Dust Collector ?

[Bill Miltner]

I use a Delta 1HP barrel top dust collector to catch the chips from my 10" Jointer/Planer. I know it does not collect all the dust particles so I always wear a quality dust mask. It does an adequate job of collecting the chips and the larger dust particles though. It lets the finer dust through the bag and back into the air. Also when started up the filter bag causes a puff of fine dust to float off of it. This leaves the shop quite "dustly" when I run it.

My thought was to connect some hose to the exhaust Side of the collector and place the filter bag outside the shop to exhaust the bulk of this dust. This plus my overhead air cleaner would keep the shop (and garage) less dusty. I am in Phoenix and only use the shop Oct-May when the temps are more moderate.

My question is: would running say 10' of exhaust hose significantly reduce the effectiveness of my chip/dust collection.

[Jim Becker]

While the "exhaust" side of a DC is a little more forgiving, with a small unit like that, you might be pushing your luck, as it were, with even ten feet of extension. You'd want to make it larger in diameter for even less restriction for sure. As an alternative, why not invest in a higher-quality filtration bag. The stock bags are like sieves and you'll see a big difference in filtration with after-market products such as those from American Fabric Filter, etc.

[Carl Kona]

Bill,

You have a few challenges with your plan. As you know the 1HP does not have a lot of power. Adding a restriction will reduce it further. That restriction can be on the input or the output. So adding 10' of 4"? flex to the output will further reduce your performance. Since you are using a barrel separator you catch most of the big stuff but your filter bag probably fills frequently, so you would be trying to blow that debris through that flex hose. The problem would be that the blower does not have enough power to generate the velocity needed to keep the debris missed by the barrel separator airborne through the hose out to the bag (causing buildup in the hose). A less restrictive approach would be to use a hard pipe (but still restrictive).

The puff of dust from your bag is probably due to the level of filtration in the bag which is likely 30 microns, 5 or 1 micron is what a lot of collector use today. A lot of people replace their bags with cartridges and don't use the bags anymore. If you know someone with a collector you could ask for the old bag or put an add in Craig's List for a used bag (also look on ebay for something cheap).

I added a comparison chart to give you an idea of performance. With a dirty filter and the added flex exhaust hose you are moving to the left side of the chart and would be performing similar to a shop vac.
373053

[Brice Rogers]

Bill, since you live in Az. and you don't have issues of loosing heat or cooling, I'd suggest venting outside. Put a separator before the DC to catch the shavings and large percent of the dust. Then let the rest go outside. It will greatly improve your dusty shop problem and will also make your shop a little more quiet.
As another poster mentioned, a 1 HP DC is on the low side. But it is better than no DC.
I made a Thien baffle as a separator on top of a 32 gallon metal trash can and am pleased with it. I live in San Diego so I don't have issues with losing heat or cooling. I've been using the separator for perhaps a year and have yet to notice any outdoor accumulation of dust. An Oneida Dust Deputy would be another option, if you'd rather spend money than your time to make the Thien baffle.

[Bill Miltner]

I'm the OP and it just occurred to me that I have enough hose to do a trial run and see how well it works. Duh! I've thought about this for some time and it just didn't occur to me that I have everything I need to just try it.

By the way this 25+ year old dust collector, Delta 50-180, uses 5" hose if that mattered.

[Jim Becker]

I remember that canister type unit, Bill, but didn't remember it was setup for 5"...way ahead of it's time in that respect. 'Hope your testing goes favorably, but I still stand by my recommendation that you upgrade your filter bag to something modern and less porous. :)

[Jim Dwight]

I used to have a 1hp Delta, I think it was the AP400. I initially used it with the stock bags, then got shaker felt bags and when I sold it, it had a Wynn filter on it. Both bags contributed to the very high dust level in that shop. When we moved, my wife and I deserved hazardous duty pay for the cleanup. I will never use a DC with bags like the stock bags it came with again. It gets chips but just blows the small stuff that can harm you up where you are more likely to breath it. If I was to figure out a place and significant enough need to put a DC in the current shop, it will probably be an upgraded HF just due to cost. I will add a cyclone because I hate emptying bags and cleaning filters. I will probably discharge outside so the cyclone will be the only filtration.
I plumbed my old Delta with 3 or 4 inch S&D plastic pipe I got at the home center. I built blast gates and it worked OK, one tool at a time. I suspect from that experience you can discharge outside with yours. I would use smooth S&D pipe rather than flex if you can, however, to minimize loss.

[Julie Moriarty]

Bill, I have the smaller version (3/4 HP) of what you have and is probably older. A few years ago I converted it to a cyclone and haven't looked back.
http://julimorcreations.com/Images/CycDC/dc_after.jpg
Before the conversion I ducted the exhaust outside but with just the drum lots of chips were ejected out. Since the conversion only fine dust makes it outside. If you're worried about pushing the dust up 10', the exhaust is at the top of the conversion so that is a non-issue.