Separator, separator system and methods of their operation

A method of operating a separator (1, 1a, 1b) for separating particles, such as dust and small debris, from a particle-laden airflow, the separator (1, 1a, 1b) comprising:

• an inlet for the particle-laden airflow, the inlet comprising a hose connection,
• a separation unit (11, 12, 13),
• a motor (15), configured to draw the particle-laden airflow from the inlet and through the separation unit (1, 1a, 1b),
• at least one separation unit status sensor (16a, 16b, 16c, 16d),
• a controller (18), operatively connected to the electric motor (15) and to the separation unit status sensor (16a, 16b, 16c, 16d, 4), and
• a communication device (19), operatively connected to the controller (18) for communication with at least one unit external (1a, 1b, 26) to the separator (1, 1a, 1b),
• the method comprising:
• receiving, in the controller (18), a separation unit status signal from the separation unit status sensor (16a, 16b, 16c, 16d),
• deriving, in the controller (18), separator status data based on the separation unit status signal,
• communicating, via the communication device (19), the separator status data to the external unit (1a, 1b, 26),
• receiving, via the communication device (19), incoming control data from the external unit (1a, 1b, 26),
• determining, in the controller (18), based on the separator status data and based on the incoming control data, whether to initiate separating unit maintenance, and
• selectively initiating separating unit maintenance based on said determination.