Dust and chips

[marcros]

I need to sort out some dust/chip extraction/collection.

I would prefer one machine to do all if possible.

I have a planer thicknesser and a thicknesser which will need chips collecting and table saw and bandsaw which produce dust. I don't mind swapping a hose and ducting runs would be minimal. Everything has a 4" outlet.

That is the background. My idea is to use a 1hp bag collector and a drop box. I would replace the lower cloth bag with a small plastic one- it should only have a handful of dust in, in theory. And replace the upper one with a smaller cloth one to save space- ideally as fine as possible because this acts as the filter, I believe.

Does this sound like it would work?

The alternative is a 4" outletted vacuum type extractor but I think that may struggle with the chips and it will be noisy.

 

[yetloh]

Several years ago I took the very expensive option of the American Oneida Dust Gorilla system and have not regretted it for a minute. My rationale was that it was ridiculous to spend substantial amounts of money on high quality producers of chips and dust and then fail to spend what it takes to do at least as good a job on collecting this waste. Chips are easy, but dust is not and is what will ruin the only pair of lungs you are going to have, so really effective filtration is vital. My fully plumbed in system cost me more that any other machine in the workshop but what value can you put on your lungs? I hear there are now much cheaper cyclone options but I would urge you to do the research not to skimp on the problem with makeshift a solution which will fail to deal with the really fine and most dangerous stuff.

Jim

 

[No skills]

Probably some of the best advice right there.

My own solution to this up coming problem will be a 4" record vacuum extractor with a cyclone or thien on a bin of some sort. Extractor sat in an insulated box for sound reduction (with baffles to allow air movement) and keep the pipe work rigid/smooth and as short as possible.

I'll also have an air filter running. If that lot doesn't cut it I'll have to use a half mask while machining and until the workshop air is cleared/vented outside.

I am currently hobby worker at home, your needs may be vastly different.

 

[wallace]

One thing I would suggest is to have a bigger blower, 1hp is not going to move much air. Also one option is to vent the exhaust outside which will do away with the need for a very fine last stage.

 

[marcros]

Ideally I wanted 2HP, but I think it would draw too much power. I need to sort the power out in there, but it is a bigger job than just a quick fix. I was hoping that with pipe runs of a metre or so that 1HP would move enough.

 

[beech1948]

marcos,

DC is definitely a power game.

1hp will not move enough air to be effective. You need to start at about 2000 m3 p/hr and go up from there. 3500m3 p/hr is probably about the most you would put into a double garage as its a bit OTT.

The volume of air moved by a 1hp motor will be insufficient to handle chips and dust.

Keeping the DC pipe runs short will help a little. Blast gates at each termination and close to the machine will help a lot.

As an example I bought a used 3hp bagged DC device and added a Thein separator and converted the top bag to a filter drum. I still made an overhead air filter with a huge filter surface and a 1hp motor.

I consider those 1hp bagged gadgets to be just about useless except at redistributing the dust to workshop atmosphere.

I would not do this again.

If starting from scratch I would still buy the used 3hp DC and the top filter but I would replace the Thein with a cyclone from Cyclone Central.

Al

 

[marcros]

thank you. i will forget the 1HP unit then.

My plan with whatever unit I use is to have a single hose/outlet and just switch it between machines when needed and it wont take long to do.

 

[beech1948]

marcos,

I just re-read my earlier message. It sounds a bit like Atilla the Hun chastising his troops.....so if I came across like that.....sorry.

I get a bit ranting because the sellers of 1hp bagged units have no clue what they are selling or failing to deliver or even what the problem is.

I think you have a few choices such as finding a used 2 to 3hp bagged device. I would try to install the Thein device into the middle section between upper and lower bags. I would need to do something about the upper bag such as replace with as a minimum a bag able to filter down to 1 micron. Your overall target however, is to try to get down to 0.3 micron dust. The 1 micron bag will help a lot and even when fully coated with dust go down to 0.5 micron in places.

The real issues here are that the sellers of bagged devices keep the messages confusing by quoting liters/min, cu ft per hr, etc etc etc and never even measure micron size of particles. They are only interested in £ return per advertising budget.

Al

 

[marcros]

back onto this project again.

I have seen, at reasonable cost a Camvac, with 2 x 1100W motors on it and a 4" inlet. I plan a short flexible pipe run to a single machine, but may have fixed ducting when I rebuild my workshop. Would this setup work for chips and dust- the machine filters down to 0.5M which appears to be reasonably good? I would wear a mask in any case. I know that it will be noisy, and need a rest every 45 minutes, but I can wear ear protectors and have a coffee every now and then. It isnt like I would use it all day long anyway.

If I was to have a drop box and a cyclone, is there any benefit at all to having a capacity bigger than the smallest machine, since theory states that it shoudn't get much in it?

 

[r0nmlt]

Bill pentz insists on 6" ducting and at least a 3hp unit with a 14" impeller.