Thread: On my way to a clearvue

Dave,

Cyclones are noisy. When I upped the Hz from 50 to 60 I certainly noticed the additional noise. Nevertheless, I like the additional air flow, so it stayed at 60 Hz.

Many sparkies don't have much of a clue when it comes to VFD. Mine read the instructions to figure out how to wire it up. I figured I'd let the sparkie worry about the wiring and ignored it. That worked for me, except that I needed to switch over two wires to correct the DOR.

I wish you all the best. Hang tough. Once you get it done, your shop will be transformed.

Originally Posted by Dave.w

Thanks John, BobL is of the opinion that I don't need the cv max. I don't envisage using more than one machine at a time. How much quieter is a cvmax at 50 hz compared to a cv1800 at 60 hz? My only concern with venting outside is that in my case it will involve crawling around under the house and knocking holes in walls, both of which I hate. Finding a sparky familiar with this sort of stuff may be a challenge - The couple I've consulted so far didn't sound convincing and reading the vfd programming instructions made my head spin. All a bit daunting. Cheers Dave

The sparky problem can be overcome and Auto Blast Gates can supply a VFD and additional advice in setting it up. What we have done in the past is obtain the VFD, program it and advise on installing it. The icing on the cake is to use our automatic blast gates to control the cyclone, starting and stoping the extractor and all controlled by the machine you are using. In fact NCArcher a member here is our resident techie and was instrumental in helping me when I started Clearvue Oz, he advised and programmed the VFD's and this was the first time in the world that a Clearvue had been powered and controlled using a VFD. To this day the Americans don't see the advantage for some reason.

The Max has one advantage, a port can be left open all the time and it will still have the capacity to support another port when a machine is started. Doing this ensures that the air in the workshop is scrubbed to some extent reducing the floating dust that other operations such as sanding etc will cause. Me, I would advise a Max for that single reason but I would never say buy a Max instead of an 1800. My 1800 was one of the first into the country because the arrival of inexpensive VFD's suddenly made importing Clearvues feasible. It was only after I had experience with it that I was prepared to become the agent here and introduce to the WW community because before that it was known about but 110/220 volt operation made it unfeasible to import.

Contact me via the ABG link in my signature or a PM if you want to investigate any of the above further.

I reckon dedicated general exhaust fans that are much quieter and use much less power are a better way to go than using a 2+kW DC to scrub shed air.

Originally Posted by BobL

I reckon dedicated general exhaust fans that are much quieter and use much less power are a better way to go than using a 2+kW DC to scrub shed air.

That is not always possible unfortunately and adds more complexity to the job. A lot od workshops are part of the house being part of a multicar garage and the idea of punching hole(s) in a structure like that does not always appeal especially to a non involved partner who likes her house just the way it is. I had a couple of customers who simply had no choice, both commercial in rented premises and they had to go to all sorts of trouble to even vent the cyclone.

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

That is not always possible unfortunately and adds more complexity to the job. A lot od workshops are part of the house being part of a multicar garage and the idea of punching hole(s) in a structure like that does not always appeal especially to a non involved partner who likes her house just the way it is. I had a couple of customers who simply had no choice, both commercial in rented premises and they had to go to all sorts of trouble to even vent the cyclone.

Yeah I get that. My bother's 4 car bay basement garage (2 bays of which are used for a mechanical workshop where he tunes motorcycles) is underground and he needed ventilation though the basement ceiling and ground floor slab and then through the ground floor walls to vent exhaust fumes. He ended up getting 2 x150mm holes bored - a fair bit of mucking about compared to installing a couple of bathroom fans in a stand alone shed.

I looked at using dc's for chip collection and exhaust fans to clear fine dust but the cost of installing enough / big enough fans in brick walls would be nearly the cost of a cyclone. I think when I install cyclone i will still have a smaller exhaust fan installed to get any stray fine dust after I've left the workshop to stop it hanging around or finding it's way into the house. I've also considered the large extractor fans with attached 10 inch hoses avilable from tool shops which could be put in a doorway. They claim large air movement capacities which I don't believe but even if you add a bs factor they should still shift some air any thoughts? Agree that wives don't seem too keen on holes in walls wherever they are.

Originally Posted by Dave.w

. . . . . I've also considered the large extractor fans with attached 10 inch hoses avilable from tool shops which could be put in a doorway. They claim large air movement capacities which I don't believe but even if you add a bs factor they should still shift some air any thoughts? Agree that wives don't seem too keen on holes in walls wherever they are.

I used to think that using fans in shed doorway to vent ways didn't work all that well as this just creates a negative pressure inside the shed and the make up air has to come from somewhere and that is usually from nearby around the fan, which means the fine dust being extracted just drifts back into the shed with the make up air.

However after observing a couple of examples clearly showing that it does work (albeit slowly) I'm prepared to advocate using this method for DIY operations with the following proviso.

Ideally the make up air should come from vents on the other side of the shed but if that is not possible then locating the fan or exits ducting near the top of the doorway .
This is because the dust and air inside a shed is usually warmer than air outside a shed so as it exits the exhausted air and fine dust should rise and cleaner air should come into the shed from near the ground.

The other is, the prevailing winds should not be blowing directly into the doorway. Across or away from the doorway is fine.

If the fan is run long enough it will clear remnant fine shed dust faster than it can settle.

Interestingly I very tentatively asked SWMBO if I could vent my 3D printer enclosure from my study onto the front veranda. The requirement would be to puncture a 100mm hole halfway up and through the study wall onto front veranda, BUT right next to where she likes to sit to have her morning coffee. "Sure Hun, no problems, just keep it tidy!" I was shocked. "And while you are at it maybe fix the crack under the (nearby) window". I will have to judiciously select times to vent smelly printer fumes.

To prevent ugly wall penentrations for dust extraction I have in the past suggested going through the roof and ceilings but I think for the trouble a removeable exhaust installed as temporary measure through a window or doorway can be the answer. The ducting is installed allowing a prefabricated piece to be added through a door or window. The only proviso would be to minimise the length and any bends because pushing air is very hard and restrictive. I also think that the exhaust air flow can be regarded as the true capacity of the total system after all the losses have occurred.