Dust Collector Duct Question

[peter]

Today I finally ordered myself a dust collector from CT in Brisbane :) . It's only the 1hp unit but it does have the better filter bag. Anyway, I will only be connecting it to one machine at a time and my question is what overall lenght should I keep the ducting to. I am not sure whether to have a short 3m section of 100mm ducting and move the DC close to each machine or whether I can have some permanent ducting around the wall with blast gates :confused: :confused: . As I said before, it's only the 1hp unit so this may limit the lenght of ducting and I would appreciate some feedback on this matter.

Cheers,

Peter.

[JackoH]

I have the same machine. When I bought it , from Carbatec 3 or 4 years ago it was recomended that I use it on one machine at a time with a maximum of 3m. x 150ml duct. This I did. It is a bit of a fiddle hving to change from one machine to the other, but that said it does a good job. (The filter bag won't make much difference to the efficiency of the suction side of things.)

[Gumby]

I agree with Jack. I move mine around and only hook it up to one machine - mainly the jointer/thicknesser. The shorter the pipe, the better it works. Avoid bends and corners in it as well.

[peter]

Thanks for the response guys. I'll save my time and money and won't plumb up the workshop (garage) with ducting and I will move it from machine to machine. It's still going to be a big improvement on what I have now...... nothing!, just a lot of mess.

Cheers,

Peter.

[SWR]

Peter,

A different perspective for you...

Many years ago I purchased a Shing Phong Ping brand (read no label Taiwanese) 1 Hp dust extractor. It worked fine connected to a single machine with a 4 metre length of 4" flexible line. Problem was tha I just got sick of disconnecting and re-connecting to the gear I wanted to use.

So I connected up some 4" pvc plumbing pipes, adapters, corners, Y-Fittings etc. and I have never regretted it. I probably run 10 metres of rigid around the workshop and it has always given me good suction - even at the end of the run. I use the same 4 metre section of 4" flexible pipe as the inlet and instead of blast gates - I use the poly fittings with the screw on lid with an O-ring. a bit of normal pipe slips inside these fittings and when I want to change to another pickup point, I just disconnect from that port, screw the lid on and unscrew the next one.

Then I got sick of emptying the bags all of the time, especially when I fired up the thicknesser - so I made my own separator from a 60 litre plastic home brewing barrel. Still sucks like a beauty and no grief form sparks, static electricity etc.

In reality, I don't see a down side - apart from the cost of buying the poly pipe. Here's a tip - don't buy it from Bunnings....a little pricey...

Anyway below are some pictures to show you what I mean..


Cheers,


Scott in Peakhurst.

[peter]

Thanks Scott, I love the baseball bat...... if that for when things don't fit??? OK, looks like I might rethink my rethinking and have a go after all. If it doesn't work that well I can always go back to the direct approach.

Thanks again for the feedback.

Cheers,

Peter.

[JackoH]

Might even try that meself.

[echnidna]

My 1hp (underbench type) dusty is permanently ducted to outside as my shop is far too small to use a free standing unit. Works well. I use two 200 litre drop bins to collect the dust and chavings.
Pics in this thread http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=12754&highlight=workshop+pics

[SWR]

Nice work Bob....good to see another artisan who works in the medium of PVC!!!


Good functional shed pic's too...will get around to posting my shed photos one day....it will be titled "how to pack as much crap as I can fit into a 18' X 18' shed!!!"

Will be expanding my shed by placing a large-ish garden shed behind my existing shed. Will then get the dust extractor, compressors and all other noise and dust collecting thingys in there...freeing up valuable space and cutting down on noise...

'Tis a wonderful thing to tinker in ones shed...


Cheers,


Scott in Peakhurst.

[Wayne Davy]

Scott,

Nice work on the 4" ducting. I went for a 2hp DC and converted it to a cyclone then used 6" ducting through out the workshop. Makes a huge diff and, as you said, saves the time/pain of moving the DC around. The pic below is a bit old (changed the Table Saw now and ducted the new one):

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~waynedavy/images/Workshop/View%20To%20Cyclone%20and%20Tablesaw.JPG

[Wayne Davy]

In this shot, you can see the main 6" duct runs going to most of the machines.

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~waynedavy/images/Workshop/Looking_down_the_shop.JPG

[numbat]

Wayne,

Given that you cyclone is adjacent to your table saw - how noisy is the cyclone?

Cheers

[Wayne Davy]

Numbat,

The Cyclone is not noisy at all as the motor is an Induction one. You also get the air whooshing sound in the ducts but again nothing that bothers me (or SWMBO most importantly).