Dust Collector question

[jeff...]

I want to do something like what SteveD has pictured here http://www.ncwoodworker.net/gallery/showimage.php?i=1144&c=170

Cyclone Inlet to a main 6" duct trunk, cyclone outlet which is also 6" to the HF DC, in a seperate room right off the shop. However I don't know if the HF DC will suck enough (CFM), I did however do the nuteral vane upgrade on the cyclone, before the other blower exploded.

Or... I was thinking I could just find a blower with a 4 or 6" inlet and 6" outlet and set it ontop of the cyclone. Only problem with that is finding a blower. I've searched high and low and can't seem to find one anywhere. Perhaps I just don't know what I'm looking for or where to look...

BTW I have a 3HP 1PH motor and a buch of differnt sized pulleys that my father inlaw gave me, I might could use that to power a big enough blower...

The idea is to get the cyclone and dust collector out of the shop, so I can have a little more room. Plus the setup I had before was pretty loud, which made it difficult to think, which is hard enough for me anyways.

Thanks for your help !!!

 

[McRabbet]

The picture you selected from Steve D's Gallery is the cyclone he started with, available from www.cycloneseparators.com. When he purchased that cyclone, he coupled it with his 2 HP Grizzly blower as shown here (click on thumbnail for full-sized pics): . He stacked the blower/cyclone on top of a galvanized garbage can using 1/2" threaded rod and plywood spacers. His ductwork is 6" galvanized HVAC duct. After the above picture was taken, he added a high quality canister filter from Wynn Environmental. Steve summarized all of the components in this post in his thread on the shop upgrade.

Rob

 

[Travis Porter]

If you are trying to keep the noise out (which it sounds like you are, you could put the cyclone/motor assembly outside and just put the filter coming off of the blower motor inside. That way you don't have to have a window or something open to let air back into the shop and you don't lose your heat or cooling. I have seen pics in this scenario. Since you have a motor with a blower you could make a cyclone. I have seen plans and instructions in both wood and woodsmith magazine.

IIRC, since you have a 3 HP motor/blower I would think you would want around a 6 to 8 inch inlet and outlet to the blower which should be 12 to 14 inches in diameter. My .02

 

[jeff...]

Travis Could you help me determine what kind of blower would I need for wood shop dust collection and where might I find one? I have a 3 HP motor, but I don't have the right kind of blower.

put the filter coming off of the blower motor inside

Good idea:icon_thum, never thought of that, thats what I'll do. I can eaisly put it out of the way inbetween the second story floor joists.

Thanks for your help

 

[junquecol]

Grainger sells blowers both with and with out motors. These were originally made by Cincinatti Fan and give TRUE PERFORMANCE RATINGS! If you are interested in a belt driven blower, I have a 15" unit that takes a 3-5 HP motor. This a true 3-5 HP, not a HF 5 HP. It was originally mounted on a lab dishwasher with a five HP 3 phase motor.

 

[Travis Porter]

I would think you could get by with just about any squirrel cage blower on a cyclone set up. The big thing is going to be the diameter of the blower and then the sheet metal work to get the intake and output to the fashion you need.

Here is a link to SMC where someone did about what I think you are wanting to do.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=17721

The filter they used on this one is like the one on my Oneida. I remember another post where the guy just put the filter unit through the wall and got it to work out. Looking at my unit it would take a big hole to get the mounting bracket through and then you would have to put a big flange on it to hide the hole.

IMO, it depends on how big of a blower you can get and then the pipe to it. The Bill Pentz site http://billpentz.com//woodworking/cyclone/index.cfm
has tons of information. Some of it is over kill IMO, but it should get you the basics of what you are looking for.

Personally, I considered building a cyclone, but I am the pits when it comes to sheet metal and cut myself way too much so I broke down and bought one. If you do decide to build one with a squirrel cage blower you get, I would recommend a cyclone design to keep chips and stuff from hitting the fan assembly.

As for what size, it depends on how many machines you want to hook up and pipe to and how many you will run simultaneously. You can get by with a smaller unit if you use the right pipe and fittings. I got by with HVAC pipe and fittings for a long time, but I wanted to hook up more machines and have better suction so I upgraded my unit and my piping. FWIW, I will never use metal pipe again. Too many cuts and nicks in my hands (one still healing after 6 weeks) and the proper joints and fittings are expensive. To give perspective, I paid $48 for an 8" wye fitting. I think plastic would have been around half the cost.

As Junquecol comments, Cincinatti fan makes some awesome stuff and gives true ratings. The performance ratings you see on most stuff on the market is a bunch of bull. About like vacuum cleaners for the house showing 18 amps when it is running on a 15 amp circuit. It will pull 18 amps when the motor burns up.

 

[jeff...]

Grainger sells blowers both with and with out motors. These were originally made by Cincinatti Fan and give TRUE PERFORMANCE RATINGS! If you are interested in a belt driven blower, I have a 15" unit that takes a 3-5 HP motor. This a true 3-5 HP, not a HF 5 HP. It was originally mounted on a lab dishwasher with a five HP 3 phase motor.

Yes I am interested in the blower, I'll send you a PM and we can discuss details.

Thanks