Tempest Cyclone problem

[Sean Troy]

I had my dust collector running (220v) and all of a sudden it started pulsing, like it was getting power and not getting power so I shut it down and turned off the main breakers to the shop. Not sure if it is power surges or what. Any ideas? thanks, Sean

[Jamie Buxton]

Anything else in your shop acting like the line voltage is changing? Like lights getting brighter and dimmer? If there isn't, that points to the cyclone. It also suggests that you can turn the main breakers back on to troubleshoot the cyclone.

You might look for loose connections, like a bad plug. Or do you have a remote control box on the cyclone? Do you have any other 220 volt equipment -- maybe a table saw? Can you plug it in where the cyclone usually does, and see if it pulses like the cyclone.

[Sean Troy]

Anything else in your shop acting like the line voltage is changing? Like lights getting brighter and dimmer? If there isn't, that points to the cyclone. It also suggests that you can turn the main breakers back on to troubleshoot the cyclone.

You might look for loose connections, like a bad plug. Or do you have a remote control box on the cyclone? Do you have any other 220 volt equipment -- maybe a table saw? Can you plug it in where the cyclone usually does, and see if it pulses like the cyclone.

Nothing else was acting weird. I went back out to the shop and turned on the main breaker, plugged in the collector and ran it for a minute and all seemed well. I didn't have time to run it for any length of time but will later and see what happens. I wonder if it reset? thanks, Sean

[Michael W. Clark]

If you had a plug in the ductwork or all your gates closed, it can cause the fan to surge.

[Sean Troy]

If you had a plug in the ductwork or all your gates closed, it can cause the fan to surge.
No plug and two gates open when it happened. Thanks for the idea though, Sean

[Michael W. Clark]

Any other controls on the unit such as a bin level switch?

[Sean Troy]

Any other controls on the unit such as a bin level switch?
Just on or off switch

[Michael W. Clark]

High probability that it is something electrical with the power supply as Jamie said. If nothing else was acting funny when it was pulsing, then the issue is probably on the DC circuit. Is the DC on a dedicated circuit? I would start by checking wire connections at the DC (switch, motor Jbox, etc), then check the panel. With two gates open, maybe its possible you were overloading the motor, but I would think that if the overloads or breaker tripped it would turn off until it was manually reset. If no loose wires found, then I'm out of suggestions.

Even though you have two gates open, make sure you are pulling air. If its plugged, it will actually sound louder like its working harder but it is actually the opposite. My Festool vac did this once with a plugged hose and Ive seen industrial DCs surge as well, not good with large fans.