Help with a dust collector

[Spark]

I bought a dust collector from a full time cabinetmaker about 5 years ago. I'm finally getting around to setting it up. This thing is not like the Delta and Grizzlies I've seen. I got a great deal on it, but it didn't come with any documentation or instructions. At the time, the guy that I bought it from told me how to set it up, but I can't remember what he told me :-(

Here are 3 pics of it, the first is a long shot, the second a close up. The third just shows the model # and Serial #

's got a 2 hp Baldor motor and the unit says Rayco's Mach. Mfg Los Angeles CA. Model # 1274. I can't find anything on the net about this thing or the manufacturer. All I'm really confused about is the 2 ports on the inlet side. Are they both for suction or is the bottom one there to allow heavier chunks to drop out before passing thru the blades? Any info, advice, experience you guys could give me, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks, Mark

[dpb]

Spark wrote: ...

Yes.

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[Gerald Ross]

That's a monster bag. Don't let your cat near the inlet hose.

[SBH]

Unless he doesn't like cats.

[Sonny]

Call these guys -

They might have some info.

Sonny

[Spark]

Thanks for the reply DPB, I should have finished installing this thing before I posted my question. After I wired it up and turned it on, it's obvious that the top port sucks air in and the bottom port blows air out. I'm still not sure how this thing works. For instance, will the bottom port spew dust or will that all end up in the container you can see in the picture that is surrounded by the white felt sleeve. If anyone has any experience with this type of dust collector, please feel free to comment. Mark

[Spark]

Sonny, you da man! I always thought I was pretty good with google searches but I got skunked this one..Thanks!

[dpb]

Spark wrote: ...

If you don't use both ports, you'll need to cover the one not in use. Otherwise, there will be tendency for stuff to fly all over but mostly it'll be pretty ineffectual w/ that big hole in the system.

As is, it'll put everything into the bag; ideally for a collector this size you would feed the input into a cyclone separator and then only the fines would end up in the air filter.

[Jack Stein]

After I wired it up and turned it on,

I would go to Home Depot and get a Fernco fitting that would connect my inlet pipe to a PVC Pipe, and run the PVC pipe to a pre filter/collector drum.You want as little dust and debris as possible to reach the fan/filter.

On mine I piped the inlet to a large paper drum in the middle of my shop.

I built wooden gates (I'm a woodworker after all) that go to individual tools, mainly, Jointer, Table saw and Belt/disk sander. Instead of building a cyclone I simply put 45° pvc pipe connectors in the drum to get the air cycling around the outside of the drum, with the DC connected to the middle of the top. The heavy dust falls to the bottom when the air expands into the drum and whats left spins around and falls to the outside of the drum. Cean air is sucked out the middle top of the drum to the fan.

works great for me, and was, like me, cheap as all get out. All I get is some fine dust, mostly from sanding, in my filter. You do not need a giant bag on your collector using my method, a small filter is about all you need. Maybe a hoover sweeper vacuum bag, something like that.

[dpb]

dpb wrote: ...

Speaking of which, the guy you got it from didn't have a cyclone (or did he just not sell it and was upsizing the fan only, maybe)?

The way I'd want an installation of this to look would be sotoo of--

I had a connection failure to the newsserver originally when wrote this; since I see Jack has posted another solution.

As Jack says, it doesn't need to be terribly fancy unless you're into moving a lot of material altho w/ the air volume that is going to move it'll take a more sizable container to be effective than his I think.

Anyway, there are any number of sites w/ info on making homebrew cyclones as well as the commercial sites such as Penn State, Oneida, etc., ...

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[Steve Turner]

My setup exactly, except that mine doesn't have the stand and is mounted directly to the wall, like this:

it.

[Artemus]

I added this to my pre-separator

it made a big difference in how much stuff stays in the bottom of the can. I suspect it's the reduced turbulence downstairs that keeps the planer and jointer chips from going out to the filters. Art

[dpb]

good-looking unit, indeed.

For OP, of course, w/ his independent fan his setup would be to feed the outlet of the cyclone to the inlet of the fan (and I'd swap the two port connector there for a single and put it on the inlet of the cyclone instead assuming needed more than one main trunk line anyway). Then the outlet of the cyclone to a waste container.

Would certainly be a far more serviceable system than the huge bag collecting everything as currently.

BTW, I'd wager that puppy is pretty noisy; OP also may want to examine building a sound enclosing area around it or if possible put it out of the shop. Of course, if he's in a residential area and this is a home-garage shop, that may not be feasible considering the neighbors...

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[Spark]

It is indeed noisy. It's in my home garage shop so putting it outside is not an option. I live in So Cal and the house next door is about

10ft away. An enclosure is a good idea. I don't believe that the guy I bought it from had a cyclone container attached to it. I think he told me the big stuff fell out of the the bottom port on the right side of the unit.The rest went through the fan, but he said the fan was heavy duty enough to not be damaged by the stuff that went through it. I'm not sure how that's going to work. There's so much air coming out of that bottom port on the right side that it's going to kick up a ton of dust. I really appreciate all the help from you guys. I'm obviously going to have to do some homework. First step is to contact the company that Sonny found that sells this device. I'm hoping I can obtain some documentation from them. The bulk of the material moving through this thing will be dust from my cabinet saw, planer and chop saw. Mark

[dpb]

Spark wrote: ...

I can't imagine using it w/ one port open--I suppose one could connect the lower port to a container but anything that actually falls out of that port will have to be pretty good size. Only way I could see it ever working that way would be w/ a small inlet airleakage in the bottom of the leg/container.

Clearly that is _NOT_ the way the unit is intended to be used; if you don't have and don't get or make a separator for it I'd suggest the better choice is to block it off entirely if you're only using one port.

There's nothing large enough from a small planer or any saw that's going to damage the impeller, that's true; it's simply going to be a nuisance having to empty that large bag all the time instead of separating out the solids and only collecting the fines.

I don't know what you expect the company to tell you? -- they're certainly _not_ going to say the bottom port is a chip separation exhaust port if that's what you're hoping for. Whether they've got a separator specifically for it, maybe, but I'll wager you'll want another wallet if they do... :)

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[Larry Jaques]

That's too bad. My 2hp G1029 is quiet as a mouse. Only the bandsaw is quieter in operation. Oh, wow, they sell a noise reducer for the bloody thing.

is not an option. I live in So Cal and the house next door is about

What port? The cyclone gets all the larger chunks, and then all air should be coming out the filter element only, I should think.

DCs shouldn't be noisy at all. I can't believe those impeller blades are so rudely riveted onto the hub. That impeller must be causing a lot of the noise itself. 'Taint aerodynamic at all. Time for a Bondo & Balance session. ;)

-- Not merely an absence of noise, Real Silence begins when a reasonable being withdraws from the noise in order to find peace and order in his inner sanctuary. -- Peter Minard

[Spark]

You're right about contacting the company. I thought they might be selling new versions of the machine, but they are simply selling a used machine.

[Spark]

=A0-- Peter Minard

The port I was refering to can be seen in this picture

. When I turn the collector on, the top port is obviously suction and the bottom port is obviously exhaust. I thought that the guy who sold it to me said that large pieces would also exit via that port but the more I think about it, I've got to be wrong. I'm thinking I will route ducting from the exhaust port to the outside of my shop. Mark

[Larry Jaques]

Mark, that's not the same DC. This is a pic of a Rayco, not a Griz.

In this picture, the center Y ports are intakes, the left downpointing port is the exhaust.

Porting the exhaust outside your shop (instead of catching it) will fill the area with dust. In the city, that's usually illegal. In the country, very messy. And if your house is downwind of it, it's extremely unhealthy. If you pipe it outside and catch it there, it will reduce the noise and create a real heating/cooling problem for the shop.

-- You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

[dpb]

Larry Jaques wrote: ...

No, same as the original posting; the Griz got into the conversation because I simply posted a link to it as an example of what an installation w/ a separator could look like (albeit it's an integral-mounted fan instead of sequential as Spark would have to do w/ his to use a separator). The discussion then sorta' got onto at least one other responder posting that he had a Griz, too, but it really was a sidebar conversation.

The question of ports and purpose of same on the subject fan unit had already been addressed earlier...

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