Having gotten busy dimensioning wood on the Jointer & Planer, I have over-filled my cyclone's chip-bin more than once. It is a very messy business to then have to open all the dust-bags to empty the overflowed chips/shavings from them. I was therefore very interested when I learned of Oneida's infrared chip-bin level-sensing device called "Dust Sentry". Although their site suggest they cannot make them fast enough for the demand, there are no customer reviews of the product. I've not found any references to the product online other than Oneida's pages. I'm reluctant to drop than kind of cash on unproven technology.
Anyone out there have one of these gizmos and are your thrilled/OK/ disappointed with its performance ?
I have an Oneida with a 55-gallon drum. It would be nice to look at something and know how full it is. I have (confession) let the drum overfill and even filled up my filter. . I just learned to check it more often, mostly doing so by pushing against the top of the drum to see if it is heavy.
After a time, I disciplined myself to check it daily if I was doing any planing or a lot of panel raising. If the drum is half full, I empty it. If there is more, I have to unload it with a dust pan into another trash bag-lined trash can until I can lift the bag out (which gets heavy).
BTW, I reuse bags since they cost so much for the 55-gallon version in that thickness. I asked the Oneida salesman about a good source on bags but he slickly said he didn't know but he was sure I could easily find one. He also said that he couldn't imagine why anyone would reuse the bags, after telling me that some other guy did. One bag can last a year of industrial (small shop) use if one is careful and patches any little tears occasionally. And they do work fine with small tears.
Another BTW, it is increasingly hard for me to lift a large, bulky bag out and lift it again high enough to get into the dumpster. I was an "also-ran" athlete, but too many injuries and too many decades have passed since then. My lumbar region doesn't like me :-(
I faithfully use a dust mask or respirator with only the cotton filter while I empty the cyclone or clean the filter. (Cleaning the filter is another story for another day).
Oh yeah, a small sign on top of the barrel lid says that it should be emptied daily. Honestly, I don't necessarily do this but I acknowledge that I should.
OK, so I over-answered your question, but hopefully someone out there might benefit from hearing of my misteaks.
PyroHog wrote: : Having gotten busy dimensioning wood on the Jointer & Planer, I have : over-filled my cyclone's chip-bin more than once. It is a very messy : business to then have to open all the dust-bags to empty the : overflowed chips/shavings from them. : I was therefore very interested when I learned of Oneida's infrared : chip-bin level-sensing device called "Dust Sentry". : Although their site suggest they cannot make them fast enough for the : demand, there are no customer reviews of the product. I've not found : any references to the product online other than Oneida's pages. I'm : reluctant to drop than kind of cash on unproven technology.
I' interested too, though the price gives me pause. In my setup, I have a clear hose connecting the bottom of the cyclone to the drum. Seems to me that if I keep an eye on that, it'll do the same job. But my cyclone is in the shop, not a different room, and I can certainly see the advntage of the Sentry if you don't see your cyclone.
I have a cardboard drum under my cyclone and was tired of removing the drum lid to check the chip level.
I cut in a sight window into the upper third of the drum. Now I can see at a glance if the drum is getting full. Cheep, a piece of acrylic .125 thick by 3 by 12, a few screws and caulk.
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