Thread: Got the Saw, Jointer/Thicknesser and now need the DC

"Might even take it upstairs into the ceiling and back down?"

Does that mean you have an attic space above the garage? If so you could put the cyclone in it or part way in it with the cone and drum below. If the roof is steep enough you could have a cyclone parallel the roof to make it fit.

There was a poster here a while back that made fibreglass versions of the Pentz cyclone if you didn't want to make one yourself. He has the moulds and might make one cheaper than one you could import. You'd need to find the motor and impeller. The impeller doesn't need to be mounted to the cyclone to make for a shorter install.

Pete

Muchacho is the gent. Message him and see if he can help.
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f200/fibreglass-cyclone-mark-2-a-187155?highlight=fibreglass+cyclone

Originally Posted by Gedc

Most of the dustys appear to be 2HP and i was thinking of using it on one machine at a time and rolling it about a little - which means it isn't in a cabinet. In saying that, I appreciate building a cabinet around it will help a lot with fine dust. I probably won't be running more than one machine at any time.

and

P.S While happy to build a cabinet, space is still at a premium so keen not to have to commit half a wall etc for the dusty...but maybe no choice! ?

All the DCs I have assessed leak, those that are moved around leaked more than those left in the one place. It would be better to run ducting to machines, or to put machines on wheels and move them to the DC rather than the other way around.

Putting or venting the DC outside would be priority one
If you buy a stock 2HP DC then priority two would be modifying it to use 6" ducting
Closely followed by modifying machinery to use 6" ducting.

Even then don't forget ventilation.

Thanks to you both. Clearview into the roof while possibly doable involves a lot of work and don't want to do that in the interim. Some structural stuff required as well so that's a nogo. In knowing that I can't put it outside and don't really want to be rolling it around then would look at stationary / in a cupboard ?. So. If i enclosed a stock 2HP into a cupboard and had some ducting - fixed or flexible leaving said cupboard do I need to put a vent from that cupboard outside to allow for air pressure etc ? I can open the garage door up a bit to allow air intake. Don't want to open it up too much though as it opens to a road and I'd rather folks didn't get to see what I have in the garage. Does the 2 micron cartridge filter make any discernible difference compared to the bags ? Would it be better to get the 3HP twin bag clone, enclose it and run ducting etc. And given 6" ducting seems to be a lot more than the 4", could I get away with 4" on the 3HP versions if push came to shove ? Thanks again

A CV will work when not truly vertical, how much headroom have you got?

Hi Chris. For now the Clearview is off the list. While appreciating it may well be the gold standard choice, for now it will be one of the more traditional dustys. I might revisit it in the future for consideration. Thanks

Before you get too interested in a 3hp dusty, etc, what is your power supply like? It is my understanding a 3hp dusty will use up most of a suburban 10 amp power supply leaving little left to run other machines (you don't want to be tripping the overload circuit breakers all the time).

Originally Posted by Gedc

Thanks to you both. Clearview into the roof while possibly doable involves a lot of work and don't want to do that in the interim. Some structural stuff required as well so that's a nogo. In knowing that I can't put it outside and don't really want to be rolling it around then would look at stationary / in a cupboard ?. So. If i enclosed a stock 2HP into a cupboard and had some ducting - fixed or flexible leaving said cupboard do I need to put a vent from that cupboard outside to allow for air pressure etc ?

Of course, or the air won't have anywhere to go. There's no point in enclosing the DC to have it vent back into the workshop.

I can open the garage door up a bit to allow air intake. Don't want to open it up too much though as it opens to a road and I'd rather folks didn't get to see what I have in the garage.

You'll only need need a couple of inches of gap at the bottom.

Does the 2 micron cartridge filter make any discernible difference compared to the bags ?

A cartridge filter gives ~10% more flow provided you use 6" ducting, and takes longer to clog than bags.

Would it be better to get the 3HP twin bag clone

2 bags are twice as good as one.

And given 6" ducting seems to be a lot more than the 4", could I get away with 4" on the 3HP versions if push came to shove ?

No you cannot get away with the 4".

Thanks all. I'm going to have some extra circuits run by a sparky as the Hammer requires a 20amp circuit / connection for startup etc. Think I'll run some 15 amps around as well to where the dusty will go.

I would advise against a 2HP and suggest going with at least a 3HP system that has a decent sized impeller. As Bob has already stated, you definitely want to run 6" ducting - the HP rating of the motor is meaningless if you run 4" as the restriction will be too high/flow too low to actually require any real power - particularly with a permanently ducted system. 6" PVC pipe is not very expensive if you go to a decent plumbing supplier (some charge double what others do for the same fittings so ring around).

Since you are clearly in it for the long-haul and are buying quality tools, I'd suggest having a good read of Bill Pentz' site to get a decent understanding of both the importance of dust collection and the technical aspects. And keep asking questions.

Cheers,

Dom

3hp, 6 inch mains are the minimum,..

as for the dust extraction itself, I am not sure if there is any good extractor that will pickup fine dust under 3hp if you are not going with ClearVue...

Thankyou all for the thoughts. One option I just considered was the Felder AF16 which is a 3HP basic dusty. It has a bag - likely 5 micron so would need enclosed. Could run 6" pipes from that and plumb them up. Then I looked at their more susbtantial versions - the RL125 in particular. Small footprint. Excellent filter rates. Would fit under the ceiling height etc. While appreciating it's not a cyclone, feedback I have reviewed is extremely positive re performance and fine dust. Any experience or knowledge of this model or similar also good to know.

I am thinking the AF16 as well with 120cm ducting as Hammer machines only have a 120cm ports anyway ... and you are probably like me and don't want to cut bigger holes in the machine just yet.

I plan to get a good wall fan (probably centrifugal) to run at same time as machine and dusty. The wall fan can run longer and pick up the fine dust. the fine dust will escape all but the best dusty anyway. Yes, you will need to have garage door slightly open if running wall fan for decent period

I have low ceiling so plan to have a 2x 2 way switches on the ceiling that are easy to reach from anywhere in the room. Before I turn on P/T, Saw/shaper, or bandsaw, i will flick both switches to turn on dusty and wall fan.

PS: buy a sliding Table Saw. They are very safe as you are standing off to the side anyway and can do small cuts with a F+F jig that keep you hands away from blade. Seems to me that you are still vulnerable to being hit by kickback with the Sawstop anyway.

Originally Posted by Gedc

Thankyou all for the thoughts. One option I just considered was the Felder AF16 which is a 3HP basic dusty. It has a bag - likely 5 micron so would need enclosed. Could run 6" pipes from that and plumb them up. Then I looked at their more susbtantial versions - the RL125 in particular. Small footprint. Excellent filter rates. Would fit under the ceiling height etc. While appreciating it's not a cyclone, feedback I have reviewed is extremely positive re performance and fine dust. Any experience or knowledge of this model or similar also good to know.

if you are considering Felder RL series then you need to consider Alko.

Alko is of better build quality and more powerful than RL series.

Alko is a step up from Felder, basically a Felder RL150 will be an Alko 125. so on, so forth. Unfortunately there is no ALKO agent in NZ for dust extractor.

I have considered RL series for my shop at the end the generic baghouse will do for now...

Some have commented on the cleaning of the RL is not as efficient as what they would have liked. but if you are only a weekender then its all good.

If you have 3 phase then it opens up your selection, such as Donaldson & Torrit (Mt Wellington), Airtight (Penrose)....etc etc

Comparing Airtight product (ducting) to NZDuct, I would recommend Airtight. I have seen then both and have both in my workshop. Airtight ducting is of better quality and build. NZDuct will say yes their ducting is from Denmark, but a lot of it came out from a factory in Malaysia. (NZDuct foreman told me)

Originally Posted by Gedc

Thankyou all for the thoughts. One option I just considered was the Felder AF16 which is a 3HP basic dusty. It has a bag - likely 5 micron so would need enclosed. Could run 6" pipes from that and plumb them up. Then I looked at their more susbtantial versions - the RL125 in particular. Small footprint. Excellent filter rates. Would fit under the ceiling height etc. While appreciating it's not a cyclone, feedback I have reviewed is extremely positive re performance and fine dust. Any experience or knowledge of this model or similar also good to know.

If you locate outside or enclose and vent outside, then micron rating is not that important.
Two bags a better than one for both initial air flow and eventual clog up rate, if you want to further reduce clog rate but a pleated filter.

Beware the RL 125 is only a 125mm diameter inlet. Doesn't sound like much but it is significant.
For standard DCs, Max flow of 150 mm ducting is ~1250 cubic ft/min, mac flow of 125mm ducting is ~770 CFM, max flow of 100 mm is ~425 CFM.