Dust collector ?

[Richard Wolf]

Do you leave you DC running most of the time or turn it on and off?
I hate the noise and I hate to have it running all the time, but I sure get lazy about turning it on and off also.

Richard

[Steve Kohn]

I pretty much turn the DC off when I am not actively using it. This is in spite of wearing ear protection most of the time (Mickey Mouse ears) and having a remote control on the DC. The noise it makes and the electricity it consumes is usually annoying enough to cause me to push the off button on the remote.

[Jim Becker]

It's off unless I'm using it...err...well...I run it for periods of time when I am working on one machine or moving between machines when the time between cuts is relatively short. It's easier to just let it run and work the gates. Since it's in a dedicated, sound-reduced closet and gets quite quiet (say that five times fast...) when all the gates are closed, it's really not all that audibly obtrusive...err...noisy... :D

And I'd rather not cycle the motor a lot if I don't need to since letting it run a bit with all the gates closed only draws minimal power and my understanding is that it's better for the motor to avoid a lot of start-stop.

[Greg Sznajdruk]

Jim:

I may have this wrong, but if all your gates are closed you are starving the impeller for air. Would this increase the load on the motor?

Greg

[Steve Clardy]

Just depends on what I'm doing. I carry a remote in my pocket, have a couple of them laying around various places.
I don't have to deal with the noise. Mines outside;)
If I have my tablesaw, jointer, or planer running, I can't hear the muffled sound of the dc

[Jim Becker]

I may have this wrong, but if all your gates are closed you are starving the impeller for air. Would this increase the load on the motor?
No just the opposite. The impeller/motor work the hardest when the air flow is at maximum. Yea, it's not intuitive at first, but that's the way it is! Look at it this way...when the impeller isn't moving air, it moves easier (no resistance) which works the motor the least. You can see this by using a simple ammeter on your system. Look at it with all the gates closed and then with one or two open. The latter case is when the amperage draw will be higher...

[Hoa Dinh]

I don't like the noise, so if there's no machine making dust, I turn the DC off.

I know, it's not good for the motor. But I don't use the shop every day, all day long.

Each of my machine has a rare-earth magnet somewhere near the power switch. The DC remote control (Long Ranger) is stuck to the magnet.

[Don Baer]

I have a tedency to leave mine running, I to don't like to cycle the motor too many times.

[glenn bradley]

I carry the remote. On and off as I go. I let it run at least 30 seconds after the machine is off to clear the pipes.

[Bruce Wrenn]

In my panel box, I have a sensor that cuts DC on. When one of the machines, that are wired through sensor coil, is activated, DC cuts on. When machine cuts off, DC cuts off ten seconds later. This allows for clearing of pipes. Haven't lost this remote yet. You never forget to cut DC on.

[Dan Oliphant]

Will cycle mine based on the need for DC. Mine is not in an inclosure so I do not want to hear it and nothing else.

[Alan Turner]

Bruce,
Can you provide some more information on how you do teh auto-on DC thing? I have no electrical experience, but with a bit of infomation, perhaps our electrician can do his magic. In the PFW shop, we wire single phase tools out of three boxes, and 3 phase out of one box. There are two DC's, and each collects both single phase and three phase tools. This may put your system out of sync for us.
TIA

[Ray Bersch]

Rich, Mine is a noise sensitive environment, so I use a remote hooked to my belt - the DC goes on and off as needed - I start it first and stop it last to allow a spin up at the beginning and to help clean out at the end - it has become second nature. As for the motor cycle issue, well, to me that is just the price of my being able to do woodworking in my garage (townhouse garage!)
Ray

[Jim Becker]

Alan, somewhere in my library I have a Taunton publication that has a reprint of a FW "auto" sense article for DC.

[Cecil Arnold]

Jim, if you can locate the article sometime in the near future, could you please post some info on it. I'm in the process of rearranging my shop/garage to install a CV cyclone and have not addressed how I'm going to control the beast yet.

Thanks.

[Richard Wolf]

My main dust collector is a 5HP. Will the Penn State 220/ 3HP work for me or am I making smoke? If so, what is avaible?

Richard

[John Bush]

I went a bit crazy and installed the Ecogate system that controls the DC on-off timing, gate opening/closing, and time delay of all the above, and it works great when I am milling out stock. I can move from machine to machine without having to think about activating the DC, and for the macines with ducting a bit out of reach, the gates open automatically when I turn on the machine. For the units with easy axcess I use manual gates. I initially thought it was a bit to spendy for a hobbiest, but find the system to be well worth it. JCB.

[Jim Becker]

My main dust collector is a 5HP. Will the Penn State 220/ 3HP work for me or am I making smoke? If so, what is avaible?

Simple solution...use an inexpensive 120v wireless system to control power to a contactor that is rated to be able to handle the load of your particular motor/blower system. Dennis Peacock has an article on his web site on constructing the same that many of us have found quite useful. (I bagged the wireless and just use a centrally located wall switch to control my contactor)

[Steve Rowe]

Richard,
I pretty much do what Jim does except that I leave one gate open. My dust collector is open to my shop and it is noisy. I don't like excessive start cycles on motors but this is likely due to my experience with repetitive starting limitations recommended for much larger motors (6800 - 9000 HP). The high starting currents (6-9 times normal full load current) heat windings and the motor must either be operated to cool or sufficient time must be allowed idle to avoid damage. Whether this is a real concern for the small motors we use, I don't know.
Steve

[Richard Wolf]

Thanks Jim.

Richard

[Jim O'Dell]

I wired mine the same way Jim B. did his. The way I did it, though, is I wired the switch to control an electrical outlet. Plug the contactor coil leads into the outlet. This way if I decide to do a remote later, I just plug it in between the two and I'm done. It was cheaper for me to start withsince I had all the parts to do the central switch, but I don't have to do any rewiring if I decide the central switch is not as convenient as I want it to be. The bulk of my machines will have their on switches within 10' of this switch, which is mounted on the ceiling. All but one will be within 5'. Jim.