How do you monitor your cyclones dust bin?

[Phil Harding]

I've learned a lot about cyclone dust collectors by following the many SMC threads on the topic and one piece of advice I recall reading many times is to make sure that the dust bin does not overfill. I just started installation of an Oneida-Air Super Gorilla cyclone with the 35 gallon fiber drum dust bin. I'm replacing a Jet single stage dust collector where the wood dust is collected in a clear plastic bag. With the Jet I could easily see when to empty the bag. So, I'm wondering how others who use cyclones address this problem.

I did ask Oneida about their bin level detector (some sort of slow speed propeller) but the salesman I am working with doesn't recommend it. He said it's being redesigned but the current model is over priced and unreliable.

One thought I had was to cut a 2 or 3 inch vertical window in the dust bin and then epoxy in a piece of plexiglass. At least this way I could see at a glance how full the bin is. But this seems so simple I wonder why the cyclone manufacturers don't offer bins with this feature. Would the plexiglass become scratched after some time that it would become useless as a window? Any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance for your comments.

-- Phil

[Jamie Buxton]

Rather than buying a fiber drum for my cyclone, I built a bin from plywood. I included an acrylic window in the side, so I can see at a glance whether the bin is full. The plastic has not scratched, and I've probably taken a hundred bins-full of sawdust out of it.

[Cody Colston]

My Oneida cyclone is inside the shop and unenclosed. I simply keep an eye on the section of clear flex between the 35 gal drum and the cyclone, especially when doing a lot of planing or jointing.

I am interested in hearing what other's do, however, as I plan some day to move my cyclone to an as-yet-to-be-built rear extension on the shop. That would preclude "keeping an eye" on the chip drum.

[Dan Forman]

If you cut a hole in the cardboard barrel for a window, you will have to0 be sure it seals completely. Any air leakiage will disrupt the cyclone action. I haven't had mine all that long, I try to check it before I do any jointing or planing.

There was an interesting thread on another board about a fellow who cut holes in his cyclone and installed a window with a light on one side, and an electric eye on the other side. When the barrel gets full, there is enough dust circulating in the lower part of the cyclone that it blocks the light, which then shuts off the blower. He was going to have it turn on a warning strobe light, but was afraid he wouldn't see it, so it just shuts off the blower. Only problem might be that he wouldn't notice the blower going off, since he wears ear protection. He did a couple of tests, and it works as expected.

If you are interested, look over at (ncwoodworker.net), the post is titled "Cyclone high dust alarm- it works!!!!!" date of post is 02/18/07.

Dan

[David G Baker]

If you cut a hole in the cardboard barrel for a window, you will have to0 be sure it seals completely. Any air leakiage will disrupt the cyclone action. I haven't had mine all that long, I try to check it before I do any jointing or planing.

There was an interesting thread on another board about a fellow who cut holes in his cyclone and installed a window with a light on one side, and an electric eye on the other side. When the barrel gets full, there is enough dust circulating in the lower part of the cyclone that it blocks the light, which then shuts off the blower. He was going to have it turn on a warning strobe light, but was afraid he wouldn't see it, so it just shuts off the blower. Only problem might be that he wouldn't notice the blower going off, since he wears ear protection. He did a couple of tests, and it works as expected.

If you are interested, look over at (ncwoodworker.net), the post is titled "Cyclone high dust alarm- it works!!!!!" date of post is 02/18/07.

Dan
Dan,
I tried to register on the ncwoodworler board but I guess they don't like us outsiders. It looks like an interesting board.
David B

[Bob Spare]

If you cut a hole in the cardboard barrel for a window, you will have to0 be sure it seals completely. Any air leakiage will disrupt the cyclone action. I haven't had mine all that long, I try to check it before I do any jointing or planing.

There was an interesting thread on another board about a fellow who cut holes in his cyclone and installed a window with a light on one side, and an electric eye on the other side. When the barrel gets full, there is enough dust circulating in the lower part of the cyclone that it blocks the light, which then shuts off the blower. He was going to have it turn on a warning strobe light, but was afraid he wouldn't see it, so it just shuts off the blower. Only problem might be that he wouldn't notice the blower going off, since he wears ear protection. He did a couple of tests, and it works as expected.

If you are interested, look over at (ncwoodworker.net), the post is titled "Cyclone high dust alarm- it works!!!!!" date of post is 02/18/07.

Dan

Here is the thread you mentioned. Considering this or a window peek for CV

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php?t=7195 (http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php?t=7195)


http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php?t=7240 (http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php?t=7240)

[Phil Harding]

Here is the thread you mentioned. Considering this or a window peek for CV

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php?t=7195 (http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php?t=7195)


http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php?t=7240 (http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php?t=7240)

Thanks to Bob and Dan for the pointer to Alan Schaffter's creative solution. This is along the lines of what I had in mind although I would want to detect the full bin before the level reached the bottom of the cyclone cone.

I recall reading somewhere about another approach similar to the device that Oneida-Air sells. It was a slow speed fan located inside the dust bin. When the dust/chip level reaches the height of the fan it stops the fan rotation and a feedback loop shuts down the cyclone blower or flashes an alarm. I'll have to dig through my saved pages to see if I can find that link.

-- Phil

[Bill Simmeth]

There's an article on Bill Pentz' web site about building a low cost sensor. I have not tried it but it looks straight forward.
http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/DustLevelSensor.cfm

[Paul Johnstone]

I'm planning on making Bill's sensor as well. It is relatively inexpensive. It seems that the adjustable resistor allows some tuning. I have the parts, but haven't put it together yet.

[Eric Commarato]

I have a clear hose that goes from the cyclone to the top of a metal trash can. When I see the shavings starting to pile up in through the clear hose, I know it is time to empty the can. Pretty simple.

[Pete Brown]

I have a clear hose that goes from the cyclone to the top of a metal trash can. When I see the shavings starting to pile up in through the clear hose, I know it is time to empty the can. Pretty simple.

But by then, it is too late to avoid making a mess. You save yourself from filling your filter (something I have done twice), but when you take the lid off, you dump dust and shavings everywhere.

Pete

[Bob Spare]

I recall reading somewhere about another approach similar to the device that Oneida-Air sells.
-- Phil

Read yesterday someone wanted to purchase one,
and the salesman told him to hold off, that they are
re-doing it.

Didnt work right.................:confused: :confused:
Just quoting what I read

[Cody Colston]

But by then, it is too late to avoid making a mess. You save yourself from filling your filter (something I have done twice), but when you take the lid off, you dump dust and shavings everywhere.

Pete

Not so, because that's how I do mine. A few shakes of the drum will settle the chips enough to avoid making a mess. They are not packed very tightly as they fall out of the cyclone.

As long as the level isn't above the top of the flex hose, they will settle below the drum top when shaken (not stirred) a bit.

[Jim Becker]

I put a 4" square window in the top of my 55 gallon bin. It helps me see the status of the "fill". Of course, I have to remember to actually look on a regular basis when I'm processing material on the jointer/planer... ;) ...it does fill very fast!

[Eric Wong]

There's an article on Bill Pentz' web site about building a low cost sensor. I have not tried it but it looks straight forward.
http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/DustLevelSensor.cfm

That would be great if I knew how to interpret the circuit diagram. With no experience in building even simple circuits, I'll have to google for some basic skills:(

[Russ Massery]

Sort of a gloat here. With a clearvue you can see the bottom of the cyclone filling.:rolleyes: overfilling hasn't been a issue so far.

[Thomas Canfield]

I replied to a post some time back about using a cut down plastic drum barrel for a dust collector bin (with picture), and it showed a plexiglass window that I cut into the side of the drum. I made a wood window frame curved to match the drum, used silicone calk to prevent leakage and screwed the frame to the drum. Remember that the drum is at point of maximum vacuum in the system and calk is drawn in, not pushed out. There is a problem with static electricty and dust collecting to the plexiglas window, but you can see when the wood chips are building up if you glance that direction from time to time - no alarm. I put the window about 2/3 up from the bottom to allow better settling and a lighter drum to empty.

[Doug Shepard]

I still need to finish my DC install. No ductwork yet so I cant report on how well this works but I bought one of the propeller units - a Dwyer unit http://www.dwyer-inst.com/htdocs/level/ModelDBLMPrice.cfm that I picked up on eBay. I cant remember for certain what I paid but I think it was $45. Anyway, this looks pretty similar to the unit on Oneida's site but the price is about half of Oneida's. I've got mine wired to a 12V emergency strobe light. My DC and bin are in a closet so the see through window methods didn't really seem practical.