Enclosure for Record DX4000 dust extractor

[pooka]

Hi,
I am looking to build an enclosure for a Record DX4000 dust extractor, both to minimise the noise a little and to make it more easily moveable (I plan to put wheels on the base of the enclosure). I was thinking of making up a simple box, with a door to allow easy access for emptying the drum and some easy means of accessing the power switches (probably just an opening that I can reach my hand through), using 18mm MDF.

I am trying to work out the dimensions of the box, to allow sufficient air around the DX4000 for cooling, etc., and also how many air holes I'll have to leave in the box sides and top. Has anyone done this or can anyone offer advice?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Mcluma]

But where will the air go, It sucks lots of air out of the workshop and it needs to go somewhere, if the unit is completely enclosed, which sounds like your doing, your extractor will no longer work

 

[beech1948]

Hi Pooka,

I also have a DX4000. I have only had this for 1 week and it replaced an old bag type dust collector. I was considering getting two of these and using one for a run of plastic 4" plastic pipe and the other as a mobile dust collector. I have considered putting a box around it but I worry that:-
a) It expells air from below the yellow top so it needs a good sized space to expel this into
b) It is not so noisy, or at least mine is Ok as its hidden below the RHS of my Felder
c) When used it gets quite warm around the top and I worry about heat dissipation if enclosed causing premature motor failure.

I also just too lazy at the moment to make a box for it. Its on wheels so mobility is OK. I guess I'm saying maybe enclosing it is not such a good idea..possibly :shock:

 

[Noel]

Hi Pooka, welcome on board. I've the more obese cousin (DX 5000) of your extractor and had similar thoughts when I got it. Never got around to doing anything but always wear ear defenders and the noise is no longer a problem.

 

[Jorden]

I've done this with my record dust extractor, it lives in a seperate 'cupboard' attached to the end of the workshop and is only accessible from outside.

The dust pipe comes through the wall in 4 inch plastic, splits two ways then goes down each side of the shop. The dustex is left switched on and plugged into an unswitched socket in the 'cupboard', which is controlled by a switch inside the workshop.

The 'cupboard' if framed in 3x2 CLS and skinned inside and out with OSB with rockwool insulation between the skins and a full width door on the front. It is sized to allow the dustex to be easily taken out for emptying and cleaning.

The most important item is the air exhaust which I made into a 6x3 (internal)
tube, 2 foot long and lined with underfelt. It is attachet to the side of the 'cupboard' at the top and points down.

I get no overheating problems as the extractor air cools the motor, and when the extractor is switched on all you get is a faint hum and the sound of sucking air. If you'd like some piccies I can take some for you

Dennis

 

[Alf]

If you'd like some piccies I can take some for you

Yes, please.

 

[Mcluma]

We always want to see pics

We woodworkers want to see it in the flesh, no boring talk :wink:

McLuma

 

[Chris Knight]

Alf,

4000 posts! Congratulations!

 

[pooka]

Thanks for all the replies.

The heat build-up is certainly something that concerns me and made me wonder if my idea is practical at all. I had expected to have to drill a lot of airholes in the enclosure, but I wasn't sure if these would be enough, and I didn't want to end up drilling so many that any noise dampening benefit would be eliminated (although looking to make the extractor quieter is possibly a bit unrealistic on my part).

If I had a lot of space, I'd look at the kind of solution that Jorden describes, but my space is very restricted (which is one of the reasons that I want the extractor to be mobile - so that I can move it out of the way, maybe even out of the room, when I need the space). Maybe I should just look at a cupboard with two sides (with the other two sides open), and a top? - this would fit my mobility requirements and I could still use the top of it for storage of all the spare bits (filters, duct sizing converters, etc.) that I currently have haphazardly stored in a variety of places.

 

[Neil]

Hi Pooka, welcome to the forum

I'm guessing that you're the same Pooka from the irishwoods.com board - its all a bit quiet over there though. Did you have any luck finding a course near Dublin?

Sorry to stray off-topic

Neil

 

[Alf]

You know I'm sure I've seen something on't line where a guy (he was a 'Murrican, so not a "chap", but a "guy") had made a wheeled box for his workshop vac..? Lined with carpet and so forth, with a carpet-lined air exhaust too, IIRC. That ring any bells with anyone?

BTW, welcome, Pooka. I'm getting terribly slack about that these days, sorry.

Cheers, Alf

P.S. Chris, is it a matter for congratulations really? Goodness knows what I might have made by now if I wasn't gossiping on here! :lol:

 

[samlarsen]

I made a simple enclosure over a year ago as a "try it and see" concept, for my cheap and cheerful earlex vac.

Construction is similar to that described above, wooden frame and board, carpet lined.

Result, keeps the harsh, headache making, part of the noise down, leaving a loud hum. I left a letter box size slot at the back near the wall open to allow circulation.

The unit gets VERY hot but doesn't seem to want to die! Vacuum performance doesnt seem to suffer.

If i had an extractor I didnt want to kill by overheating i'd go without the box, and use ear plugs.

The main problem is you cant reduce the noise with the unit venting into the room you're working in as the exhaust air is carrying most of the noise!

cheers

sam

 

[tim]

You know I'm sure I've seen something on't line where a guy (he was a 'Murrican, so not a "chap", but a "guy") had made a wheeled box for his workshop vac..? Lined with carpet and so forth, with a carpet-lined air exhaust too, IIRC. That ring any bells with anyone?

Yes it does but I cant think where either - maybe in a Tools and Shops sup from FWW.

My first dust extractor was a Record one - can't remember the number but it was the single engined version of the 4000. I didn't box it in but I did melt it - the yellow hat basically freeflowed around the top of the motor. :shock: Got quite noisy after that! I reshaped the top with judicious use of a heat gun and worked well for a bit.

It was at the time of the Record changeovers etc so even though it was under guarantee, they couldn't get me one for 8 weeks or so and wouldn't give me my money back because they said I was being offered a suitable replacement and that the time frame was reasonable. :x To be fair, when its for work, a week is pushing it.

So it went in the bin and I havent bought anything from Record since! (feel much better now!!)

Cheers

Tim

 

[Alf]

You know I'm sure I've seen something on't line where a guy (he was a 'Murrican, so not a "chap", but a "guy") had made a wheeled box for his workshop vac..? Lined with carpet and so forth, with a carpet-lined air exhaust too, IIRC. That ring any bells with anyone?

Yes it does but I cant think where either - maybe in a Tools and Shops sup from FWW.

Drat. The one thing I thought I was sure of was that it was online, and now I'm no longer sure of that! :roll: :lol: I tried a few likely Googles, but came up blank.

Cheers, Alf

 

[frank]

alf if you goto ukwoodworking on msn and look at franks bits you will see a nice blue box that had my vac in it was lined with carpet and was quiet you could hold a conversation with the vac running ,if you look for muffler box ,are murrican friends have not learned to spell silencer yet ,you should find one .

the box went when i got my sip chip/dust collecter i still have the vac and it still works ok well for £2 on the booty i should hope so

 

[Jorden]

Ok you asked for piccies - sadly it isn't very photogenic and is tucked away in such an awkward corner it just isn't possible to get a good shot of the chimney, but these will give you a general idea.

To save server space the pics are on my website at: http://www.soarvalley.net/dustex/

DSCI0001 Outside view of cabinet
DSCI0002 Better outside view of cabinet
DSCI0003 General view up inside the cabinet
DSCI0004 Hmm, time to empty the bag again
DSCI0005 Floor covered in fine dust that got through the filters over about a year.
DSCI0006 Attempt to show the chinmey outlet
DSCI0007 same pic with flash but didn't work
DSCI0008 Power socket inside the cabinet
DSCI0009 Top of the chimney from ouside
DSCI0010 Construction detail of the door, same as rest of the cabinet
DSCI0011 Air trunk inside the workshop
DSCI0012 The on/off switch inside the workshop.

I do appologise of the poor quality of the piccies but it is a very difficult subject to photograph.

Dennis

 

[pooka]

Hi Pooka, welcome to the forum

I'm guessing that you're the same Pooka from the irishwoods.com board - its all a bit quiet over there though. Did you have any luck finding a course near Dublin?

Sorry to stray off-topic

Neil

Yikes, rumbled!

Yup, that's me alright. I was planning to post my question on that site, but as you say it is pretty quiet there at the moment and I was hoping for some speedy advice so that I can knock this enclosure off my list of things to do this weekend (my wife and I want to reclaim our hall space from the recently reclaimed MDF pile that I have sitting there so I need to convert that MDF into something useful pretty quickly!!). The responses here have been very useful, thanks to everyone. I think I'll just go with an open-sided box for now, but I might play around with it over time to see if it is possible to enclose it further without risking the whole thing melting...

As for a course near Dublin, unfortunately I haven't had any luck with that. Are you the same Neil that suggested the Killester College course, by the way? I tried to contact Killester College with no luck but I am going to have another go at it. In the meantime I have applied for a course in Letterfrack College, but as that is such a huge undertaking right now (involves either moving lock, stock, and barrel to the other side of the country, or else lots of travelling at weekends and renting there while paying a mortgage here, etc.) that I am still not certain that I'll do it even if I do manage to earn myself a place. It's a real shame that woodworking training seems to be so badly served in this country, but maybe the market for quality hand-made furniture in Ireland isn't healthy enough to support any more than the small numbers of woodworkers that come through the few courses that are available?

And my apologies to everyone too, for straying off topic further still.

 

[Neil]

Hi Pooka,

PM on its way...

Neil