Inside or Outside

[Dave Lessley]

I'm trying to decide to put my dust collection inside or outside.

You may be familiar with my current situation from my other thread on building my shop. For those of you who are not I lost my contractor. The building was to be finished August 1st.

If I place the dust collector outside. I will need to pour the slab and build an enclosure. The only reason I would consider putting it outside is noise reduction. And perhaps a little more space inside.

I have the 3HP Oneida Super Gorrilla. Oneida says about 82db which they say you can talk over. Can anyone verify that for me.

Putting it inside would be easier as I don't have to figure out how to get the air back inside or plumb the intake through the wall.

I don't mind giving up the space to put it inside and if I need to reconfigure the angles of my ducting having it inside allows me to move it around as needed until I'm happy. If I put it outside I will pretty much be committed to where the pad is.

If I put it outside I would probably cut one or two holes in the wall they say about 6 square feet with furnace filters as opposed to running the return air filter to the inside

Whats your experience? What do you think?

[Jim Becker]

I like my cyclone in the closet and the resulting noise reduction (compressor is in there, too), so if everything were equal, I'd put it "outside". But you have to weigh the time and money to do that vs. having it located in the shop somewhere. You can probably "talk" over the DC, but as soon as you open up a gate or two, the noise level increases from the rushing air.

[David Giles]

I've converted to an outside DC solution, but it's not appropriate for everyone. The advantages are:

All small dust fines are quickly moved out of the shop. No need for overhead air cleaners, high efficiency filters, etc. Just move the air and dust out. Outside venting solves all sorts of dust collection problems. The time spent installing the DC outside is saved by not having to read Bill Pentz' voluminous website.

Some folks in really cold climates must have a return air duct. Others have not found that venting outside actually cools the shop noticeably. I'd suggest that you save the return vent design for Phase 2 (if you ever need it).

Noise is greatly reduced inside the shop. Noise is greatly increased outside the shop. Good neighbors are important.

Cutting holes in the wall was relatively easy. Make a template for your pipe size and Sawzall away. Add a metal collar or caulk up the joint and you're done. Try to miss any electrical wires.

Good luck on whatever you choose.

[Steve Clardy]

Mine is outside. No bags or barrels to empty

No close neighbors to worry about

[Joe Jensen]

I'm trying to decide to put my dust collection inside or outside.

You may be familiar with my current situation from my other thread on building my shop. For those of you who are not I lost my contractor. The building was to be finished August 1st.

If I place the dust collector outside. I will need to pour the slab and build an enclosure. The only reason I would consider putting it outside is noise reduction. And perhaps a little more space inside.

I have the 3HP Oneida Super Gorrilla. Oneida says about 82db which they say you can talk over. Can anyone verify that for me.

Putting it inside would be easier as I don't have to figure out how to get the air back inside or plumb the intake through the wall.

I don't mind giving up the space to put it inside and if I need to reconfigure the angles of my ducting having it inside allows me to move it around as needed until I'm happy. If I put it outside I will pretty much be committed to where the pad is.

If I put it outside I would probably cut one or two holes in the wall they say about 6 square feet with furnace filters as opposed to running the return air filter to the inside

Whats your experience? What do you think?

I have an Oneida 2HP Super Gorilla. I just ecogates to automatically start and stop the collector. I find the collector to be pretty loud and annoying. Remember that if you put it outside without an air return, you will be moving the air from your outside. If you heat or cool, or at least enjoy a temp differential between inside and outside, you'll lose that without an air return...joe

[Jim O'Dell]

If you have adequate room inside that a 3 X 4' closet won't ruin your shop space, keep it inside. It sounds like you will have climate control, so I would think inside would be better for the motor and the cyclone. WA is a moist environment. If you build a closet like Jim B. suggests, it will help just as much as having it outside. If you want to keep wall vibration noise to a minimum, mount the cyclone to a separate "structure" inside the closet. ie: don't mount it to the building wall or closet wall. At least use some type of vibration isolation material when mounting it if you have to mount to the wall. Many types of isolation mounts are available.
Go to Jim B's website and find his plans for the folded return air vent. Build this as big as reasonably possible. This will cut down noise of the air coming back into the shop from the filters. I planned originally to build mine from the closet up into the attic, and back down through a 18 to 24" square vent to save space in the closet or the shop. But I ended up exhausting outside for now, to save the price of the filters, and because my closest neighbor to the exhaust is across the creek. It does sound like a small turbine engine running outside the shop. Inside, no louder than the table saw. Jim.

[Mike Wilkins]

Reading these threads on inside vs. outside DC locations got me thinking (very dangerous for me). I have read numerous comments on venting the air back to the inside of the shop, due to the possibility of losing heated or cooled air. I only use my DC when a machine is running, with the only gate open to that machine. I have difficulty understanding how this one opening can make that much of a difference in the interior temp. of a shop. Maybe some folks keep the DC running all the time.
My DC is inside an outside closet with the piping running through the wall, and there are gates at multiple locations.
Am I missing something here????

[Matt Robinette]

I like mine outside in a 4' by 8' lean to shed that contains the upright IR 60 gallon compressor and the Clearvue 1800 max cyclone. I also plan on putting the ridgid mini cyclone vacuum lid converson in the shed when I am done with my latest remodel project then 2"pvc piped to it. I have pics of the shed build with db readings at the clearvue web site. I am not a paid endorser for Clearvue I just like working with Ed.
Hope this helps
Matt

[Ward Probst]

Mike,

I think it depends on how many CFMs your DC is capable of moving. Moving 500 cubic feet of air per minute will empty most small shops pretty quickly and you have to replace that air from somewhere if you exhaust it outside. If your shop is climate controlled, you are exchanging "bought air" for whatever rushes in to replace it. That's if I understand how this stuff works.
WP

[Steve Clardy]

Reading these threads on inside vs. outside DC locations got me thinking (very dangerous for me). I have read numerous comments on venting the air back to the inside of the shop, due to the possibility of losing heated or cooled air. I only use my DC when a machine is running, with the only gate open to that machine. I have difficulty understanding how this one opening can make that much of a difference in the interior temp. of a shop. Maybe some folks keep the DC running all the time.
My DC is inside an outside closet with the piping running through the wall, and there are gates at multiple locations.
Am I missing something here????

I've never noticed a heat loss in the winter.

[Ward Probst]

Dave,

85db is fairly noisy to talk above, especially since the frequency is rather low on a cyclone. I have a 2HP Oneida Commercial and I usually turn it off to talk to anyone. That said, I don't run it unless I'm using a power tool, most of which are louder than the DC. I have thought a lot about putting the DC and compressor outside and I probably will move the compressor out. I'm torn about moving the DC because it cleans the air in the shop so well it's noticeable even with the doors and windows open. I do have the big filter on it which seems to make a difference and my ducting is still a work in progress so...I hope this semi informed opinion helps.
WP

[Wayne Cannon]

The 3 HP Dust Gorilla's noise is tolerable. Because of it's relatively low pitch and more distributed frequency spectrum, it's less annoying than a table saw, router, or shop vac. Yes, you can talk over it, but it's almost impossible to hear someone over the phone when it's running, though. Having said all that, it's still loud enough to consider using hearing protection even if it doesn't have a shrill single-pitch.

[Dave Lessley]

Thank you all for your replys.

Sounds like enclosed is the way to go be it inside or outside. As I need to build an enclosure anyway I dont think it will be that much more except for the concrete which I have enough left over from the bathroom pour. The concrete guy did not estimate very well. I can include my compressor as well.

Now deciding where to put it I need to run the electrical.

Thanks again,

[Kerry Wright]

Go to Jim B's website and find his plans for the folded return air vent. .

Jim,

I tried "Jim Becker's" website with no luck, or are you referring to another Jim B?

Also, does anyone else have any good info concerning return air ducting?

Kerry

[Joe Chritz]

I find that the air moving through the metal pipes is nearly as loud as the unit itself.

I like outside, mine is actually in an enclosed room off the main shop. The cons for outdoors are that you have to go outside in the weather to change barrels and you need make up air. That also means make up heat in the winter. With a cyclone you could vent the return air back into the shop and remove the make up air problem. I have done this and it works well.

Joe