Can I get more power from my DC with better blast gates?

[Zach England]

I have a 1.5 HP DC and the lack of an available 220 is keeping me from upgrading it. I have far too many machines attached to it and don't have the suction I'd like. I can remedy all of this with a more powerful DC, but I don't want to do that until I can do the electrical work, which may not be until the autumn.

So I am looking for an easy fix in the mean time. My blast gates are the cheap plastic kind that have a little notch to allow for "leakage"--presumably to keep the hoses from collapsing. However, I have the premium hose and it is very stiff. I think just the incidental leakage would be plenty to keep them stable and round.

Do all blast gates have this allowance? I cannot tell from the pictures online and don't have anywhere close to see them in person. I am not opposed to replacing the blast gates or modifying the ones I have. Thoughts?

Thanks.

[Tom Veatch]

Can't speak to the commercially available gates as mine are all shop built. But if you are getting leakage around/through your existing gates, then you are certainly reducing the DC performance you could get at any specific machine.

You say you have too many machines connected, but the number of machines really doesn't matter if you are only drawing through one open gate and have negligible leakage at the others, assuming the ducting gives fairly straight runs to each machine.

Since you apparently have a "large" number of attachment points, and significant leakage at each gate, there could certainly be a performance gain from reducing leakage through or around the closed gates.

Even if you plan to upgrade the system later, it would be advantageous to go ahead and replace the existing gates with some that seal better when closed. If you're set on commercially available gates, I'll leave it to others to provide recommendations. If you want to build your own, there are numerous plans and "how-to's" available that can be found with one or another of the I'net search engines.

You may find that the performance improvement from better made commercial or shop built gates is such that you won't feel a need to upgrade.

[Zach England]

Thanks. I think I found a better blast gate, so next question...

Is there a good way to remove ABS cement? I cemented a couple of blast gates to machine housings (I know, won't do that again...)

[Chris Damm]

Thanks. I think I found a better blast gate, so next question...

Is there a good way to remove ABS cement? I cemented a couple of blast gates to machine housings (I know, won't do that again...)

A Sawzall!:D

[Tom Veatch]

If the machine housing/adapter is metal, there's a chance you can sacrifice the gate and break the joint loose. If the machine housing is abs, and you did a fairly decent job on the glue joint, break out the machine's parts list and get a new housing/adapter on order.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

If the machine housing is metal a heat gun may help you... otherwise look for a replacement :)

[David Hostetler]

I see "lots of machines" and "hose" but nothing about smooth pipe. Flex line is a HUGE performance hit. If you are going to run flex line, run 1 length of the stuff, and move your hose from machine to machine, forget about the blast gates... You would be best off staying under 10' of flex hose and moving your DC to where the tool is...

[Dell Moore]

So, what are your better blast gates?!?

Also, since we are on the subject, is there anything I can do to my POS China made DC itself (that I picked up at a GSale) to increase it performance?

Thanks!

Dell

[Kent A Bathurst]

I see "lots of machines" and "hose" but nothing about smooth pipe. Flex line is a HUGE performance hit........

Yep - 2x penalty (10' rigid = 20' flex) as a good rule of thumb. tight bends next biggest penalty.

[Greg Peterson]

Also, since we are on the subject, is there anything I can do to my POS China made DC itself (that I picked up at a GSale) to increase it performance?

Thanks!

Dell

Install a Wynn Environmental cartridge filter and keep your hose runs as short as possible.

Single stage units and blast gates don't really mix. Not that you can't use blast gates with a single stage system. Single stage systems just don't move enough CFM as it is, and then adding flex hose or long lengths of duct work further reduces the CFM.

Single stage units are designed to be hooked up to a single machine, not serve an extensive network of hose and ducting.

[Zach England]

I see "lots of machines" and "hose" but nothing about smooth pipe. Flex line is a HUGE performance hit. If you are going to run flex line, run 1 length of the stuff, and move your hose from machine to machine, forget about the blast gates... You would be best off staying under 10' of flex hose and moving your DC to where the tool is...

I wish this were an option. The DC cannot move--there's no room to maneuver it. I'll have to consider some rigid pipe. I have all my tools crammed into a tiny shelf basement, so I am pretty limited with configurations.

[Phil Maddox]

Single stage units and blast gates don't really mix. Not that you can't use blast gates with a single stage system. Single stage systems just don't move enough CFM as it is, and then adding flex hose or long lengths of duct work further reduces the CFM.

Single stage units are designed to be hooked up to a single machine, not serve an extensive network of hose and ducting.

I have to disagree - the # of stages has nothing to do with the amount of suction a a DC can provide, in fact the cyclone reduces the amount of suction that a blower provides.

Single stage collectors have other drawbacks such as clogging the filters much more quickly, making the impeller see debris, etc.

I agree that cyclones are the best option but not everyone has the space or the money.

Thanks

Phil

[Jason White]

I have a 1.5HP Delta unit with two 4" flex hoses and a plastic gate on each hose right at the "wye" coming off of the 5" inlet. One hose stays connected to the cabinet saw and the other hose is for my other tools (jointer, planer, etc.). I always close the blast gate on whichever of the two hoses I'm not using. Works fine for the most part (I'm actually thinking about switching to 5" spiral duct for better airflow, but that's an expensive upgrade for a later date).

As long as you have at least one blast gate open at a time when running the DC, you should be fine.

Jason



I have a 1.5 HP DC and the lack of an available 220 is keeping me from upgrading it. I have far too many machines attached to it and don't have the suction I'd like. I can remedy all of this with a more powerful DC, but I don't want to do that until I can do the electrical work, which may not be until the autumn.

So I am looking for an easy fix in the mean time. My blast gates are the cheap plastic kind that have a little notch to allow for "leakage"--presumably to keep the hoses from collapsing. However, I have the premium hose and it is very stiff. I think just the incidental leakage would be plenty to keep them stable and round.

Do all blast gates have this allowance? I cannot tell from the pictures online and don't have anywhere close to see them in person. I am not opposed to replacing the blast gates or modifying the ones I have. Thoughts?

Thanks.

[Curt Doles]

I had the same problem with 6 devices on the DC and the gates were designed to only close to to within about 1/4 inch. I removed them one by one and used the scroll saw to "tune them up".

I was a huge improvement.

Curt