Thread: Outside DE in suburbia - acceptable for the neighbours?

You will need some noise suppression. Dust wise you should not need to do anything,

My DC enclosure is about 600 mm from the fence line and reduces the sound at the fence line to less than the neighbours pool pump.

Thanks Bob! I have some reading to do...

If you go the Clearview route you will definitely have to have some noise suppression. With my installation I had a reading of 98db before starting my noise abatement program which included boxing in the Clearview and building a muffler along the lines of the Corrimal mens' shed although I also boxed in the muffler with extra sound deadening material. All a fair bit of work but now the decibel reading is 72 which is quiter than most of my other machines. You will have no problems with dust from the exhaust at all.
The thing I like best about the Cearview is (apart from the great dust collecting) not having to clean filters or empty plastic bags which always seem a hassle to get back on properly.

http://mastslav.weebly.com

From posts on this forum it looks like the Clearview is louder than a conventional DC but because the sound is localised it's easier to control and reduce.
Conventional DCs are quieter to start with but harder to control.
For comparative purposes it is important that we all take sound pressure level (SPL) measurements the same distance from the sound source which is why I have been advocating measurements 1m away from the source and 1m above the ground. For the Clearvue the sounds produced higher above the ground which means it can travel further over obstacles that would normally scatter sounds lower to the ground.
The other measurement that matters is the noise at the fence line which is worth measuring.

Looks like a clearvue needs close attention to suppression...

Anyone out there who has listened to both who might be able to comment on if there is a noticeable difference in the frequency (pitch) of the sound? Should be easier to block high frequencies but they would likely be more annoying to the neighbours!

I have my DC cyclone (my own build based on BP design) outside the rear of the house, I have close neighbors both sides and none at the rear, the motor/blower assembly is enclosed in a freezer panel enclosure and I have a muffler on the outlet which is directed down at the ground and to the rear boundary, I also have trees and a shed on the side boundaries to help baffle any noise, if I walk around the corner of the house it's only cos I know it's on that I can hear it, if I walk inside once again I can hear it but only cos I know it's on, if the neighbors had a tv on they wouldn't hear it, this is a short vid of the dust falling into the bin, the camera is placed about 1m directly under the outlet https://youtu.be/1ICe2H5uAY0 the planer is the machine you can also hear which is about 3m away just inside the door. This is also pre VSD so is running at 50hz.

The only time I get any noticable dust is if I am machining some borer affected sapwood (already a fine powder) or using the thickness sander on a dusty species and there's no wind.

John Samuel is one who did some noise abatement work on his CV as well as other good threads by other forumites.



Pete

I have just had a chance to test the outside noise of the cyclone. After the muffler I have 2 metres of 9" flex hose outside the workshop. The exhaust measured 77db which surprised me because it does not seem that loud. The sound could best be described as a low rumble which to me does not sound very annoying. This is interesting to me because I have been thinking of moving the muffler outside to free up a bit of extra space in a rather cramped area, so if I do I will enclose the muffler in a mini shed along the lines of BobL's which will probably reduce the db's by another 10.

If I was doing it again I would put the whole thing outside

Originally Posted by safari

I have just had a chance to test the outside noise of the cyclone. After the muffler I have 2 metres of 9" flex hose outside the workshop. The exhaust measured 77db which surprised me because it does not seem that loud. The sound could best be described as a low rumble which to me does not sound very annoying. This is interesting to me because I have been thinking of moving the muffler outside to free up a bit of extra space in a rather cramped area, so if I do I will enclose the muffler in a mini shed along the lines of BobL's which will probably reduce the db's by another 10.

If I was doing it again I would put the whole thing outside

What you are getting is the multiple reflections off the inside of a building plusthe sound of air rushing into the inlets.
Try closing all the inlets and see what happens

AND

Just in case

77dB, Where? up the spout of the 9" ducting? 1/2m away, 10cm away ? etc
And make sure the SPL meter is not near any of the hissing inlets.

I advocate we all do our measurements the same way.
1m above the ground and 1 m away from the source.

The main reason for putting it outside id not the noise but the fine dust that still escapes from all DCs and cyclones. Even HEPA filters leak so getting the outlet outside

I've been reading a few build threads on the forum and the skill and hard work put into some systems is just brilliant.

It sure doesn't reflect well on the ready built options though!

And that's what found, when I started to do the research in to the process of dust and chip extraction. the units that a targeted for the domestic user are mainly mass produced with a standardised design, these units are cheep to make and have low performance, then these units have to be modified to increase the performance, like pleated filters, opening up the intake, opening the outlet an so on and so on. and in doing so, can increase the noise they produce. then you have to reduce the noise. but what produces the noise is it the design of the fan or the intake line or the shape of the outlet, the way the air flows in the system.

I looked at and researched the problems for a fixed domestic system, to me this Is ether a DC "Dust Collector" or a "Cyclone" system that is fixed in one position and has ducts or piping to the machines.

In ending read everything you can from as many places you can, visit cabinet making shops, car spraying shops, and industrial sites that make blowers and ask to listen to here units.

There doesn't seem to be much information on the forums about the bigger classical DEs - does anyone have a recommendation for 3-5hp units?

Ledacraft has an interesting looking unit:

http://www.ledamachinery.com.au/inde...tractor-detail

Shame it's not a smidge cheaper!

Another unit that seems like it add some extra power to a classical DE setup:

http://www.majorwoodworking.com.au/w...5-dust-unit-1/

Originally Posted by rtyuiop

Another unit that seems like it add some extra power to a classical DE setup:

http://www.majorwoodworking.com.au/w...5-dust-unit-1/

That machine uses either 4 x 100 mm inlets.
Each 100 mm inlet will be good in theory for around 420 CFM so at the most it can draw that way is ~1700 cfm.
In practice forming a junction of all 4 x100 mm inlets right on top of the impeller like that is going to result is significant turbulence so it will be lucky to make 1200 cfm.

The best thing that could be done is to throw the 4 x 100 mm inlets gizmo away un use the full 200 mm impeller inlet opening as a trunk line to which 6" ducting is added using Y junctions along the trunk line.
Whether it can make optimum use of the increased capacity will depend on the impeller itself.
And of course nothing is known about the fan curve so the whole thing could choke.
Double exit point impellers like that are not always as good at maintaining flow under significant back pressure.

Whatever the case the claimed 4500 cfm is just fanciful.

The description says it has a 255mm inlet, so I assume the 4 * 100mm ports are a supplied adaptor. I do wonder how much velocity it could maintain through a duct that big, though!