Re: Cyclone

[Dr.Deb]

Before I go any further, I have read Bill Pentz's website.

This has not so much to do with how to build a cyclone or which cyclone to buy, but with the operation of the cyclone.

A few years ago I had a local sheet metal fabricate a cyclone for me and I powered it with the blower and motor from the large HF dust collector, set off to one side and above the cyclone. For quite awhile things were good. Now I am having a problem with clogging.

Today, I was planing out a couple of ash boards and noticed a bit of debris coming back out the infeed slot (always a clue the cyclone is plugged). I checked the chip bucket and it was about 3/4 full. I knocked some more out of the cyclone and dumped the bucket (33 gallon metal trash can). I then put the can back under the cyclone and proceeded to get another can full out of the cyclone (long stick and poke and prod)

Does anyone know why I am getting the clog? The only reason I can think of is humidity, of which we have a lot here in central Alabama.

When the cyclone is clear, it works like a champ and the dust bucket, located in an outhouse (it really looks like a miniature outhouse, half moon and all) just gets some dust. When it plugs, the dust bucket starts to fill up with chips - not surprisingly.

Thanks

Deb

[Steve]

This seems -- in my limited experience -- to be characteristic of ash. The wood doesn't chip, but produces fibrous strands. And if you think of a hair clog in a drain, that's the same sort of mess. Humidity or wet wood makes the problem worse.

[dpb]

...

I've not used enough ash as cabinet wood to know about the other poster's comment; I've only dealt with it in small enough chunks at a time that wouldn't have been an issue.

So, I'll say "I don't know" but ask some questions instead...

You say this was fine for a quite a while but now having problems. Is the problem now of some standing or does it indeed seem to correlate w/ using ash as the other responder notes?

If it is a more general problem now than used to be, I'd first suspect air flow problems. Any chance you have an infiltration problem (leaks developed iow) that's cutting down the velocity hence clogging is result? Or, is there some other obstruction somewhere. Or, possibly is there some obstruction in the collector inlet itself like a screw loosened and let a flap or something into the air flow (not knowing how it's constructed, just a wag)? Or, w/ time has the air collector itself lost some of its power (I once't upon a time had a very cheap DC that had plastic impellers and they did, in fact, wear noticeably. That we used it as an air source in an experimental setup sucking pulverized coal through it during early stages of a research project on developing a PC flow instrument just _might_ have had a little something to do w/ how fast it occurred, but hey... :) ).

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[Dr.Deb]

Steve, that makes sense (ash being more problematic). I ran a bunch of sycamore through it and did not have a problem

DPB, the air leak could be a problem also. I will check.

Deb