Thread: Wheelie Bin Dust Separator

Originally Posted by BobL

At the mens shed I used to go to their usually overly full Clearvue wheelie bin sawdust receptacle would be emptied into their community veggie garden but my observation was that unless it is well mixed with soil, fine sawdust was a poor mulching material as it tended to compact and bind as a layer on the surface when it got wet and reduced water penetration. Also, Just adding it to soil without added nitrogen did not help plant growth.

Another factor to consider if the bins aware decided to be used as separators is their squarish cross section shape. I know the OP simply had an inlet and outlet in the lid but that would have 1) provided very poor separation and 2) been highly resistant to flow leaving most of the fine dust back in the shed. The former issue, 1) might have been improved by using a curved flow entry path eg a Thein type setup BUT the squarish cross section would interfere with the air rotation, cause great turbulence and been even more restrictive to flow.

Thanks for input
I've used this for mulch for years and hadn't seen it compact.
But I'd mainly have buzzer/thickneser shavings (not helical).
Oh and plenty of bark from the gum trees.

Hadn't thought square vs round! Oh!
One thing I can at least try it out.
Edit: now you've got me thinking might just use one of the 200l blue plastic drums the teat spray comes in.
Put wheels on and find other use for lidless wheelie bin

Originally Posted by BobL

Another factor to consider if the bins aware decided to be used as separators is their squarish cross section shape. I know the OP simply had an inlet and outlet in the lid but that would have 1) provided very poor separation and 2) been highly resistant to flow leaving most of the fine dust back in the shed. The former issue, 1) might have been improved by using a curved flow entry path eg a Thein type setup BUT the squarish cross section would interfere with the air rotation, cause great turbulence and been even more restrictive to flow.

Bob as you know I came across some papers on square and hexagonal cyclones. Some of the papers say in a nutshell that while the resistance to flow is higher the separation of small/fine particles improves due to vortexes in the corners. I think much the same as the swirls formed behind boulders in a stream drop silt where the mainstream carries them along. Could the increased turbulence in the corners of the wheelie bin help with some separation at least until the bin volume decreases?

Pete

Originally Posted by QC Inspector

Bob as you know I came across some papers on square and hexagonal cyclones. Some of the papers say in a nutshell that while the resistance to flow is higher the separation of small/fine particles improves due to vortexes in the corners. I think much the same as the swirls formed behind boulders in a stream drop silt where the mainstream carries them along. Could the increased turbulence in the corners of the wheelie bin help with some separation at least until the bin volume decreases?

Pete

I've decided to give it a crack.
Put a lid on it and play with in/outlets and hook it upto my Dawn blower.
It might be too powerful and just clean the bin out.
Waiting on parts for my thicknesser so won't be making serious shavings for a while

Originally Posted by QC Inspector

Bob as you know I came across some papers on square and hexagonal cyclones. Some of the papers say in a nutshell that while the resistance to flow is higher the separation of small/fine particles improves due to vortexes in the corners. I think much the same as the swirls formed behind boulders in a stream drop silt where the mainstream carries them along. Could the increased turbulence in the corners of the wheelie bin help with some separation at least until the bin volume decreases?

Pete

I'm not sure, but given the OP's not using it as cyclone ie no side entry and no "conification", there's unlikely to be any cyclonic action. The main issue with not using it, is separators restricting flow and hence not collecting the maximum amount of air/dust back in the workshop.

I've used this for mulch for years and hadn't seen it compact.
But I'd mainly have buzzer/thickneser shavings (not helical).
Oh and plenty of bark from the gum trees.

Shavings and bark are great mulch starters. The stuff I was referring to had a fair bit of sanding dust in it. I know that stables won't take sawdust that has a too much sanding dust in it as it combines with horse pee to make a horrible mud.