Dust Collector Upstairs

[steve swantee]

Hello everyone, I just dragged home a King Canada dust collector (2 hp, 1200 cfm, 1 micron bag) from the local home center, as I had some Xmas money burning a hole in my pocket. I'm determined not to eat any more dust from my 15" planer and 16" jointer. Now for my dilemma: I haven't got a ton of free floor space, and I would like to avoid running collection pipes across the floor to my machines. I am considering putting the collector upstairs in the unused loft above my shop. If I did this, I could avoid the tripping hazard of pipes running across my floors, and I could drop a pipe from the ceiling directly above my planer and jointer. The run would only be about 8-10 feet. Furthermore, I rarely utilize the full capacity of these machines, so I don't think the d/c would be overworked . I would also have to run some electrics so I can turn on d/c from a central location downstairs in the shop, but that is not a problem. Has anyone done this? Will this place a bigger demand on the d/c having it upstairs? This is my first collector, so any input would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Steve

[Jeffrey Schronce]

I put my old 2hp unit in the attic of my shop. I had absolutely no problems with the run which was longer than the one you describe. I access my shop attic with an aluminum ladder between the joists, so carrying full bags of shavings down the ladder was not fun. It had not problem keeping up with the 8" jointer, though it did have a little problem keeping up with a 12" + cut on the 15" planer. To fix the issue of carrying the bags down the stairs I installed a "trash can style seperator" on the ground level and emptied from there. I believe that may have caused the inability to keep up with the 15" planer cuts.
Overall it was a nice installation.

[steve swantee]

Thanks Jeffrey, I have a large opening for my ladder, about 4' square, so that should not be a problem. I'm encouraged already. This place is great!!
Steve

[David Wilson]

Steve
The only problem I can see is a heat one. If your loft is uninsulated you might consider building an insulated enclosure for the DC and venting it back down to the shop.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Good point. I left that out. My shop is currently unheated. When I upgraded to a cyclone I vented outside. When I get the shop heated I am going to have to re-think that whole process.

As advised, you can enclose the DC with a box and then use furnace filters in an opening between the box and the shop to return heated air (if your shop is heated).

[steve swantee]

I hadn't thought of that. Right now I am more interested in getting things up and running, but thats a great idea for the future, thanks. BTW David, congrats on the progress of your "new" Unisaw.
Steve

[steve swantee]

One more question, the collector has a 6" inlet, and has a plastic reducer with two 4" inlets on it. Should I keep this, or stick with 6" pipe for main run and only reduce near machine hook-up? Thanks
Steve

[Bill Pentz]

Steve,

Although you got some good suggestions, putting a dust collector upstairs poses some serious fire dangers unless you take extra care. Specifically, only use steel duct up in areas where you can't see, plus make sure your dust drops down through a hole into preferably a metal trashcan in your shop.

The other issue is we know that few vendors actually provide filters that work as well as rated, so realize that it is more likely than not that your dust collector will fill that attic area and your shop with fine dust that we know causes permanent health damage.

bill

[chris del]

Steve, If you do end up putting the unit in the attic, consider adding a pre-seperator like the Veritas cyclone lid from Lee-Valley near your machines. That way you will only have to empty the DC bag every 7 or 8 drums full.
I have one and it does a great job on planer and jointer chips.

Chris

[Steve Kohn]

If the shop is heated, and the attic space is not, wouldn't you have to worry about condensation forming the ductwork after you run your system for a short while? And would the condensation "catch" sawdust and coat the inside of the duct over time?

It seems to me that hanging the duct work from the shop ceiling, in the heated space of the shop makes for a lot easier and safer solution.

[steve swantee]

Thanks everyone for your advice and encouragement. I've now got some good points to consider as I begin to design my d/c system. I'm going to go ahead with my original plan of putting the system in the loft, but I have a little more to consider now, and in the end it will probably be a better system thanks to all your input. Thanks again.

Steve Swantee

[JayStPeter]

Jointers and Planers fill bags quickly. Processing just a few boards will load up my 35 gal. barrel. My biggest concern would be that by the time you realize they are full from downstairs, you'll be disassembling the ductwork to unclog it.

[steve swantee]

Hello everyone, been a while since I started this thread, and after a PM from another member, I thought I would let you in on the results. I have my collector up & running ( in the unused loft over my shop), and could not be happier with the results. I decided to go with the steel snap-lok pipe available at most home centers for two reasons. Price and static electricity. I used the commonly available galvanized 30 ga. pipe, and have no issues with pipes collapsing. I removed the double 4" connector from the blower inlet, and the 6" steel pipe fit snugly over the inlet. After a short run of straight pipe (18") I added a couple of 6x6x6" wyes . One goes through the floor directly over my 15" planer, and one goes to the tablesaw, and one duct continues straight through these wyes to my 16" jointer. So far I have only connected the planer, and the other wye is capped off until I get around to connecting the other machines.
Because HVAC duct joints are designed to blow air and not collect dust, the first short section attached to the blower has the crimped end cut off, and all subsequent pipe fittings now have the joints oriented the proper way for dust collection. Where I ran the duct through the floor to the shop below, I cut an 18" square of OSB, and cut a 6" hole in it and pressed in a 6" stove pipe coupler, and ran a bead of const. adhesive around it and left it to harden. then I screwed it to the floor over the hole, and connected the pipes to it above and below. I made my connections with metal duct tape and sheet metal screws. For the blast gates(from Lee Valley), I once again used a stove pipe coupler. One end slips over the flange of the gate (extremely tight fit, but it will go) and the other is slipped into the collection pipe and screwed & taped. 6" flex hose attaches the machine to the pipe. I added a seperate breaker to my fuse panel, and ran a wire upstairs to the collector with a switch downstairs to turn it on and off as needed. I'll eventually get my other machines piped up, but the planer was my biggest offender. The collector has taken everything I've thrown at it with ease. I notice the quality of the planed boards has really improved. There are no chips getting caught under the rollers, and putting dents in the planed surfaces, just glass- smooth cuts every time. It has greatly improved my shop time and my sinuses. Also, almost no detectable fine dust buildup, but may someday add an exhaust fan in gable end just as a little extra insurance . Thanks for all your input.

Steve Swantee

[Jim Grill]

It's now 5 months later. I'm dying for an update. I too have a loft over my garage and am thinking of putting a DC up there.

How did it work out for you? Got any tips for anyone else considering DC in the loft or attic?

[Art Mulder]

Errr, Jim, did you read the post just above yours? He did give a follow-up!

[Jim Grill]

Errr, Jim, did you read the post just above yours? He did give a follow-up!

ehhh... My bad. For some reason the page I posted that reply to seemed to end with a "tanks for the advice", etc. and there was no second page.

I'll figure it out, eventually. That's what I get for being new to the forum. :)