Thread: DC Hose

My suggestion is to reduce it to the size of a vacuum cleaner's hose and use that (together with the Sturdee mini cyclone of course ) as that is what your overhead guard is designed for.


Peter.

Originally Posted by Sturdee

My suggestion is to reduce it to the size of a vacuum cleaner's hose and use that (together with the Sturdee mini cyclone of course ) as that is what your overhead guard is designed for.


Peter.

Thanks Peter, but the saw was actually supplied with the fitting you see, which takes 65mm hose which then connects to another 65mm branch off the 100mm fitting at the back. (Will put a picture up later). So the manufacturer definitely designed the guard to take 65mm hose.
As I don't want to run a 65mm down from the guard to the back of the machine, I have decide to run it to a DC duct branch overhead.

The other issue is of course that of noise, I don't really want to run my Shopvac as well as the dust if I don't have to. I do with the router table at the moment and don't particularly like it (interferes something chronic with my enjoyment of music!)

Peter, as you can see from these pictures, the 65mm fitting on the blade guard is designed to be connected to the DC connection on the back of the saw.

At the moment I have a very expensive "blanking" fitting

Fred, looking at the pictures I can see the connection for attaching a 65mm hose from your 100mm hose connection at the base of your TS. However IMO that system will not work satisfactorily and will pickup minimal dust.

A 2hp DC unit is designed for high volume and low pressure to move the dust away, hence a minimum of 100mm ducting is required (and preferable 150mm) but a vacuum cleaner is designed for small volumes and high pressure to move the finer dust along.

Hence if a DC duct is reduced to 65mm the suction is reduced as well and because the connection to your TS is a right angled opening to your main line the suction to that arm is further reduced as the main suction flows in line. IMO it is not worth having.

However if it is connected to a vac it works fantastic. I have adapted my overhead guard to connect to a vac and it works well.

I have noted your comments in another thread that you cannot place your DC outside but I suggest that you explore if you have room in a corner of your shed to build a partitioned of area (or a large cupboard) vented to the outside for your DC and a vac and mini cyclone thus reducing the noise. That will also overcome having to breathe in the very fine dust that your DC doesn't filter out.


Peter.

Originally Posted by Sturdee

A 2hp DC unit is designed for high volume and low pressure to move the dust away, hence a minimum of 100mm ducting is required (and preferable 150mm) but a vacuum cleaner is designed for small volumes and high pressure to move the finer dust along.

Hence if a DC duct is reduced to 65mm the suction is reduced as well and because the connection to your TS is a right angled opening to your main line the suction to that arm is further reduced as the main suction flows in line. IMO it is not worth having.

However if it is connected to a vac it works fantastic. I have adapted my overhead guard to connect to a vac and it works well.

Peter, I won't be using the right angle 65mm dust port, I agree it isn't a very good design. I will be connecting a 65mm hose from the DC duct running overhead direct to the blade guard. In fact it will be the first branch off the o/head duct after the DC.. I have tried this with my current 1hp DC and the length of 65mm hose I already have for the Incra Wonderfence and it works OK, apart from the hose not being flexible enough and obstructing the guard's movement to some extent. Hence my question re more flexible hose!

Originally Posted by Sturdee

I have noted your comments in another thread that you cannot place your DC outside but I suggest that you explore if you have room in a corner of your shed to build a partitioned of area (or a large cupboard) vented to the outside for your DC and a vac and mini cyclone thus reducing the noise. That will also overcome having to breathe in the very fine dust that your DC doesn't filter out.


Peter.

Yes, I agree, the DC will be housed in an enclosure. I will also be getting the "1micron" pleated filter cartridge with the new DC, so filtration is taken care of. I do use the Shopvac on the router in the router table, not sure what rating that filter cartridge is.
Haven't built a mini-cyclone for that yet, but is on the "todo" list!

Thanks for your input Peter, it is very much appreciated.

There are industrial supplies places that sell various diameters of flexduct (flexiduct? .. not sure of the spelling). I bought some 8" at a place near the CBD ... Fitzroy perhaps. Sorry I can't be more specific Fred.

Interesting, all this 'dustys will not pull through small pipe like a vac cleaner' stuff.

I understand why and all, but all the same it seems crazy to run a vac and a dusty for the TS and Router Table.

What about creating a venturi fitting for the dusty? I'm not sure what sort of flow is possible, but the high flowrate of the dusty running across the restriction of a tube in it's path would create suction in that tube.

See picture:

woodbe.

Originally Posted by Big Shed

Hence my question re more flexible hose!

In that case, if all local supplies fail, they are available in the UK according to the english woodworking magazines that I read as they have a 65mm vacuum type system.


Peter.

Originally Posted by Big Shed

Yes, I agree, the DC will be housed in an enclosure. I will also be getting the "1micron" pleated filter cartridge with the new DC, so filtration is taken care of.

If the DC is housed in a fully sealed enclosure and adequately vented to the outside I would use an ordinary 2 bag system and make that the basis of an cyclone in due course. As you won't be breathing in any dust I think the filter cartridge is not necessary and an unneccessary expense.

The only advantage of a filter cartidge is if its placed in the workshop itself and then it will still let the really fine dust through to get into your lungs.


Peter.

Originally Posted by woodbe

Interesting, all this 'dustys will not pull through small pipe like a vac cleaner' stuff.

I understand why and all, but all the same it seems crazy to run a vac and a dusty for the TS and Router Table.

woodbe.

It does seem a bit crazy but the two systems do different things and the two together work the best on a TS and router.

Don't forget that a DC and a shopvac are still only part of an effective dust control system where you would also use a room air filter.


Peter.

Peter, yes eventually the DC will be housed in an enclosure, however in the meantime it will be sitting in my shed and the small extra cost for the filter cartridge is well warranted to protect those precious lungs in the meantime.

The other point I'd like to make about filter cartridges, is that everything I have read about them says that they don't restrict the DC airflow nearly as quickly as the bags, nor do they clog up as quickly.

Running a Shopvac in the workshop would also return small particle dust to the workshop. I don't know to what particle size they filter down.

No matter how efficient we try to make our dust collection system, there is always going to be fine dust floating around in the workshop.

To this end I am considering putting in one of thos air filtration units that hang from the ceiling, but I'll try to crawl before I walk.

In the mean time I am still searching for 65mm flexible hose!.

Oh BTW, did a test this arvo running the Shopvac on the saw guard and also the 65mm hose from the DC, couldn't really say that the Shopvac was any more efficient then the 65mm, neither collected all the saw dust, there was still some on the table.

I don't know about other saws, but I find one of the worst offenders for letting dust out is the opening for the tilt mechanism on the front of the saw. I am hoping that upgrading to a more powerful DC will overcome that to some extent.

The search for perfection is never ending

Originally Posted by Big Shed

I don't know about other saws, but I find one of the worst offenders for letting dust out is the opening for the tilt mechanism on the front of the saw. I am hoping that upgrading to a more powerful DC will overcome that to some extent.

Fred,

I use a couple of larger sized plastic fridge magnets to cover that, and other small, openings on the TS. Easy to remove when I have to tilt the blade and then replace again.


Peter.

Originally Posted by Sturdee

Fred,

I use a couple of larger sized plastic fridge magnets to cover that, and other small, openings on the TS. Easy to remove when I have to tilt the blade and then replace again.


Peter.

Peter, there is no doubt about you, you are very inventive!!

I had been thinking along the lines of getting some of that brush stuff you see along mudguards on trucks, but that is a much simpler idea.

All that remains is to find some fridge magnets that aren't too corny

80mm diam too big?

http://www.flexibleducting.com.au/