Thread: ClearVue Cyclones

Pretty right thanks Hugh, but have you considered getting one made locally by a sheetmetal fabricating mob, gotta be cheaper than that once you consider freight as well I'd reckon.

BTW, great part of the world you live in, we bring the kids over to play in the river a couple of times each summer.

cheers..................Sean

sorry folks. Don't know how i did it twice.
Anyway to reply to a few of the posts on the last thread wich is the same as this thread?
the filters are expensive, but are expensive wherever the cyclone comes from
gregoryp - if you can get one for $1000 then share the details bet it didn't include real filters
to all who plan to make one - great, let me know when it's ready
to anybody who has - any comments?
Hobbit - respect. somebody thought about it
yes, back pressure is what kills my system. i shake out the filter and when i turn it back on the dust goes straight back up. I wash the bags and its excellent for about an hour. Cartidges only help a little. the only way to stop it circulating is to take it out of the loop.
As the motor/impeller get smaller, the optimal cyclone gets bigger, but if you have an 8 foot ceiling it's academic. the oneida, penn state, clearvue etc. are all 18" dia because it fits . Oneida do a 2hp that they make impressive claims about and it doesn't have the efficiency of the pentz design.
A smaller motor is going to have to work harder, but i'm not after 1700cfm, a real 800cfm at one machine would be great.
possibly the airflow would have to be resticted to aviod burning the motor out, won't know till i hook it up
20 amp single phase is not an option for me, i"ve already had two extra circuits put in and it's not my house so it's dead money.
if it's an option for you then the 5hp leeson for 200+ shipping is a bargain,
three pase is a better option, and can always be retrofitted to the cyclone.
I've already put in 6" ducting - not cheap but a big improvement.
Venting outside is the way to go, the filters don't have to be fine, a tree of felt bags would do, but only with most of the dust removed by the cyclone.
on fine days i wheel my extractor outside, on wet days i do handwork.
I don't know what cyclone you checked out at MWE but i saw one at carbatec (now gustec) for about that price, it was 10 feet tall, had a felt (10 micron ?) filter bag, no spiral ramp, neutral vane or rectangular inlet.
Filters are expensive, but they FILTER, (a word to the wise is enough).

So....
$1500 landed at the door. ( generous estimate only)
$2200 running with 2 0.5 micron filters

If anybody has actually gone to the trouble to price one here i would love to here from them but it's cheaper than anything comparable that i've seen.
Anybody interested drop me a private line
Hugh

I used Bill Pentz's calculations to make a cylone out of a couple of bins I got at Bunning's. Put them on top of a wheelie bin I had and scavenged my DC. That just blows out the top and goes to the filter bag on the end. Not much dust ends up in the bag. Cost $200 for the DC from Timbecon and less than $100 for the bins etc, maybe less than $50. There is effectively a box that is the vent out the top which I made from the box my ML 392 came in.
You can see it here. http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ad.php?t=21452

The see through unit from the states is pretty nice but there are other ways

Studley

Hugh,

Here is the URL of the MWE cyclone for comparison,

http://www.majorwoodworking.com.au/c...roducts_id=167

There is also a 3 phase, 5hp model if that is what you like.

My point about the cyclone getting bigger wasn't as clear as I would have liked it to be (my fault). What I meant was that the cyclone diameter (width) increases for a lower powered motor to achieve the same efficiency in separating out the dust. The cyclone and motor have to be matched to each other to get optimum performance so using a smaller motor on a unit designed for a higher rated motor may not work as desired.

As you indicated, the 3hp motor will try to work harder (if the impeller from the 5hp unit is used) to shift the air volume and may draw an unacceptably high current and burn out. You would need to monitor this with a clamp ammeter to ensure the motor does not exceed its maximum ampage rating.

Regarding the Leeson motor, I don't know that you can just import and use a motor not designed for here. I'm sure there are electrical regulations that require approval or certification of machinery. I apologise if you have already looked into this. I rang a local supplier and their pricing for a 5hp 3 phase 2 pole motor was between $400 and $600.

I'm also stll unsure of the physics of the different rotational speed of the impeller. A 5hp motor should do the same amount of work irrespective of the electric supply characteristics but I suspect that the impeller would need to be larger here to accommodate the slower speed of rotation (81%). It may be that you need a 13" impeller if rotating at 3450rpm (US) but need a 14" impeller for 2800rpm (Aus). It may be that the impeller can be the same diameter but have taller or have more vanes - I just don't know. I think we need some engineers to comment here - this is outside my area of expertise but it seems logical that an impeller has to be matched to a horsepower rating and rotational speed.

In terms of building a cyclone, I note that there is a fellow on eBay (just search for Dust Collector) who sells (hopefully cheap) 3hp dust collectors and that may be a good source if someone wanted a motor and impeller to use to build a Pentz design. Maybe a good thing to come of this discussion is the bringing together of people who are interested in building a cyclone so that they could collectively talk to a sheet metal manufacturing company and get some volume discounts.

Regards.

Hobbit,
checked out that MWE cyclone
yeah, looks the same
2700 tall, felt filter bag (1 micron my &&&&), 3hp,12"impeller,14"SP,2200CFM(my &&&&)
Studley,
interesting, still, if it works.
still letting the fine dust through, and that's what does the real damage (that filter dag might be 5 micron if your lucky)
yes the see through is a gimmick, although it does let you know if it's full, working etc.
Anybody else out there actually priced a unit?
Hobbit,
its a bit too easy to get hung up on optimal precision etc.
I'm only after something that works (and by works i mean sucks air AND filters Fine dust.
But please, someboby tell me my options
Regards
Hugh