Dust collection system

[Chad Berlin]

I'm asking for a standard sized Middle/High School shop class. We have been having a ton of problems with our outside system (plugging up mostly) and finally our fan motor crapped out on us. I was thinking of trying to convince the "power to be" into a new inside dust collection system like the 10 hp Grizzly. Would that system be sufficient to keep up to a High School shop class?

[Matt Day]

I am not an expert, but you should give an idea of how big your shop is (# and type of machines), sq ft of your shop (length of runs), and which 10hp dust collector from Grizzly? Model number?

[Chad Berlin]

We have a 24" planer, Sawstop, 8" jointer, 14" bandsaw etc. Basic "shop" class. Approximately 40' x 50'. I was thinking the G0638.

[John Lankers]

I am no expert either, but to me it looks like the blastgates are being left open 24/7 which can result in to little airflow and overload the motor. If that's the case the fix would be automatic blastgates or teaching the kids to close them when done working on any particular machine.

[Rod Sheridan]

Chad, I have no idea where you live, however the dust collection system for a public place like a school will require the services of an engineer licensed in your state.

I would be extremely surprised if an indoor unit would be legal.

This is something that requires licensed professionals to deal with.............regards, Rod.

[Jim Dwight]

A bunch of work using data from Bill Pentz's site would get you there.

I've also heard Oneida will help if you call them.

[Gregory Stahl]

I would not move the dust collection indoors. I think you will find you will be prohibited from doing so--especially if you are a public school. NFPA does not allow an indoor dust collection system to be used with sanders nor any machines with mechanical feeds. Depending who does the inspection(s), the planer may fall into the mechanical feed category.

[Doug Garson]

I am no expert either, but to me it looks like the blastgates are being left open 24/7 which can result in to little airflow and overload the motor. If that's the case the fix would be automatic blastgates or teaching the kids to close them when done working on any particular machine.

Am I the only one who doesn't follow John's logic? I don't see anything in the OP's post that suggests the blast gates are left open and if they were why would leaving them open reduce airflow? Leaving them all open would reduce system resistance and increase total airflow. Airflow and static pressure at each machine would be reduced which would make collection less effective but total airflow would be increased.


https://electronics-cooling.com/wp-content/uploads/1996/05/a1f3.jpg

[Adam Herman]

i think he meant "too much" and therefor the motor was working very hard all the time and burned up.

[John Lankers]

i think he meant "too much" and therefor the motor was working very hard all the time and burned up.

Exactly, and when blast gates closest to the DC are being left open there will not be sufficient airflow on the tail end of the pipe to carry chips and dust.
However, on some larger systems (mine included) it is beneficial to have a small breather open on the far end to increase the airflow when only one or two gates are open upstream.

[Doug Garson]

OK, that makes a lot more sense to me. I think what the OP needs is someone with dust collection experience to "walk the system down" and do an evaluation of the hardware and operation. Would be a shame to spend a bunch of money on a new system when all that's required is to correct the method of operation, like leaving too many blast gates open. Maybe the original supplier has a service engineer available.

[Jim Becker]

I agree with Doug...and also agree with Rod that replacement may come with engineering and other legal requirements due to the type of facility.

[Martin Wasner]

I think Mr Sheridan and Mr Stahl nailed it.

Talk to Donaldson or someone similar who's accustomed to dealing with similar situations.

[Dave Cav]

What Jim and some of the others said. I was both a facilities manager and a shop teacher, and was involved with two new d/c systems. The last one was installed because the original system was installed many years ago with NO fire sensing or suppression hardware whatsoever, and when the baghouse caught fire it very nearly burned down the shop. Your school district risk management department probably will not (and should not) allow you to install a new system unless it's designed and installed to the latest codes.