Dust Collection and Respirator

[Mike Turner]

I have a small shop 20 by 20. I have a HF dust collector ,Wynn filter and Thein tophat separator.It all works pretty good.I need to finish running it to some other tools though. I had thought about venting the dust outside. ( I only have a short run of dc pipe so I use flexible hose.I heard it was better to use a solid pipe and come off of it with the flex to the tools ????)

Anyhow between the pollen and maybe a little dust from shop...I kinda doubt that I had some allergy problems this weekend. (home from work today...will be fine tomorrow hopefully)So I am double checking myself on my dust collection and my habits whether good or bad.

I also use this respirator https://www.durawear.com/msa-comfo-c...d38aAjY68P8HAQ (https://www.durawear.com/msa-comfo-classic-softfeel-hycar-rubber-half-mask-respirator/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwhpnGBRDKpY-My9rdutABEiQAWNcslA44ke2VmSKTwAIs-QwtEFwEjwaJ_jlV_VtLOKTEd38aAjY68P8HAQ). I bought a bunch of the screw in cartridges for it a while back.It seems to work really good. It seems to do work really good but I know it cant be as good as a more expensive one. What do you guys use and like??? Thanks for your help!

[James Gunning]

Solid smooth pipe is always better than using flex pipe. The internal corrugations in the flex cause turbulence which raises the static pressure (resistance to flow) in the pipe. If you can avoid using flex at all, that is the best solution. If you aren't moving your tools, you likely can hook up solid all the way to the machines.

Venting outside instead of running through a filter will always be preferable. The filter always adds static pressure resistance to any system. Even with a good filter like the Wynn a small amount of dust gets by. I also use a Wynn filter but wear a mask when cutting or sanding.

What size pipe are you going to run? If it's 4" I strongly suggest upgrading to 6". It will flow far more air and will give you much better performance from your DC.

[Mike Turner]

Its 4" but the longest run is 15".Next thing maybe the 6" pipe

[Chris Hachet]

Actually from what I understand metal pipe is better than PVC in terms of not allowing dust to build up inside the system.

[John LoDico]

I use a 3M 7500 7502 Series Professional Half Facepiece Respirator (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004HXBCMG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) with some organic cartridge filters for when I'm doing finishing work, and some particulate filters on top of those. The whole contraption, which is very comfortable and works well, costs less than $50.

[James Gunning]

I disagree about the metal being better than the PVC in allowing dust build up. Either pipe seems to work pretty well. The PVC is smoother inside than nearly all the metal pipe available. Especially the metal snap lock pipe with the seam. The PVC fittings are more airtight and smoother inside as well. If there is a disadvantage to the PVC, it's due to it being designed to handle water instead of air. There aren't a lot of the special fittings in PVC there are in metal. If there is sufficient airflow, in a properly designed duct system, there isn't really any tendency for dust to build up in the ducting. If that is happening, either the blower is simply too small, or the ducting is so badly designed that it restricts the airflow to the point that larger particles drop out of the air stream. That's a design issue, not the type of pipe used.

[Larry Frank]

The HF dust collector is marginal with 6" pipe. The velocity drops to a point of having difficulty keeping dust in motion. Yes, I know people do it all the time but the Wood Magazine article in March 2008 discusses the issue.

If the mask fits good it should be great. Also, remember your clothes will be covered in dust and when you take the mask off you will breath dust from your clothes.