That setup would certainly be less restrictive and would be
lower-maintenance than the water trap.

I have a 10" baldor bench grinder with a baldor dust collector. You
can look at them in J&L catalog.

The grinding wheel discharge connects to the blower with a rubber
hose. The output of the blower is directly into a large cloth bag.
No water traps or anything fancy. When I got it the cloth bag
was very old and torn, but had obviously survived for years without
a fire.

I think a water trap would be pretty smelly after a short time.
I have considered adding a metal can for a particle trap. Someday.

chuck