than 0.3 microns.

The system expansion also includes dust extraction attachments. These help with drilling holes up to 2-3/4-inches and include chisel boots for SDS-Max hammers. They also make concrete cutting shrouds for grinders. When used together, the new system remains compliant with OSHA’s new regulation on respirable crystalline silica dust. Compliance occurs either through Table 1 data or Objective Data Requirements.

Our Take on the Milwaukee 8960-20 Dust Extractor

The OSHA compliance deadline pushed back three months until September 2017. Still, tool manufacturers and contractors who haven’t begun preparations are surely behind the curve. No one likes a nag, but long-term exposure to silica dust can result in fatal silicosis. Given that, OSHA’s rules are at least understandable. OSHA estimates that over two million workers a year are exposed to dangerous levels of silica dust when working with a wide range of masonry products. The new regulation reduces the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) to 50 µg/m3 over an 8-hour period. Tool manufacturers have rightly seen a golden opportunity since tools that fall out of compliance will have to be replaced. And so the new 8-Gallon Milwaukee Dust Extractor with all of its ancillary parts was born.

Table 1 Compliance Pushed Back to September 2017

A dust extractor is a sleek-looking unit with large back wheels and smaller, swiveling front wheels. The 8-gallon capacity is probably just the right size as smaller sizes would need more frequent emptying but larger sizes would just become too heavy as they fill up with masonry dust. There also seems to be ample hose storage so it’s not dragging on the ground or awkwardly wrapped around the unit. It will be interesting to see how well the automatic filter cleaning mechanism works – filters that catch a lot of particles invariably bog down the airflow.

Any extractor will be ineffective without the ability to capture dust at the source. Milwaukee’s no stranger to this type of tool as it introduced the M12 HammerVac in 2013 as a stand-alone, universal dust extractor for most SDS-Plus rotary hammers. But these new accessories attach to the extractor through a hose which lightens the bulk and load of a stand-alone extractor while providing much more capacity. The boots and shrouds that cover the concrete grinding, chipping, and cutting are certain to remove most of the airborne dust, and we’ll all be able to – literally – breath a little easier. We’ll also be on the lookout for Milwaukee’s new vacuum bits this fall.