Almost completed dust collection - PICS

[Steve Mathews]

My dust collection setup is almost complete. The only tasks remaining are hookups to a few machines and electrical terminations at the DC motor and main panel. I ended up running wire for a dedicated circuit as suggested earlier. There were 2 notable suggestions by members here in an earlier post that some may find helpful. The first was by John Jordan. It was too late in my efforts to follow but John suggested using scaled paper or cardboard cutouts to position equipment on a floorplan. It wasn't until making multiple scaled drawings of my layout that I realized the benefit in the suggestion. The other suggestion was by Jim Becker. He suggested using Blastgate fittings for spiral pipe instead of the typical HVAC type found at home centers or HVAC suppliers. I already ordered and received the latter but switched to the Blastgate fittings. It set me back about $400 but I'm glad the change was made. Installation went a little easier and the finished work looks better IMHO. I'm still a little annoyed that my local HVAC supplier wouldn't take their fittings back even with a steep restocking fee. Anyway, here are some pics of the installation. I'll post a few more comments about the installation a little later.
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[Bruce Page]

That's a nice setup! I'm envious of all the space. You need to get the rakes & stuff into the shed tho. :)

[Jim Becker]

That's looking really good!

BTW, I didn't mean to cause you to spend a ton more money, but it appears that the decision was a good one for your duct work network. That's a quality setup!

[Steve Mathews]

That's a nice setup! I'm envious of all the space. You need to get the rakes & stuff into the shed tho. :)

Copy on the "rakes & stuff". That's probably next on my long list of shop improvements.

[glenn bradley]

Looking great Steve. I always appreciate a look into other folk's DC setups. I am tweaking my drawings for the next rebuild.

[Steve Mathews]

That's looking really good!

BTW, I didn't mean to cause you to spend a ton more money, but it appears that the decision was a good one for your duct work network. That's a quality setup!


Thanks Jim! And no worries on your recommendation as I have no regrets in following.

[Steve Mathews]

Here's a brief description of my DC setup. The 3hp Oneida DC was purchased used and is at least 10 years old. It has an 8" inlet, which I kept at that size along one wall. It then reduces to 6" along the entire length of the adjacent wall. All of the branches and drops are 5" except at the drill press and horizontal sander/bandsaw combo. All of the fittings were supplied by The Blastgate Co. Kudos to them, they provided excellent service. The pipe was purchased locally in 10 ft lengths. For better or worse I used the ubiquitous aluminum blastgates. Most of the ducts were hung with 3/8" rod, swivel type rings and angle rod clips. The drops were secured to the wall with low profile Unistrut and Unistrut pipe clamps. I started off using self tapping sheet metal screws but immediately switched to rivets. They didn't take that much more time to install but look better and don't interfere as much with the tape. The tape used was the one recommended by Blastgate. It's very flexible and easily removed if necessary yet sticks well. I used the thin aluminum stuff before and this stuff was much better. The DC motor will be powered by a separate 30 amp circuit. I haven't made the terminations yet but plan to use a 120VAC contactor with possibly remote capability. The reason for the delay in this part of the work is because of replacing an existing panel with something with more circuit capacity. I have the panel but haven't decided whether to tackle the job myself or hire an electrician to do it. The 10 gauge wire from the panel to the motor has already been run.

[Tom Bain]

Steve — Nice set-up. Curious what tape Blastgate recommends? I’ve always used the foil tape, which can be a bit frustrating to apply. Also, off-topic, what edge sander do you have? Looks like a nice unit.

-Tom

[Steve Mathews]

Steve — Nice set-up. Curious what tape Blastgate recommends? I’ve always used the foil tape, which can be a bit frustrating to apply. Also, off-topic, what edge sander do you have? Looks like a nice unit.

-Tom

The Blastgate tape is vinyl and 1 1/4" wide, no manufacturer's name. The edge sander is a Delta 31-482. I haven't used it yet so no comments on how it performs. It seems to be well made for something out of Taiwan.

[Matt Day]

This is a long time (and list of threads) coming! Hope you don’t do many shop rearrangements anytime soon! Lol

[Steve Mathews]

This is a long time (and list of threads) coming! Hope you don’t do many shop rearrangements anytime soon! Lol

I hear ya. LOL

[Mike Kees]

Looking great Steve. I always appreciate a look into other folk's DC setups. I am tweaking my drawings for the next rebuild.
Glenn I hear you. I am on rebuild 5-6. Also made me grin when O.P. stated he is almost done... if he only knew.

[Ron Selzer]

Glenn I hear you. I am on rebuild 5-6. Also made me grin when O.P. stated he is almost done... if he only knew.

Right there with ya
currently making a pull thru filter box with 27 tube filters.
then still pondering on how to upgrade the piping to the radial arm saw
then ...
never ends
Ron

[Mike Kees]

Yeah for me I had it all figured out,spent a couple months calculating etc. Got it all installed and then began to buy /sell tools. Now when my Dad asks if I am done ,I just cringe. O well,I am now pro at figuring it out and reconfiguring and recalculating and tweaking....

[David Justice]

Looks great Steve! I am building a new shop and will be tackling this soon. In planning I have been wondering how to stabilize the drops? Since they look to be just out in open space, how to keep them from moving around when opening a blast gate or turning the DC on?

Thanks

[Jim Becker]

Looks great Steve! I am building a new shop and will be tackling this soon. In planning I have been wondering how to stabilize the drops? Since they look to be just out in open space, how to keep them from moving around when opening a blast gate or turning the DC on?

Thanks

The duct work up above is security suspended and (presumably) the duct work at the bottom of the non-wall drop is also anchored, either to the machine or to the floor. That pipe is pretty darn ridgid, too...not like snap-lock.

[Steve Mathews]

Looks great Steve! I am building a new shop and will be tackling this soon. In planning I have been wondering how to stabilize the drops? Since they look to be just out in open space, how to keep them from moving around when opening a blast gate or turning the DC on?

Thanks

As Jim mentioned, the spiral pipe itself is very stiff and once it is fastened (riveted in my case) to the fittings it is even a more ridgid system. I secured the drops along walls with Unistrut and Unistrut pipe clamps. The 2 for each drop was overkill but also helps to support the horizontal runs above. The drops in the middle of the room have no support other than from the duct above. Again, the fasteners at the fittings seem to lock it in place enough. Overall the system is very rigid and doesn't move at all when the DC is turned on. I used 3/8" rod and ordinary pipe rings to hang the horizontal runs. If I had 1/4" rod dies for my pipe threading machine I would've used that size. Good luck on your install.

[Andrew More]

I might be wrong, but it appears you've put the DC outside. As such you'll get better performance if you remove the filter, since there is no reason to do so outside, and it will restrict airflow. If it's actually inside the building please disregard.

Regardless, nice setup!

[Steve Mathews]

I might be wrong, but it appears you've put the DC outside. As such you'll get better performance if you remove the filter, since there is no reason to do so outside, and it will restrict airflow. If it's actually inside the building please disregard.

Regardless, nice setup!


Thanks, I wasn't aware of that. My closest neighbor is a few hundred yards away in line with the outlet. My thought was if noise becomes an issue I could install one of Oneida's baffles or at least leave the filter on to dampen it. I think it was a Rob Cosman video where he states the Oneida baffle was very effective. If noise isn't a problem I'll remove the filter as you suggest.

[Jim Becker]

How you direct the outlet air will help manage noise. So if you choose to remove the filter, directing the air flow downward rather than outward will help mitigate sound transmission from that vector.

[Steve Mathews]

How you direct the outlet air will help manage noise. So if you choose to remove the filter, directing the air flow downward rather than outward will help mitigate sound transmission from that vector.

Good point - Maybe pointing it down on a 45 deg. angle would keep the blast away from the DC (dirt below) and not aiming directly at my neighbor. I'll have to fabricate a square mounting for the fitting. I'll check with Oneida, they may already have one.

[Jim Becker]

Good point - Maybe pointing it down on a 45 deg. angle would keep the blast away from the DC (dirt below) and not aiming directly at my neighbor. I'll have to fabricate a square mounting for the fitting. I'll check with Oneida, they may already have one.

I believe they do...if I'm not mistaken, I got two of them when I extended my filter away from the cyclone in the closet to provide require access to the sub-panel.

[Rod Sheridan]

Thanks, I wasn't aware of that. My closest neighbor is a few hundred yards away in line with the outlet. My thought was if noise becomes an issue I could install one of Oneida's baffles or at least leave the filter on to dampen it. I think it was a Rob Cosman video where he states the Oneida baffle was very effective. If noise isn't a problem I'll remove the filter as you suggest.

Nice installation Steve.

If you do remove the filter, measure your motor current with all the gates open to make sure you have enough restriction.

I found that the Oneida silencer did help with sound level, the reduction was around 5dBa........Rod

[Steve Mathews]

Nice installation Steve.

If you do remove the filter, measure your motor current with all the gates open to make sure you have enough restriction.

I found that the Oneida silencer did help with sound level, the reduction was around 5dBa........Rod

Not sure I follow. By opening all the gates with the filter removed are we trying to make sure the motor doesn't overload? Also, I can't ever see a situation where all of the gates are open.

[Jim Becker]

WIth the ductwork in place opening all the gates isn't likely going to be an issue because the duct work itself puts enough load on the machine. What you don't want to do is run the cyclone with no duct work attached. On the backside (filter side) there's less concern. Some folks even up-size there for free flow.