Dust collection - once more with feeling

[Bas]

It's easy to understand why dust collection is less of a problem these days. Researching the topic on the Internet takes so much time you're not in the shop inhaling all those fine particles!

After going through Bill Pentz' excellent site and several hundred postings, I still have a few questions (surprise!). I apologize if they have already been answered a dozen times over.

1. Cyclone without a filter The wood whisperer's shop uses a Cyclone that's vented to the outside. Of course, he lives in the desert in Arizona....nobody can tell you're venting dust. Let's say I joint and plane two 8'x6" boards...does it look like someone ate a dough nut with powdered sugar, or is it more like Pompeii after the volcano interrupted? In other words, how visible is the smaller dust that isn't caught by a good cyclone?

1. Cyclone inside, filter/ bag outside The weather here (NC) is fairly mild. Venting to the outside would mostly be a problem in the summer because of the heat (and A/C loss) I was thinking about putting the cyclone inside, with a Y-connector to the bag. The bag would be outside, the other end of the Y capped with a rubber plug. Only on very hot or very cold days I'd bring the filter/ bag inside. Has anyone done this before? With a good filter, is this extra customization worth it?

2. DC as air cleaner No matter how good, no DC system can get everything. Adding an air cleaner would probably be a good idea, but isn't the DC also an air cleaner? What if you open a few blast gates after you're done making sawdust, turn on the DC, and let it run for a few hours? Wouldn't that clean the air? You'd want to use gates at opposite ends of the shop, of course. Or, is this going to be such a wear on the DC motor a window fan is better?

Thanks!

[Toller]

Jointing and planing is mostly big stuff. Drum sanding those boards might be a different story.

I think you are exaggerating what gets by a cyclone. Just how much do you plan on using it?

I had the very same idea. Someone here pointed out that a 3kw air cleaner is expensive to run when a properly made 300w will do the job as well.

[Greg O]

Put the cyclone and filter inside, it is not worth the hassle to move it inside and then outside when the weather is right. Build a filter box. Like others have said it is allot cheaper to run, plus quiet too. I forget my dust filter on sometimes because on low speed it is almost silent. A cyclone dust collector is pretty noisy in comparison. Greg

[Patriarch]

Bas wrote in news:46b68378$0$8919 $ [e-mail]:

My neighbor runs his Oneida this way. In California, near San Francisco. After several months, you can see a very modest deposit of fine powder on the exit port. Certainly no big deal. 3 hp machine, 6 or 7 inch tubing, pretty good sized tools. Although he is switching out a bunch of stuff to make room for the ShopBot...

One point of reference.

Patriarch

[Phisherman]

A cyclone can't get it all, and the efficiency depends on several factors.

Havn't done this. But I have taken equipment outside and made sawdust there.

A separate air cleaner is well worth it. I made one and it uses three furnace filters and a 1/4 HP squirrel-cage motor. Clears the shop air-borne dust quickly. Plus, it doubles as a dryer for small finished pieces.

[J. Clarke]

If it's a good, efficient cyclone you won't notice much if any in the exhaust. It's there but most of it's so fine that it's invisible. That said, there's still not much. If you're in an average suburb with a fair sized lot then it's not likely to cause the neighbors to complain (but don't put the exit where it blows on the clothesline or into the kids' play area), if houses are close together it's another story.

Overkill unless you also want to bring outside air into the shop for some reason.

It's not a matter of wear, it's a matter of power consumption. A good dust collector draws as much power as a good sized electric heater, and produces about as much heat (on cold days I've turned the dust collector on to warm up the shop). While it _will_ clear the air, you're using a lot more power than you need to to do that job. If you're using it every day it won't take long for the energy costs to exceed the price of a dedicated air cleaner.

[Bas]

Good point. I don't have a drum sander yet, looks like I'll need to buy one of those as well in order to make a truly informed decision

OK, I'm probably overthinking this. I really like the idea of venting outside, because I'm likely to skimp on filter cleaning/ replacement. That totally defeats the purpose of course. But, I can't seem to find any cyclone systems without a filter. The exception is the ClearVue system, but 5HP for a 20x20 shop? I'm worried my cats will get sucked in.

So...given that I'll probably end up with a surplus filter, I thought maybe doing a 'seasonal' setup with the inside/ outside thing. Didn't I say I was overthinking this?

Duh. Never thought of that.

Thanks to everyone who replied - much appreciated.

[woodstuff]

I have a 5HP Oneida Cyclone and plan to remove the filter and just vent it outside. But I can do this because I have no close neighbors. I don't see much fine dust comming out.

[Hoosierpopi]

What are those things taht fit over 55g drums that one puts in between collection and dust bag to catch material enroute to db? where can one find them?

[Morris Dovey]

| What are those things taht fit over 55g drums that one puts in | between collection and dust bag to catch material enroute to db? | where can one find them?

Cyclone separator lids. I bought two from Lee Valley and use them on a pair of drums connected in series - and they work so well I put up a web page showing the setup at

're also fairly easy (and inexpensive!) to build. I built a lid of my own to use on a small drum with my ShopVac. I used 2x4 scraps for the 2-1/4" hose, but I don't think it'd be difficult to use 2x6 scraps to build one for use with a 4" hose. You can see the one I built at Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA