How to ground Dewalt 735 Planer

[Luis Reyes]

Hi,

I recently bought a dewalt 735 planer and then a 4 in to 2 1/2in adapter so it could fit on my shop vac. The adapter has a big note saying to make sure it gets grounded to avoid any static shock and from what I'm reading a lot of people get zapped even without an adapter. Should I just drill a small hole in the adapter and lay some grounding wire through the adapter and let the other side hang on the floor? What's the best way to avoid getting zapped?

Thanks in advance!

Luis

[Lee Schierer]

I wouldn't drill any holes in my hose. When I first installed my 4" PVC duct work for my DC system the static was pretty strong. I got a couple of mild zaps. After about a month, the static disappeared. The same was true of my shop vac hose, once it got a bit dusty, the static went away. My suggestion would be to place your hose in a plastic trash bag with some saw dust and shake it up a bit. That should get rid of the majority of your static.

The other problem you are going to encounter is that planing creates lots of chips. Unless your shop vac has a really big container, it is going to fill up quickly.

[James Jayko]

I believe it is telling you to ground the dust collection hose...lots of static builds up in them and can be legitimately dangerous. IIRC you run a ground wire around the hose and ground it at the wall end.

[Greg Parrish]

Are you actually getting static shocks now? The issue Lee pointed out will probably be a bigger problem causing clogs and full vac canisters.

I’m on my second DW735 and I had shock issues on my first one. In my own case, I solved the shock issue on the first one by running bare copper wire from the metal chassis of the planer. I did not connect it to anything on the dust collector end. Connecting it to the metal chassis on the planer and spiral wrapping around the dust hose seemed to do the trick.

However it seemed like once I switched to a segmented cutter head, the static shock issues went away. I removed the wiring and no longer had issues so I can’t help but wonder if the long spiral wood strips versus tiny chips makes any difference. May have no impact. Who knows. On my current setup, I have a spiral head, and use 5” flex hose and 6” PVC in route to my Oneida dust collector but knock on wood, I’ve had no issues.


496014
Picture of one of the small chassis screws.

DISCLAIMER: I’m recommending consulting your electrician if you are not comfortable running wiring.

[Randy Heinemann]

I never had any issues with shocks, although my cyclone dust collector is grounded. I did ground the cyclone section to the collection can via small screws and a wire. When I drove the machine screws into the cyclone and the can top, I sealed them with silicone sealant over the top (sealing the threads would likely defeat the grounding).

However, I would not recommend collecting planer shavings via a shop vac, at least not with a 2 1/2" hose and inlet. The volume of shavings will likely be too much to handle for a shop vac through a 2 1/2" hose. The hose will likely clog at some point, maybe multiple times during a session. A 4" hose and inlet to the collection device is probably the minimum you want. Since, to start, you don't seem to have a choice, I hope it works for you.

[John Kananis]

Just go 4 inch (very short run) to a shroud on a trashcan instead of the shop vac. The 735 self ejects the chips so it doesn't need suction (in this scenario).

[Dave VanDewerker]

You don't need a shop vac on a 735 planer. The internal blower will overwhelm it and will do no good. For short runs, just run the hose into a drum with some way for the air to escape.
If you have a good dust collector, you can remove the blower fan and save the power. I think mine was drawing about 2.5 amps.

[George Yetka]

Just go 4 inch (very short run) to a shroud on a trashcan instead of the shop vac. The 735 self ejects the chips so it doesn't need suction (in this scenario).

Ive read this can kill the life of the planer.

I would setup a 2 stage system. You can use your shop vac to pull but I would look into running 4" to the bucket and use your 2-1/2" shop vac to pull

[George Yetka]

aluminum tape can be used to ground your line. The alternative would be to connect a 12 gauge stranded wire to the wire in the 4" flex if you go down that path and run it to a building ground. I made sure that all my flex has the wiring touching on either end, tool and metal ducting.

[John Kananis]

Sorry, confused. What's killing the life of the planer? Also, shop vac should be taken out of the picture completely imho - a 2 stage system will make it work even harder.

[Randy Heinemann]

Based on other's comments over the years, a 4" port into trash can should be OK because the 735 does have an impeller so the chips will eject easily since there is nothing to stop them exiting the port. However, a lot of dust will be kicked into the air unless you cover the trash can and put the port through a 4" hole in the can cover. I should warn you, however, that the trash can will fill up quickly. Check it periodically to prevent it filling and backing the chips up into the planer. Planers put out a lot of chips. If the amount of planing is small, probably won't be a big deal. However, if you're planing a lot and taking the wood from 4/4 to 3/4" for example, there will be a lot of chips. If you could do it outside and just let the chips pile up behind the planer for later cleanup, that would be best. Or, if you can, purchase a dust collector that allows a 4" inlet. Dust collectors are a whole separate discussion though.

[Ken Krawford]

I used a piece of braided bare copper wire and wrapped it in a spiral fashion around the dust collector hose and led it to an exposed copper pipe visible in the ceiling of my shop. Problem solved.

[mike calabrese]

The issue is static charge built up in the collection system. The maker of the adapter has no Idea what type of machinery the adapter would be applied to but they are covering their butts should there be a fire created associated with static discharge from the specific plastic compound they used to create the part.
this should help with you general question https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1RWjLP5QF0
calabrese55

[Patrick Varley]

If you don't have the copper wire laying around, you can get a kit for $20.

Woodstock W1053 Grounding Kit for Dust Collection Systems https://a.co/d/cU10Ptp

As others have said, just wrap the wire around the fitting, then you can connect one end to the chassis screw that Greg Parrish pointed out using one of the crimp-on ring terminals.

That's what I did, at least. Seemed to solve the problem.

[George Yetka]

Sorry, confused. What's killing the life of the planer? Also, shop vac should be taken out of the picture completely imho - a 2 stage system will make it work even harder.


I read at some point here that the DC hooked up helps keep line clear and the planer has less work to do, when the line clogs and the blower is pushing against it it strains the motor. Im not sure if it would strain it more than taking a bite out of maple but anything to help. I have no experience with this as mine when i had it was always hooked to DC. i guess if you only have a few feet of hose on it chances of clog are slim but 10' plus adds to the chance.

[John Kananis]

Yeah, that's the trick, short run with no dc.

[Brian Tymchak]

I read at some point here that the DC hooked up helps keep line clear and the planer has less work to do, when the line clogs and the blower is pushing against it it strains the motor. Im not sure if it would strain it more than taking a bite out of maple but anything to help. I have no experience with this as mine when i had it was always hooked to DC. i guess if you only have a few feet of hose on it chances of clog are slim but 10' plus adds to the chance.

George, are you talking about overheating the planer motor if the blower motor can not move air? Yes, that is possible from what I've read.

[Bill Dufour]

If the hose has a wire spiral, cut the hose several inches long. Strip the wire out from the extra length and cut off the extra length of plastic hose. Connect that wire to what ever ground wire you have connected to the metal body of the machine.
They do make conductive rubber hoses. Used for transfering liquid hydrogen or simple gasoline. Also conductive rubber tires can be used as well.
BilL D

[Jason Roehl]

I believe it is telling you to ground the dust collection hose...lots of static builds up in them and can be legitimately dangerous. IIRC you run a ground wire around the hose and ground it at the wall end.

What is the danger? Because it’s definitely not fire in a consumer-grade DC system. Mythbusters tried to get a fire/explosion out of a DC pipe and couldn’t make it happen. Commercial-sized DC is a whole different ballgame.

[Justin Rapp]

I was getting some shocks off my 4" hose going to my dust-collector. I wrapped a bare copper, spiral around the few feet of flex hose and put it under the clamps on both sides, making sure it was in-contact with the metal ductwork. I checked for continuity from the bare copper back to the metal electrical box the D/C is plugged into to ensure the ground goes all the way back to earth. No more shocks.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I bought a 735 in late summer when my old secondhand 733 began having more issues. I've been running a 10' length of 4" black plastic dust hose into a 20 cubic foot bag in which biodegradable shipping peanuts were delivered. The bag has 1/4" holes in a grid, so it lets some air out and I let some out the open end. I use a chair to keep the hose about a foot into the bag while leaving the rest of the bag opening free to let out whatever air doesn't get through the holes. This catches most of the shavings and dust. I do get a static shock if I touch the dust hose while it's running, so I mostly don't touch it. The trash can idea sounds good too, and I'll have to give it a try. I have two old trash cans that were in the yard when I bought the house, and I dump the bag into them after planing. I have a neighbor who accepts the shavings for composting, so when both cans are full I put them on a hand truck in the warmer months or on a sled in the snow and carry them two houses down to dump.

[Don Penniman]

Agreed on not using a shop vac - the blower on the 735 overwhelms the average shop vac (I learned the hard way). I have a custom-made collector for the planer chips - two heavy-duty cardboard boxes glued together and a fine furnace filter. I reinforced the cardboard with thin plywood and made a slide-in frame for the filter. Also put some baffles inside but I don't think the baffles do anything.

Grounded the hose by wrapping bare copper wire around it and running a ground wire to a nail in the concrete floor, nail placed by .22 nail gun in and out-of-the-way place. I still get some static but I'm not getting zapped any more.