Dust hose junction box?

[Thomas Marr]

I have two 6" dust connections in the floor of my shop, with several machines clustered around each dust port. I'm now to the point in my shop set up where I need to connect each machine to one of these ports. To keep from taking up too much space with 6" Wye's and such running all over, I'd like to make some type of "dust hose junction box" over the floor port and run the hoses into this box. Anyone done this? Have any pictures?

[glenn bradley]

I have seen posts with manifolds built from plywood and controlled with blast gates. Definitely a solution to a problem with a cost. The odd interruption in airflow will ding your collection performance some. That being said I have things in my setup where I weigh the consequences and convenience sometimes wins over performance. ;-)

[Thomas Marr]

Here's a couple solutions I found online in case others may be interested:

247113

247114

247115

[John Lanciani]

247134

How about this? nine 4" flex into one 6" hard line.

[Jim Neeley]

Thomas,

A box with multiple inputs may be the best solution for you; to each their own and I'm not going to tell you any differently. Please be aware though of the significant affect dumping into a container and then sucking it out of the container has on airflow.

Per Bill Pentz's web site, a Wye adds about 0.5" H2O of pressure drop. The closest analogy I could find to a box was a trash can separator, which has about 4.5" of drop. Let's talk about the impact each of these would have on a 3HP Oneida Super Gorilla with 7" of drop prior to the box, assuming the box has approximates the drop from the box. These values will come from the Oneida site, in the Specifications document, in the CFM vs. SP Curve. I was going to attach the curve but the page is too large. You can go there, assume any pressure drop due to the box you wish and look up your own values.

At 7" of drop, the air flow is about 1125 CFM.

At 7.5" of drop (from adding a Wye) the air flow is about 1075 CFM.

At 11" of drop (from the box [trash can separator]) the air flow is about 600 CFM.

If space is at a premium, one or more cross-laterals is also an option (see attached), as they would behave more akin to the Wyes.


IMO, of the three pictures above, the middle one is substantially better than the others. With that one you slide the suction (top) to align with the tool being used. This reduces the amount of velocity- and direction-change of the air, so should perform better. Just watch for the lengths of flex hose, if you want to maximize your air flow.

Just my $0.02.. YMMV.

Jim

[Thomas Marr]

Wow! Now that's impressive.

247134

How about this? nine 4" flex into one 6" hard line.

[Thomas Marr]

Thomas,

A box with multiple inputs may be the best solution for you; to each their own and I'm not going to tell you any differently. Please be aware though of the significant affect dumping into a container and then sucking it out of the container has on airflow.

Jim

Thanks Jim. I should add that I'm using a ClearVue with the original 14" impeller and 5HP motor. No filter as I exhaust outside. I only run one machine at a time.

I'm still working on my design. No firm decision yet. I don't like the air flow drop that you found though...

[Michael W. Clark]

In addition to the SP penalty, you also want to minimize the chance of any buildup. Storing sawdust in the ductwork can be a fire hazzard. Minimize the cross-sectional area to keep the velocity as close to that of the main run and provide access to cleaning it out. The clear plexi in the post above is a good idea, espeically if it is removable for clean out. The branches from John's post also look pretty good, minimal place for dust to build up and maintaining the entry angle to minimize losses. A "tree" with wyes is the best if you have the space.

[Rick Potter]

Thomas,

I had a cluster of machines my old shop, with one 6" drop next to them. There were two cabinet saws, back to back, an 8" jointer, and a floor sweep.

One thing that worked well for me, was a manifold setup with a simple port going to each machine. Four open ports in a row, each hooked to it's machine. One dust gate with a suction hose attached. Using bell mouth connections, I simply moved the hose from one port to the next. It took no longer to move the intake hose a few inches than to open and close separate gates, and a lot simpler, and easy to modify for future changes.

Rick Potter

[Jim Neeley]

Thomas,

I have the CV 1800 with a 16" impeller that recently arrived in my shop and is still in it's crate; once I finish some wiring and other upgrades I'll be installing it. In the interim I'm stockpiling materials, including wiring, PVC pipe and fittings at a time to minimize the sticker shock. It also helps politically if my bride asks what it cost and I can truthfully answer with "I just spent $xxx" and xxx isn't too big. <g>

I'll be following your install; please post progress pictures!

[Joe A Faulkner]

I have very short runs from my DC - clustering the power tools around the DC in the middle of the shop. I have 6 gate plenum right in front of the separator. I'm sure overall airflow is negatively impacted, but I only run with one gate open at a time.