Metal Home Depot Duct and Dust Collection

[Jonathan Dormody]

All,

I was wondering if there is anything wrong with using the metal duct found at home improvement stores, like Home Depot, instead of ordering the much more expensive duct from a place like Oneida. Does it come down to guage of the duct?

Thanks,

Jon

[Dale Rodabaugh]

Jon,I run my DC lines with PVC,another cheaper way to go.I dont know why the metal wouldnt work.:confused: :rolleyes: :cool:

[Jamie Buxton]

I've got 6" metal duct from HD, hooked to a Woodsucker II. Works just fine.

[JayStPeter]

Many believe the metal ductwork sold for air conditioning use is too thin and will crush if run with a DC and all gates closed. Some of the fittings are in the wrong direction of airflow. There tends to be no wye fittings and Ts are pretty inefficient. The elbows are small radius and thus inefficient.

All that said, I incorporated a bunch of 6" adjustable elbows in my system. I just used 2 of them per 90* to make a larger radius. With all the bent/rolled metal, they'll be more than strong enough and are significantly cheaper than those made for DC systems.

Jay

[John Bailey]

Johathon,

All the information I've run across says don't use it because it's too thin. That being said, it would appear many have used it with success.

John

[Jim Becker]

Home Depot and Lowes do offer some snap-lock duct work in 26 guage...which is the same thickness as the snap-lock from Oneida, KenCraft, Air Handling Systems, etc. The selection is limited, however, and the 'borg generally only as 24" lengths, rather than the more convenient 5' sections sold by Oneida. You might also check with your local HVAC suppliers..."stove pipe" is what they sometimes know the thicker material as. Do understand that the lateral wyes sold for HVAC are "backward" for dust collection...they are best sourced from a dust collection oriented firm, such as Onieda, Air Handling Systems, KenCraft, etc.

BTW, when you compare the prices of the same guage materials, firms like Oneida, Air Handling Systems and KenCraft are not much more expensive, if at all, from the 'borg. (Be sure you include shipping costs in your comparison, however...some firms offer free shipping on order over a certain amount; some do not. You should also check with local HVAC firms for their prices on spiral pipe. Many folks have posted really good prices that are nearly comparable to snap lock.

[Jamie Buxton]

....and the 'borg generally only as 24" lengths, rather than the more convenient 5' sections sold by Oneida. ...

My local home despot carries 5' lengths. YMMV.

[Keith Burns]

I used th HD snap-lock, no problems. It is available in 5' lengths. I used plastic wyes and elbows which fit fine.

[John Scane]

I have used it with my onieda since I bought it throughout my whole shop. I have had all of the blast gates closed and it works just fine. I used 2 elbows to get a larger radius and they work fine. It's a much cheaper alternative.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/js040667/Ducts.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/js040667/Benches.jpg

[Dale Rodabaugh]

Nice lookin shop John,man them high ceilings gotta be nice.:rolleyes: :cool:

[Vaughn McMillan]

Nice lookin shop John,man them high ceilings gotta be nice.:rolleyes: :cool:
Took the words out of my mouth (fingers).

- Vaughn

[Tom Jones III]

I'm using it (HVAC ducting) with my Dust Gorilla and it works fine.
* The overall cost is far cheaper than the Oneida qoute. The straight line duct is not so much of the expense as the wyes and other connectors.
* I went to an HVAC supplier to get wye's and other fittings that the borg didn't have, and the cost was roughly half what the borg charges.
* You can't get things like 6x6x6 wye's in HVAC, you have to use a Tee for that but that have all kinds of wyes that are not the same dimension in all three ends.
* As someone already mentioned, the pipe runs backwards compared to DC piping.
* If you are going with 4", use S&D PVC as it will be much cheaper. However, if you are running 6" ducting then the cost of PVC will kill you and HVAC will be a lot cheaper.

[Bill Lewis]

My local home despot carries 5' lengths. YMMV.Jamie, I think I need to clarify what Jim Becker posted. Most HD's only carry the heavier 26 gage pipe in 24" lengths. And they only have a limited selection of diameters, like 5". The rest of the HVAC Pipe they carry in 24" and 60" lengths is only 30 ga.

Jim is right though, if you order enough from the suppliers like Oneida, the cost becomes pretty competative (when compairing apples with apples). Oneida has free shipping over $100 on the pipe and fittings.

[Allan Johanson]

The Home Depot in my area (British Columbia) carries 28ga snaplock in 4"/5"/6"/7"/8" diameters in 30" lengths. They also carry most sizes in 60" lengths, but that's only 30ga.

FWIW, I'm using 28ga without any problems with my 14" fan version of Bill Pentz' cyclone.

Cheers,

Allan