static charge in dust collector

Couple of options.

1. Use a stick to open/close the blast gates
2. Have your kids open/close the blast gates
3. Run a wire from the PVC to ground
4. Have your MIL open/close the blat gates

At work we convey thousands of pounds of plastic material a day through PVC. We run wires from it to ground and have no problems. While Option 4 may be the most satisfying, #3 should work as well.

#4 sounds best to me.

Hook wires to outside of ducting.

Touch with the end of a screwdriver blade that you are hold>Anybody have any suggestions for ways to quickly remove the charge

That's the problem with PVC. It is great because the cost is low and the inside is smooth and allows laminar flow. If your PVC is 6" you may be able to apply metal sticky tape to the inside and use a small bolt on the ends to attach a ground. I have been thinking about this problem and considering 4" PVC. Is there a conductive paint that can be applied to the inside of a PVC pipe? (Wrapping the outside with a ground wire has little effect.)

Has anybody tried an laundry anti-static sprays such as "Static Guard" applied to the outside of the PVC pipe?

-- Jack Novak Buffalo, NY - USA (Remove "SPAM" from email address to reply)

Are the blast gates metal? If they are why not just ground the gate themselves? If they aren't...well, hard for me to suggest replacing them (although very inexpensive for me to do anyway -- not my money, right?).

;)

Mike

1. Run a humidifier. This is the option many electronic shops sue to control static.

Barry

A higher moisture content will control static. Where I worked with computers we used to mist our clothes with water to stop static charges. A little fabric softener can be added to the water. However, in the wood shop, low humidity keeps the tools free from rust. Grounding metal blast gates will help, at least some.

I humidify to get up to 25-30% this time of year. My tools don't rust at that level. Please don't confuse adding a bit of humidity during cold, dry seasons, with humid conditions.

Barry

Wrapping the outside has no effect. PVC is an insulator. In fact, if you put conductive paint on the inside and wrap the outside, you have a nice long tubular capacitor!

Grant

Phisherman wrote:

wrapping the outside DOES take care of the problem. I was having the same prob. and I wrapped the entire system with thin copper wire and ran it to ground. Problem solved. No static shocks anywhere on the ducting or the blast gates.

jack