Thread: Ducting FAQ - suggestions for content

A theory section should chew up plenty of your time.

Eg calculations as to why use 6 inch vs 4 inch piping, flow losses between using ridgid vs flexy piping etc.

Or calculating performance methodology. I know you've done extensive posts on this in the past but would be nice to have it in a sticky or similar.

I’d prefer to keep theory out of it as much as possible. Just practical recommendations with lots of examples. Of course Members can post follow up questions in the thread asking “why” if they wish.

Like. And like the practical focus. There's a lot of info here, but it can be hard to get at or distill the wisdom out of lengthy threads and discussion.
Rough pricing would be useful too. Clearvue system vs non-cyclone, PVC vs galvanised, automated gates etc - may be a bit too much work though

Originally Posted by Bernmc

Like. And like the practical focus. There's a lot of info here, but it can be hard to get at or distill the wisdom out of lengthy threads and discussion.
Rough pricing would be useful too. Clearvue system vs non-cyclone, PVC vs galvanised, automated gates etc - may be a bit too much work though

That's why I was going to restrict it to "ducting only", no DC/Cyclones/ventilation/enclosure/noise/ or discussion about one dust or dust types.

Fantastic idea Bob. Something practical and easy to work through, with a minimum of “geek speak” would be pure gold. Perhaps a section on Sources of Supply and what to ask for when you get there? I’m just embarking on my own journey with this, so would really appreciate the capture/distillation of your considerable knowledge.

No rush - anytime before the end of the week would be great!

Seriously though, this will be a great addition for the community.

Grant

Maybe touch upon the different fitting radii possible with each type of material.
The pros and cons of blast gate placement. IE: At the machine or high by the main trunk.
Efficiency pros and cons of each material type. PVC, spiral, stamped and welded (Norfab type).
Static spark explosion myth in small systems. How to ground if they don't want nuisance shocks.
When to use a pair of 45º fittings verses a 90º fitting. IE: For elevation changes along the line and not a drop to the floor.
Pros and cons of ducts run along the floor, midway along the wall or high along the wall or ceiling. Running around the perimeter or diagonally across the shop.
I'll come back if something else comes to mind.

And thanks for taking this on.
Pete

Bob, your contribution would be a godsend. From my viewpoint, the selection and marriage of rigid ducting, flexible hoses and the plethora of sizes of outlets on popular machines is quite confusing. Nominal sizes versus actuals, i.d. and o.d., what fits what, and most importantly where's the best place to buy it. The plumbing and electrical wholesalers are great at selling components of one type all of which fit each other. Throwing questions about the fit to flexi hoses results in blank looks.

mick

I think the proposed FAQ already has too many topics. Rather than add even more I think it would make the information more accessible to split it into maybe three separate FAQS that each have a more restricted scope. For example, trade sizes of the various duct materials seems to me to merit a FAQ on it's own.

A forum is really not a good vehicle for storing reference information. It takes good search engine skills to find things that way. FAQs help but without an index the linear organization still makes retrieval tedious. For me at least it's best if the forum topic defines the entire scope of the content. "Ducting FAQ" does not limit or describe the scope enough to be useful, it's still necessary to scroll through the whole thing to find out what's covered. I don't have the patience for that and I suspect many others don't either.

So maybe:

"Ducting materials and trade size actual dimensions FAQ"
"Duct fittings and Blast Gate FAQ"
"Duct layout and implementation FAQ"

Or something like that.

start with what you have listed, your knowledge on this topic is always inspiring,

39 days to go, you havent a hope of finishing the list you have and if you do as you tap into one subject others will jump out and you will need to continue.

Thanks for the input folks, much appreciated To help especially newbies find this info I was going to get the thread up as a sticky.

In term of the relevance I was going to focus only on DIY Australian conditions which also helps reduce the content.

As far as blast gates go I agree that’s a whole “thing“ of its own so all I was planning to do there was discuss placement.

The tricky bit for me will be keeping it as short as possible and leaving out the theory.

I have already drafted the materials bit in less than half a page.

Unlike other forum posts what I write will also not be cast in stone. As I have mod status I can edit this post indefinitely so if members can convince me to add or modify something I might just do that

Originally Posted by BobL

...I have mod status I can edit this post indefinitely...

Good the hear that, it should be a big help in keeping the material organized.

It also offers another possible arrangement that would otherwise be difficult to administer: Use the sticky thread like an index or TOC and only have very short descriptions linking to individual threads, not stickied, containing the FAQs. It avoids the annoyance of a long list of stickies and provides a bit more information about the content than just what fits in the post title.

...The tricky bit for me will be keeping it as short as possible and leaving out the theory...

Put the theory in it's own thread and link to it for those who are interested.

Originally Posted by dmorse

Good the hear that, it should be a big help in keeping the material organized.

It also offers another possible arrangement that would otherwise be difficult to administer: Use the sticky thread like an index or TOC and only have very short descriptions linking to individual threads, not stickied, containing the FAQs. It avoids the annoyance of a long list of stickies and provides a bit more information about the content than just what fits in the post title.

I agree about the negative side of having a long list of stickies - I might just post it in the existing "Practical" Sticky.
I like the idea of the top Sticky as TOC and we have done this before (not in the dust forum) and it sort of fell out of flavour because it was not updated enough.
Will definitely have a think about it.

Put the theory in it's own thread and link to it for those who are interested.

There is already a Sticky for theory might just put it in there.

How about "why you really need to get onto this" (like NOW). I bought some 100m poly and 45 degree bends, then read so much about why that was a bad idea, that I went "stuff it" and my dust remains all over the floor. There's stuff everyone, I dream of a new shed one day. Too hard.

Originally Posted by lyricnz

How about "why you really need to get onto this" (like NOW). I bought some 100m poly and 45 degree bends, then read so much about why that was a bad idea, that I went "stuff it" and my dust remains all over the floor. There's stuff everyone, I dream of a new shed one day. Too hard.

Yeah a very important point but this is a MASSIVE can of worms.
If you need this information now, grab a coffee and set aside an hour and read and reread this.
Dust Collection Research - Beginner's Corner

Like I said above BPs stuff is hard to read but I don't think its rocket science to establish that wood dust is not good for you.

Here are a couple of generic points that might convince a few people.
- Wood Dust was added to the list of chemicals known to produce cancer in the; REPORT ON CANCER U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service
National Toxicology Program, in 2002.
- All fine particles (smaller than 2.5 microns) including natural materials like soils, plant matter, bushfire smoke, rock; and manmade dusts like motor vehicles exhausts, dust from construction etc have determined since 2017 to be the 5th leading causes of death in the world. Dust is known to cause more than just respiratory problems but contributes significantly to exacerbating for example cardiovascular conditions. If you have an subclinical level health condition (ie one that you do not know about), dust can trigger this into requiring treatment.
- A much more likely scenario of being exposed to wood dust is for woodworkers to develop an allergy to wood, the allergy can be so bad that woodworkers may have to stop wood working.
- Risk is considered to be proportional to "exposure x concentration" but increasing short-term high-level exposures are though to be significant in triggering other health conditions.
Persons with many known health issues, Seniors and kids require even greater protection from dust in general.
That will do for now.

Going back to your circumstances, almost any dust extraction is better than none.
The best thing that can be done with any system is to make sure it exhausts outside the workspace.
Then use the biggest DC and ducting you can afford
Don't forget natural and forced ventilation - opening doors and windows strategically, and setting up a couple of bathroom exhaust fans are better than nothing, especially for the occasional wood worker.

I got the fright of my life when I lost my sense of smell for 6 weeks about 20 years ago from working with MDF outside. Most food also tasted weird and worst of all beer tasted like sewage (yes I have tasted sewage!)