Dust collection advice needed.

[Rich]

Hey all. I occaisionally lurk here reading what you all have to say. I have had a garage shop for years and finally decided that I need to get a dust collection system. The shop-vac just doesn't cut it and I am also concerned about the dangers of dust in my lungs. So I'm going to do this right the first time so I don't waste tons of money and time. I know I have to get a cyclonic collector the will get the dust in the .5micron range otherwise I might just as well be saving for a nice oxygen tank for when I get emphysyma (sp). Gentlemen, I've looked at a design by Bill Pentz, (Clearvue) and Oneida as well as Grizzly. What I ask of you is recommendations or what to avoid. specific troubles you might have encountered etc. Other brand that might be better.... Thanks for the help in advance.

[tom]

Some machines can benefit from an upgrade to their dust ports and/or openings that exist as purchased. To wit: bandsaws and tablesaws. Buy the biggest dust collector you can swing, and keep the main branch and drops as large as feasible, around 5-6 inches if possible. Tom

[strikerspam]

Over the last year I watched my house being built and planned on using the oversized garage as a wood shop. My father and I decided to upgrade our previous Grizzly dust handler to a rigid (hard pipe) system. We went with Oneida. The 3hp system we got is very powerful. There are a few pleasant surprises I won't go into with this system. The things I will go into with at least the Oneida system is what we've experienced setting the system up.

1) Design. Oneida will design the pipe layout for you. Make sure you include the actual USABLE ceiling height. We have some support beams that actually lower the ceiling bit and have caused some assembly changes on the fly. Also make sure the designer knows the size of the barrel you plan to use under the cyclone. It has a bearing on the height the pipes will enter the shop.

2) Weight. The cyclone shipment IS heavy! You will either need a lift gate truck or a forklift to deal with this load. It's something you will have to arrange with the freight company. The rest of the pipe came UPS.

3) Assembly of the cyclone. BRING LOTS OF FRIENDS. This puppy is heavy and top heavy when assembled. If you have a forklift or sissor lift, you'll have no problems. It took 3 people to get just the impeller and motor assembly to the top of the cyclone. Also make sure you have the intake and outflow fittings organized correctly before you put it up. To change this arrangement requires the near complete disassembly of the cyclone.

4) Piping setup. READ THE PLANS! Due to our earlier mistakes in not giving them complete information on the shop we had to modify the designed layout a little. But by going over the plans have been able to keep the pipe reductions correct so as to maintain the needed CFM for the various equipment we have.

[Steve Hall]

Rich, I've been doing a lot of research on this myself lately. To me, the ClearVue is not only a terrific cyclone, but also the cheapest for what you get.

WITHOUT a cyclone separator (e.g., the Harbor Freight conversion), a system is only as good as the filter when clean. My experience is the shopvac filter clogs in 5 minutes--meaning I spend more time cleaning the filter than actually using the vacuum. So I need a cyclone.

WITH a cyclone, there are a few vendors to choose from (ClearVue, Grizzly, Oneida. Delta) but if you use motor HP and impeller size as the true measurement of CFM (not the vendor's testing) ClearVue is less than 1/2 price of the next cheapest Grizzly.

I've been contemplating making my own cyclone, but by the time you buy a motor, impeller, and materials you're just about at the ClearVue price. I don't have any affiliation with them, it's just that from what I can tell, they simply have the best dust collection value out there.

[Rich]

Steve, that is the way I'm leaning too....

[Bob Heveri]

Rich,

I installed the Clearvue and am extremely happy with it. The cyclone does a tremendous job of pulling dust from the machines but you do have to change the dust ports on most of the machines to make them larger to take full advantage of the power of the cyclone.

I had a few problems in assembling the unit due to not reading the directions properly and Ed was most helpful to bail me out of a couple of problems I created. He did it at no cost to me and I would have been more than happy to pay since I caused the problems.

Great machine and great service.

[Chip Buchholtz]

Rich wrote: : Hey all. I occaisionally lurk here reading what you all have to say. I have : had a garage shop for years and finally decided that I need to get a dust : collection system. The shop-vac just doesn't cut it and I am also concerned : about the dangers of dust in my lungs.

I'm in a similar situation. I have a small shop and I work in it alone; I'll never be using two machines at the same time. I'd like to see a discussion of the trade-offs between the following approaches:

1) Install a cyclone with ducts and gates to each machine.

2) Same as (1), but I put the cyclone in a shelter outside the building to reduce noise (and free up space in my shop). How much extra power do I need to compensate for another 30' or so of duct?

3) Get a small dust collector on wheels and attach it directly to whatever machine I'm using. Very inexpensive, and no problems with long runs and leaky gates.

Much as I'd like to design, purchase, and install the perfect dust collection system, I'm thinking that starting small and cheap might make sense. If I use this for a few years and decide that I really need a larger system, I'm only out a couple hundred dollars. I might even be able to re-use the small DC to provide additional suction for one machine, by removing the filter bag and attaching the output of the small DC to the duct leading to the cyclone.

Or, is this just a waste of time and money, and I should just get a cyclone?

Thanks,

--- Chip

[Phisherman]

Well, just by using a DC on wheels with a dust bag you'll capture a lot of dust at the source. But, if you thinking about installing piping, elbows, cyclone, blast gates, remote switch--the whole works--you'll need $1000 or more. I suggest starting with a 2 or 3 HP DC that has a .5 micron bag from PennState or Grizzly (about $400). You'll have enough air flow to add piping, a drop box (or cyclone) later. If you can get a DC that can run on either 120v or 240v, all the better (I started with 120v and later switched to 240v for very little money). A garbage-can cyclone works very well, about $60 for both can and lid. A pre-collector, either a cyclone or drop box will help protect your DC propeller. Do not buy a DC with a plastic propeller. Oneida is very good but a bit overpriced. With all this, you *still* should wear a good-fitting respirator, about $120. Some kinds of wood dust is particularly bad to breathe, but all can irritate. After 30 years of woodworking I still do not have stationary DC piping, but I do have a remote switch which I highly recommend for convenience. Cheers to clean lungs!

[Rich]

I'm definitely not going with a single stage system. I might just as well suck the dust rght from the machines, it would be cheaper. Cyclones are the only way for me. I'm willing to pay the cost. What price can you set on a good pair of lungs. I think I'm going with the clear-vue, oneida or something similar. Its just hard to weed through the adversiing hype that all of them spew. When I invest that kind of bank on something that is supposed to stop me from developing lung disease I want to make an informed and correct decision.