Advice Needed - Space for Cyclone + Compressor

[Glen Blanchard]

Looks like the wife and I will be buying a one acre lot just north of Dallas onto which we will someday retire. We met with the archtitect and builder yesterday and cam up with a preliminary floorplan and front elevation. This is where my question comes in.

We are planning on a 34' x 22' dedicated workshop (but convertable to a 3 car garage when we sell) and want to have a smallish "equipment room" to house the cyclone and air compressor that will be seperate from the workshop (although it will have a common wall). This will keep the noise down a bit. I have outlined this room in red below.

1. How large an area, and approx. what dimensions should I be considering for such a room?

2. I also had in my mind that the access to this room would not be from within the shop, but via an exterior door on the equipment room.
Mistake?

3. Is there anything else that I should consider housing in this small room?

http://smilesrus.com/lot/workshop.jpg

[glenn bradley]

My dad's room is outside with the door accessible from outside only. As far as judging your space; go through the motions of removing your drum from under the cyclone, swinging it out to where you will pick it up to remove it from the room. Tape off the area required on the floor. Do it again with someone watching. If you go outside the lines, expand. This allows you to practice which walls you may be bumping into and where the door should be before you build.

[Doug Shepard]

Is there any plumbing plans for the shop? If I were designing this with the thought of converting it to a garage for resale, I guess I'd put the access door inside and wonder if a utility sink in that room might not be good for either use. An inside door would make that room pretty handy for tool storage if used as a garage.

[John Bush]

Hi Glen,
I added a 5'x7' shed with outside access and it works great. Matching the existing roof line resulted in 10'+ ceilng height so I was able to mount the cyclone to the wall and use a 55 gal. drum resting on a platform to catch the dust. . I have ideas for a wheeled cart for the drum to ride on and simply wheel it out to the compost pile when full. Haven't gotten to it yet, tho. I have my compressor under the stairs now, but there is room for it in the shed when needed. I would maximize the size of the shed, frame for a future door in the common wall but have outside access for your use, plumb for a sink and put in a floor drain so it could be used as a shower for future owners( or if our inlaws move in). I would also recommend not mountng the cyclone to the common wall because the vibration turns my wall into a huge sub-woofer. Not unbearable but I imagine the shop would be quieter if not attached to the wall. It may not get cold enough in Dallas, but I have in slab hydronc heat using an 80 gal. hot water tank. It also works great and I'm not blowing dust with forced air heat.

Congrats on the new crib and play room. Keep me informed on the retirement plans also. I've got ~10 years to practice and I'm always interested in how others "exit stategies" work out. Best wishes., JCB.

[Jim Becker]

5' x 7' or 5' x 8' is about right. IMHO.

[Von Bickley]

I like 6' X 8' min....;)

[Glen Blanchard]

Thanks guys. I should have mentioned that I do not presently own a cyclone, so there is no way I can do the calculations myself. Was hoping to get a "feel" for the space requirements. Thanks again.

[Paul Johnstone]

Thanks guys. I should have mentioned that I do not presently own a cyclone, so there is no way I can do the calculations myself. Was hoping to get a "feel" for the space requirements. Thanks again.

If it's any help, my clearvue cyclone has a footprint of roughly 2' by 3'

My concern with your plan is that if you have an external door, you might be tempted not to check the dust bin of the cyclone as often as you should. There's plans on Bill's site for a detector when the bin needs emptying which has a buzzer and light.. I plan on building it. If it works, it might be a good idea for you, since you won't be able to physically see the cyclone without going outside and around to another room.

If it was me, I'd probably put on an internal door.

[Cary Swoveland]

I have pretty much the same setup that you're considering. My utility room, which houses a compressor and cyclone, is slightly less than 5'x5'. It's big enough, but could not be much smaller. The cyclone has a 45-gallon steel drum, and there's plenty of room to maneuvre it for emptying. My room has an exterior door.

Think about ways of deadening the sound of the compressor and cyclone. I have my compressor resting on hockey pucks, and put pucks between the bracket that supports the cyclone and the wall to which the bracket is attached. I installed sound bars, fiberglass insulation and double layers of drywall, and located an outside air vent to minimize sound leakage.

You'll need a floor drain for the compressor.

Depending on your layout and needs, you might find it handy to have a connection for an air hose in the utility room.

It's handy to have a switch for the compressor in the main shop. If code requires there to be a switch in the room containing the compressor, consider wiring the compressor so that it can be shut off from either the shop or utility room.

Cary

[Richard Butler]

Yes.. Exterior only access is a mistake. The other part is that you are going to need some sort of ventilation for the room.

I have a small barn (15x30) with a loft and I put the compressor upstairs. Just doing that reduced the noise quite a bit. The HVAC air handler is upstairs too. Makes filter changes a snap.

[Glen Blanchard]

Well, I guess I will have interior access then. I will plan on having the common wall well insulated (probably that blown-in foam stuff - will discuss with our builder) to minimize noise. I guess we will use solid core doors for the noise issue as well. I'll plan on someting in the 5'x7' - 6'x8' range.

That sound about right?

Thanks again for the suggestions.

[John Hulett]

Glen,

Your post caught my eye, as I was just day-dreaming about this very thing just yesterday. I thought about my dream shop, putting AC and DC in a separate space, as you have asked about here. The other thing I was thinking about is a separate space for finishing. Since you can have it the way you want, it might be something to consider.

- John

[Dan Forman]

If you don't have your cylone's filter inside the shop, there will be the problem of negative pressure in the shop, which may be a concern if you have gas heat. Just something to think about when determining the layout. The filter can be placed on either side of the wall, so no problem either way, however you want to do it.

Dan

[Glen Blanchard]

If you don't have your cylone's filter inside the shop, there will be the problem of negative pressure in the shop, which may be a concern if you have gas heat. Just something to think about when determining the layout. The filter can be placed on either side of the wall, so no problem either way, however you want to do it.

Dan

Not only have I never owned a cyclone, but I know very little about them as well. I assume you are referring to what appears, in photos, to be a pleated filter of some sort?

[Paul Johnstone]

Not only have I never owned a cyclone, but I know very little about them as well. I assume you are referring to what appears, in photos, to be a pleated filter of some sort?

He's saying that if the cyclone is in the other room, there's going to be negative pressure from the cyclone sucking out all the air from the garage into the cyclone room. This negative pressure could suck in furnace fumes if your furnace is in the garage (for example).

Since you are going to put an interior door to this extra room now, I wouldn't worry too much about the negative pressure, as long as the door is not airtight.. That will allow the filtered air from the cyclone to come back into the garage.

Although.. You might want to consider venting the cyclone directly outside if codes/neighborhood association allows it, and if your climate allows it. You'd have to open a window or a garage door to allow "make up" air in. Edit.. I see you are in Texas.. I'd definitely consider this if you are allowed to.

[Glen Blanchard]

He's saying that if the cyclone is in the other room, there's going to be negative pressure from the cyclone sucking out all the air from the garage into the cyclone room. This negative pressure could suck in furnace fumes if your furnace is in the garage (for example).



Thanks Paul. Yes I know that, I just wanted to see if I understood what part of these things is the filter. The filter is usually pleated, no?