Thread: Dust extraction setup - targetted advice

Originally Posted by TJC

Thoughts? Suggestions? Any serious flaws in this setup? Your comments are seriously appreciated.

What tools are you using?

I had a look at those air purifiers on epay.
To start with if they only consume 4W - there is no way they will ever push enough air through their filters to make any real impact on dust in a ww environment. Minimum would have to be about 1/2 HP or 375 Watts otherwise the dust is going to fall out of the air before it is captured.

In terms of purifying air and removing dust those devices are in fact a complete con - read this to find out more.

BTW 70% still leaves 30% behind. Proper HEPA filters are 99.7%, 99.97% or 99.997 or 99.999% at 0.3 microns.

The cheapest alternative is still to vent everything outside but you will need at least 600 cfm (real, not pretend) to move enough air around the place to filter it. Vacuum cleaners and cheap air cleaners are simply not going to do it

Thanks for the reply Bob.

I've got the standard array of power tools... circular saw, mitre saw, band saw, a couple of sanders, plus I'm picking up a table saw in a couple of weeks. I don't do any turning (not yet, at any rate).

I've been working outside up until now, but that can't go on forever. I'm more than happy to used unpowered tools wherever possible to minimise airborn dust in the short term, but sometimes (often) that isn't feasible.

Regarding the cyclone: I should be getting my hands on a 1500w Shopvac, which I understand should be sufficient for my purposes. Again, am I kidding myself?

id look at a real dust collector with a pleated filter

Originally Posted by TJC

Regarding the cyclone: I should be getting my hands on a 1500w Shopvac, which I understand should be sufficient for my purposes. Again, am I kidding myself?

I personally dislike vacuum cleaners for dust control as they don't have enough airflow, and they are way too noisy. Don't forget to clear the air after using a dust making activity like sanding or a power tool you have to keep the air flow going for a reasonable while at least 10 minutes preferably 20 after you finish, leaving a shop vac running for that long would drive me nuts. A DC is noisy enough which is why I have mine outside.

Originally Posted by mac_man_luke

id look at a real dust collector with a pleated filter

this will be more expensive in the long run as you will have to do it right after you find that this doesn't work.

If it is your family pool room then you need to do it right, or you will stir up the dust every time you open the door
When the pleated filter is clean it lets all the small dust through, and when it is clogged up it kills the airflow.
I know, i tried it for a while.
A shopvac has high suction but low volume, so it just won't do the job.
I know, i tried it for a while.
I made a cyclone to Bill Pentz's design (only because buying one was not an option), and am still sorting through the issues, but it is miles ahead of the crap that Carba-tec and the rest rip us off with.
Hey, don't get me wrong, i have lots of GOOD carbatec stuff, but they are very backwards when it comes to fine wood dust.

Thanks all for the replies!

So... the purifier I mentioned is rubbish; I kind of expected that, for the price tag.

I'm still leaning towards a shopvac-driven cyclone, as a means of catching the bulk of the rubbish. For the amount of power-cutting I'm likely to be doing, a 20L drum and a 30L vac should give me ample collection space (fingers crossed).

That still leaves me with the issue of the small-but-deadly stuff. It seems to me that there is no way of preventing this from getting into the air; no amount of dust-port extraction is going to catch everything, and the cyclone won't catch the really small particles, meaning they'll get vented. Then again, they'll be vented anyway, with or without the cyclone, so I may as well build one to catch everything else.

Assuming this is all correct (and please let me know if I'm off base), then I may as well simply set up two or three big fans at the back of my workshop, and when I'm done, open up the roller door and turn on the fans. Seems to me that'll force the small airborne stuff out of the workspace and into the open air, where it will cease to be a problem.

So long as I wear a respirator while working, and ensure that anyone else coming in does the same, that should do the trick.

Or have I got this all wrong?

TJC
See Stuarts posts/blogs/videos about his dust collector/air cleaner set up might give you a few clues

Originally Posted by TJC

. . . . then I may as well simply set up two or three big fans at the back of my workshop, and when I'm done, open up the roller door and turn on the fans. Seems to me that'll force the small airborne stuff out of the workspace and into the open air, where it will cease to be a problem.

I wouldn't wait until after your done - you really need to do that while you are doing the ww.

Originally Posted by BobL

I wouldn't wait until after your done - you really need to do that while you are doing the ww.

You make an excellent point.

Pheonix, I'll be sure to check them out.