Like most other people I'm continually trying to find ways to improve the dust situation in my small shop. Right now I have a King dust collector installed with 4" piping to the tools that does a pretty good job (similar to Delta/jet etc.). In their catalog, Lee Valley lists cyclone lids that fit trash cans and from what they say I'm thinking it's an easier way to "take out the garbage" plus I wouldn't have to empty/clean the collector dust bags as often and it would mean an even more efficient system. On the negative side it might mean more demand on the air suction to the collector. Here's what they say:
"Capacity is a problem in every dust collection system, but particularly in small shop systems. This cyclone lid will let you sidetrack up to 99% of jointer/planer shavings and lesser amounts of fine dust (such as from sanding) to a barrel or trashcan. It lets you convert a standard shop vacuum into a high-capacity dust collector. In fact, if your shop vacuum draws 6 amps or more, you can use it with our dust collection network to power a complete collection system. If you have a lower-powered vacuum (less than 6 amps), you can still use it with the cyclone on a single machine, such as a planer."
I would use this with my current system between the trash can cyclone and the input to the collector...... Has anyone tried this and if so, what do you think ??
Keith P