Help with Dust Collector

[woodnick]

I am getting ready to upgrade my dust collecting system from 4” to 6” and after doing some research on “cyclone” collectors, it occurs to me that the main advantage of the cyclone is the principle of removing the dust/chips from the air stream. So if the collector is on outside of the shop and only ones being affected by any dust will be the Birds Rabbits and Squirrels (which leave when I turn on the equipment) why would it be necessary to spend the premium $ on a cyclone when I can get much more CFM’s for less $ with an conventional collector?

[dino drosas]

Inside or out. Don,t waste a lot of time and never look back. Get yourself a ClearVue and get the best. As an added bonus is is also the best dollar value at about half the cost of the others with more horse power.

[woodnick]

I should have added this:

Cyclones
---------------------------CFM------- Cost
Grizzly GO443-----------1025------- $675
Penn State Temp142---1000--------$595
Oneida XGK025105-----1440--------$1250
ClearVue CV1400-------1120-------- $945
Woodtek 961-948-------1600---------$1365

Conventional

Delta 50-761------------ 2100-------- $753

[SteveHall]

Glad to see this subject come up! I just started building my own cyclone, nearly a Bill Pentz design except that it isn't the size he recommends. It will be a 4" mini version that I'll use with an old 1-1/2 hp Delta dust collector motor/impeller from craigslist. This will be my super shop vac until I can make the full size 6", as well as a test unit for fasteners, shaping method, etc.

I have drawn Bill's entire cyclone layout in AutoCAD with his guidence. I've also found a terrific local metal shop that can laser cut 24 ga galvanized (from CAD files). Not sure what the laser cut price would be since I just walked in to get the material ($15), but my guess is that it wouldn't add too much to the material price.

Would there be enough interest here to go in together and get a number of sets cut? I'd also be interested in getting together for a few weeks to build the things. We could share tips and jigs, maybe develop a similar ductwork strategy, and so on.

I know there's enough talent in this group that we could make quality units cheaper than can be bought. If I could, I'd buy the ClearVue, but that is way outside of my price range right now. My super shop vac is going to come in around $95 + filters, if we could build full size units in the $300 range that would definitely work better with my budgeting committee.

[toolferone]

Your question about blowing the dust outside has one main flaw. If you are paying to ac/heat your shop then you are blowing money out the collector into your back yard at the rate of around 1200 cfm. If you are not conditioning the air then have at it I guess. Still pretty messy though.

[McRabbet]

Steve, I applaud your efforts to build your own collector and trust that with input from Bill Pentz himself, you are bound to get good results. I am planning to replace my entire 1 HP Penn State system with its 4" PVC runs with a Clearvue system this fall -- I still need to make some key height measurements to determine if I go with their shorter CV1400 1100 CFM version or the full sized CV1800 unit. I'd really like to place the unit under my raised floor basement shop where my current DC unit is located, but that's another decision yet to be made. What piping do you plan? Blast gates?

I would be interested in a copy of your design -- can you e-mail me a .dxf version of your drawing so I could look at it in TurboCAD? My e-mail address is rrpayne at bellsout dot net. Thanks.

[4yanks]

I agree with Tom. I think the best solution is to put the cyclone outside with a return air duct to the inside with an appropriately sized canister filter at the end of the return. Best of both worlds.

[Travis Porter]

One other thing to consider is most CFM's by the manufacturers are a lot of times overstated. I have read where the CFM's are tested without any piping or bags installed. There was a recent issue of FWW where they actually tested the CFM's of different sizes and styles. It would be worth checking out to get a more realistic perspective.