Are cheap cyclones any good?

[Simon89]

I have been tempted by the cheap cyclones on eBay for <£15 to use inline with my trusty Henry.

the question is are they any good?

also what would you recommend for a good value bin to mount the cyclone on?

thanks

 

[DBT85]

I've seen enough youtube vids to suggest that yes they are, even if they are just knockoffs of the dust deputy, there is more limited choice when you want one capable of running on a HVLP extractor though. Some people make a bin for themselves, the oddly popular one at the moment is to use some blue barrel you can get and add a reinforcing ring to stop it collapsing. Some are even sold with said barrel.

Since they are running on HPLV vacs, seperation of the ultra fine particles is less of a worry as the vacs tend to be good at that anyway, so just seperation of the bulk of material is enough to save you emptying the Henry or camvac on a regular basis. Standard rules apply though, try and limit hard bends and pipe lengths where possible though it does cause less issue than with a big extractor.

 

[Dr Al]

Absolutely brilliant as far as I'm concerned. Mine was a bit more expensive than that: I paid £18.80 for this one, although it seems to have gone up now. I run it with a Nilfisk vacuum cleaner and 50 mm pipe and it easily copes with the chips produced by my thicknesser.

As for a good value bin, make your own: Compact chip extractor for lunchbox thicknesser

 

[Inspector]

You can make a variation that drops the chips directly into a contractors trash bag (3mil here) a la Dust Deputy Bagger. I made my own version on a cart with a different cyclone brand. Lets you collect 60 or more litres in the bag.



Pete

 

[Rorschach]

You can make a variation that drops the chips directly into a contractors trash bag (3mil here) a la Dust Deputy Bagger. I made my own version on a cart with a different cyclone brand. Lets you collect 60 or more litres in the bag.



Pete

That looks a great idea if you have the space to mount it.

 

[Sachakins]

Been using a cheap òne for a while with an aldi ash vac. Been brilliant, saves 8ne clogging the filter by about 95 %.
I've just added Bill Pentz neutral vane update, just extending inlet with pipe further into cyclone. It improves the cyclone, causing the bits to swirl down better, further reducing dust getting into filter.( Dust Collection Research - Cyclone Modifications )
Using 50mm mm, clear copper coiled PU pipe from Dust Spares, no problem at all.

 

[Distinterior]

I use a Dust Commander DLX ESD cyclone. It is a bit more money than the cyclones mentioned above but it is Anti Static and electrically conductive.The majority of what I cut up are manmade materials and they tend to produce far more static than natural materials, hence the A/S requirement.

Worth bearing in mind, depending on which materials you're going to be working with.

It does work very well.

 

[Richard_C]

I've just set one up. As a trial I used a translucent plastic tub that my fat balls came in (the sort for birds), bit of ply to stiffen the lid. Works a treat, so will get something bigger soon. Trade off though, smaller = more frequent emptying = easier to empty so might stick with it for a while. I put half a brick in it, it was too light to stay put when you move the sucky end.

The vac is a very old vax shop style which has 3 filters - used to have a wet and dry insert as well - I use it without a bag. I made it semi-cyclonic a while back when I noticed that the tube sticks in to the bin by about 2 cm and you could push the 120 degree drain pipe bend left over from a kitchen refit onto it. Aim the bend down a bit and spins nicely so the heavy stuff never gets to the filter.

I don't think my new cyclone stops very fine dust getting through but it certainly helps and reduces the number of times I have to remove the first filter in the vac to clear it. And, if you are having a stand and think moment in the workshop you can watch the shavings go round and round and round and ...

(I'm a keen diy'er, in good weather I do as much as I can outdoors. I would invest in better kit if I were doing more)

 

[julianf]

Ive got one of the generic black ones off ebay, connected to a henry.

Its superb. I suck up everything from sawdust to wet mortar with it.

Be aware that most drums will just cave without support.

 

[Doug B]

Made this one 3 years ago bought the cyclone off eBay it works as well as my Oneida dust deputy.

 

[paulrbarnard]

Had one for Christmas. Works a treat.

 

[John Brown]

I also have a cheap one from eBay(China). I use it with an Earlex shop vac, and it's mounted on a plastic tub that contained bulk tennis balls. It falls over a lot, and I'm thinking of making a lower, wider container, as I'd like to get the whole shebang on casters, but low enough to go under a bench.
But I'm only a hobbiest. I don't have a PT, for example, so more dust than shavings.

 

[robgul]

Another positive comment - mine was about £15 - mounted on a box made of OSB, with a lid fitted with draught excluder and toggle clips - powered by a Henry (never have to empty the Henry bag - all gets caught in the box)

 

[Simon89]

SOLD

thanks

 

[Britman]

I can confirm the cheap ones do work rather well.

 

[Selwyn]

Getting a cheap 100mm one is difficult

 

[heimlaga]

Getting a cheap 100mm one is difficult

100mm cyklones are easy and cheap to get off old hammer mills used in the past by farmers to grind grain for animal fodder.

However as I see it the main problem with many cheap cyklones is that the shape of the air inlet and the lack of a ramp inside. This causes the air current to be less maminary as it spins reducing the efficiency of separation.

 

[bp122]

Made this one 3 years ago bought the cyclone off eBay it works as well as my Oneida dust deputy.

View attachment 103319

Neat.
May I ask where you got the drum from?

 

[John Brown]

Maminary?

 

[Simon89]

This would look nice connected to my Henry

Ultra High Efficiency Cyclone separator - Dust extractor | eBay