Thread: Sherwood 15A 4HP cyclone - or what else for upto $3K?

Felder AF 16 with optional pleated filter will set you back around $3300

It's not 2 stage but it looks solid and the few vids on YouTube that do exist show that it does suck very well

Dust Extractor AF | Felder

The spec's on the Sherwood unit don't include the size of the impeller, if the impeller is only 12" 4hp won't make any difference over a 3hp motor. I note that they have a 3hp 'industrial' unit, that is twice the price of the unit you've linked to, with an 8" inlet. This would indicate to me that a lot more homework needs to be done to understand Timbecon's offerings.

Hope I'm not too late to the party. I just bought this since it's heavily discounted (currently $2k, normally $3k). I'm only just in the beginnings of setting it up, and I will put everything I do in a dedicated thread hopefully in the next couple of weeks. But for now, my observations and gotchas:

Observations
- Impeller: 400mm diameter. But an unusual design with straight fins (see attached pics).
- The claimed noise level is relatively low compared to other DCs (yet to test).
- Thankfully there's a 200mm inlet before the 3 x 4" adapter. So no angle grinding required (not obvious on the website's photos).
- Arrived disassembled. The instructions are littered with errors, but it wasn't too hard to pause and think to work out what you're actually meant to do.

Gotchas
- The default MSC Pro Automated Controller is rated max 10A. After emailing Timbecon they suggested I call to find a solution for the 15A machine. But this just gave me the excuse I needed to follow Chris Perks' advice to go three-phase when possible*.


Tentative conclusions (so far)
If considering at the RRP of $3000, you'd likely to better off going for a C-Flux 3 from Carbatec. By the time you account for the lower shipping price of the C-Flux 3 and the overwhelming positive feedback about how well it sucks, the extra few hundred dollaridoos is probably worth it.

If you have the inclination to tinker, but don't want to start from scratch, this is a compelling alternative to the Sherwood 3hp single stage as a "base" to work from. Mainly because it's already two-stag, has the automated pleat cleaning motor, and has a larger impeller.


* Three-phase because for approx $700 I can buy a 3ph motor + a well-documented VFD. With a robotics background I feel comfortable building my own remote/automated control system around the VFD that will cost way less than the iVac offerings.


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IMG_3505.jpeg
IMG_3491.jpg
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If the three-phase 3kW Sherwood mod sounds appealing to you, I'd be keen to work together on dialing in a system that works really nicely.
My goals for the mod:
- Soft start
- Dynamic speed based on sensed resistance (pull harder when a narrower tube is used)
- Remote switches
- Eventually automated on/off/delays based on clamp-style current sensors (like the iVac system)

It'll likely cost more than the stated $3k budget; but aiming for under $4k. And probably require a not insignificant investment of time

That's an unusual design for the impeller of a dust extractor. How wide is the apature at the outlet side of the impeller? It looks like it would be a significant impediment to the amount of air that could be moved. Makes me wonder whether that's the reason for the low flow claim of 1,100cfm.

Just confirming you mean this section in here:
IMG_3491_draw.jpg
I measured that to be 210mm wide and 185mm tall.
Given that it's rectangular maybe that makes it roughly equivalent to a 7-8" pipe.

Or, if you mean the height of this bit:
IMG_3506_draw.jpeg

I measured that at 34mm.

Originally Posted by kitizz

Or, if you mean the height of this bit:
IMG_3506_draw.jpeg

I measured that at 34mm.

Yep, that's the bit I meant. That is a very restricted impeller outlet and something more like I would expect to see in a water pump. Can't see that moving nearly enough air to take advantage of the 4hp motor. Wonder if it could be modified by butchering and adding higher vanes? There would appear to be plenty of room inside the housing.

Damn... that would be annoying. I've ordered the recommended Testo anemometer. I'll try to set up some semi-proper tests to see how well the "off-the-shelf" version of the DC works.

I don't have the gear to do any metalwork. But I was mentally (and emotionally) prepared to build one out of wood and polycarb (Marius / Matthias style).

Anyway, I want to be careful about sidetracking this thread. I'm curious to hear how this might impact I_wanna_Shed's decision making!

Can I ask what are the two small holes in the centre tube (cyclone outlet/impeller housing inlet) doing or is there a bunch more not visible in the picture? Do they end up in the collection bin to keep a plastic bag from collapsing inside the bin?

Thanks
Pete

I haven't fully assembled it yet, but from what I can see that seems to be correct. There are two corrugated tubes that run down to cyclone's dust bin. I'll take some more photos later.

Originally Posted by kitizz

Anyway, I want to be careful about sidetracking this thread. I'm curious to hear how this might impact I_wanna_Shed's decision making!

No need to worry about sidetracking this thread! I'm definitely reading with interest, although not fully understanding lingo around impeller size (although bigger is better?).

Just yesterday I was looking at the Sherwood Industrial Dust Collector 3HP that you mentioned. Perhaps this is a possibility - I'd add on the 1 micron pleated filters. I think I saw in a video that the main inlet is 6". Hopefully others have some thoughts/use on this.

From what I remember of my old 3hp 4 bagger the impeller was smaller in diameter and around 4"/100mm high. That impeller is bigger and thinner. There is only so much air a 3hp can move before being overworked. Different impeller shapes can be more efficient to some degree and have more airflow with a tradeoff on being able to clear debris running through it. The one I had being better at handling the shavings without clogging but less efficient. These presumably because of the cyclone is separating out the debris first won't be getting clogged up theoretically move a little more air.

At least that is how I understand it. Others can confirm or correct me.

Pete

Have a look at this for sale thread to see what a dust extraction impeller usually looks like - Bill Pentz steel cyclone with 4Hp 20" extractor, VFD, drum, gates, ducts & joiners.. The fact that Timbecon make a claim of only 1,100cfm for this machine, but 2,300cfm for the machine that I wanna Shed has linked to above is telling.