House dust extractor outside? Lean to?

[Prizen]

Hi all

Which space and issue within my shed I am thinking of housing my dust extractor (Don't have it yet) in a small hut / lean to at the end of my shed.

obviously as this will be small and the dust extractor is not particularly heavy, I don't want to go today expense and trouble of laying a subfloor etc.

has anyone done this before and have you any advice?

I've attached a picture of the area, Will bore a hole through the wall for the ducting and obviously something for the power.

 

[Prizen]

Sorry, here's the photo of the area

 

[mynamehere]

I don't know if your shed is heated in winter but if it is, you will extract the hot air together with your dust.


Cheers!

Ferenc

 

[Prizen]

It isn't heated, I wrap up well during the winter!

 

[gregmcateer]

Chas Jones had definitely done this - his thread is on here somewhere

 

[artie]

I did this, two workshops ago. I drilled a 100mm hole in the single block wall for the duct and power line. and put a small wooden T&G garden shed outside to house the extractor. Worked very well.

 

[Robin Whitfield]

What would your plan be for air balancing?

If your shed is as well sealed as it looks like it is then the extraction may not work anywhere near as well as you'd hope without having the window/door open.

An unheated shed in the winter is one thing but unheated with a constant breeze would probably cause me to migrate to using hand tools in the kitchen!

 

[Cabinetman]

Well the air balancing thing got me thinking, if your workshop isn’t far from your house you could have a 6 inch pipe taking air warm air from your house into your workshop, it would only work of course whilst you had your dust extractor on. Mind you a 6 inch hole in the side of your house probably isn’t going to go down too well!
The other thought I had, you could use a large paving slab as the subbase for your lean to I think they are 2 foot 6 x 18“, might just be big enough. Ian

 

[Robin Whitfield]

Well the air balancing thing got me thinking, if your workshop isn’t far from your house you could have a 6 inch pipe taking air warm air from your house into your workshop, it would only work of course whilst you had your dust extractor on. Mind you a 6 inch hole in the side of your house probably isn’t going to go down too well!

Might as well go all the way and install a serving hatch for tea and biscuits.

 

[Prizen]

What would your plan be for air balancing?

If your shed is as well sealed as it looks like it is then the extraction may not work anywhere near as well as you'd hope without having the window/door open.

An unheated shed in the winter is one thing but unheated with a constant breeze would probably cause me to migrate to using hand tools in the kitchen!

I don't understand the difference between having the extractor within the shed vs in the lean-to? Should I have a second bore that passively connects the shed and the lean to?

 

[Robin Whitfield]

So by your comment of a hole through the wall for dust extraction, I was making the assumption (as were others by the looks of it) that the extractor would be venting to outside, with the single hole being for the hose to connect to your tools.

In that situation, the air that is sucked into the dust collector from your shop through the vacuum hose has to be replaced by new air from somewhere else. If you don't have any dedicated intakes from outside, you'll build up a negative pressure in the shop (as it tries to intake through tiny gaps in the building's construction) and the extractor may not be as effective. If you do have a dedicated intake from outside then it's going to give you a nice cold breeze and will ensure that the shop never gets above the outside temperature.

When the dust collector is within the shop, that air simply returns to the shop having being filtered.

 

[Trainee neophyte]

I don't understand the difference between having the extractor within the shed vs in the lean-to? Should I have a second bore that passively connects the shed and the lean to?

It would be more efficient, and you could add a filter to remove anything your extractor doesn't extract. If you are not worried about how it looks it could be as simple as a plastic barrel upended over the extractor, but I would make something on the lines of a dog house / dustbin tidy, probably with a felt roof over ply and maybe tongue and groove sides over a light frame. You could do doors and complications, or just make it movable and lift the whole thing up to get access. I did exactly that to hide a gas bottle outside our kitchen. 10 minutes to make, and temporary while I work out a better solution. 10 years old now and looking tired - time to do something better, I think.

 

[CHJ]

With my shop there is enough 'breather leakage' for the extractor not to be too adversely affected by lack of replacement air, it also has a 9" ambient air Ventaxia extractor on a room thermostat/manual over-ride because it is invariably too hot from natural sunlight most days, it's situated behind the dust generating area.
If any sign that system is not coping with extraction because of lack of replacement air I open an appropriate window or door to encourage air flow past me without too much of a chill.
Sorry can't give you appropriate image links as my saved links don't work with this new forum software.

Edit:- found one link with images from early days, basically still the same, just different chip bin arrangement to ease emptying and add more coarse filter area.

 

[Lard]

I did this a year or two back because I too needed more valuable floor space. I originally had a relatively light 1hp machine and because I did not want (or need to) house it outside, I dismantled it from its castored base and mounted it internally at roof level to the rafters (single pitch roof)....the space saving was brill, wish I’d done it years ago. System worked fine but still operated completely internally....having read about the limitations of the large micron bag filter I decided to vent outside and, at the same time, upgraded to a 2hp (heavier) device. Weight increase was noticeable but certainly not an initial issue. I initially just drilled a 5” hole through my insulated timber workshop wall and extended (with two 90’s) my drainage pipe pipework into the outside air. However, the combination of my solid fixing to the rafters and the 2hp motor, caused a noise equivalent to an old plane taking off as the sound reverberated through the rafters/metal roof! Ended up simply swapping the solid fixings for something more akin to a hanging basket of nylon rope (and a flexible pipe) which solved the problem instantly. Built myself a cyclone and so the larger, heavier dust gets pulled/drops into the cyclone bin whilst the lighter/smaller stuff simply disappears outdoors. Finally converted a large plastic flower pot into a gauze/filter for the end of the outside pipe (insects etc). Everything works a treat and, most importantly, the difference is fantastic. I recommend you do it....gives you (your lungs) piece of mind

 

[Jackbequick]

Bear in mind that sawdust can be quite explosive in density and exposed to naked flame/spark. It's also bad for one's lungs. I hope the suggestion is not blowing it out into the general atmosphere but is 'bagging' it. Blowing any of it into the atmosphere would be/is 'pretty poor form old chap'. I'd call it 'unconscionable' and I imagine, 'prosecutable'....even though blasting cities, sewage, chemicals and people into disease causing/compounding and climate changing micro-dust by the mad people we call 'leaders' and which blows around the planet doesn't even raise a whimper from united nations.

 

[Inspector]

Jack people living in the boonies on acreages can blow the dust straight outside. There is far more dust generated from vehicles driving down dirt roads than any hobby shop can produce. Now in tighter confines filtering through bags is enough if there are no neighbours close enough to read the expressions on a face. If you can see the smudge of mustard on their chin and hear their belly rumble then very fine filtration is needed. Interestingly enough if running a Bill Pentz type cyclone (Clear Vue) there is no visible dust coming out even without filters, they are that efficient. Aussies all over that place direct vent them and none of them have noted any dust near the outlets. You are going to have to do a bunch to reduce the noise though, that they have in abundance.

Pete

 

[DBT85]

Aussies all over that place direct vent them and none of them have noted any dust near the outlets. You are going to have to do a bunch to reduce the noise though, that they have in abundance.

Aussies or extractors

 

[Inspector]

Well I was referring to the cyclone but Aussies would fit too.

Pete

 

[Prizen]

Well, this idea was shot down by the missus. Looks like I’ll have to live with the extractor in the garage space!

 

[Robin Whitfield]

Never plan anything before getting it approved first!