Cyclone: Buy it or build it?

[Rob Floyd]

I'm planning on adding a cyclone to my shop in the next year but haven't decided to buy it or do-it-myself. I've read many SMC threads discussing the merits and demerits of the various commercial cyclones but haven't read many threads where guys (or gals) were building their own. With the treasure trove of information on Bill Pentz's site, I find it very tempting to give it a whirl (I have no shame). Bill makes it sound so easy; no sheet metal experience - no problem.

"Worth it" means different things to different people. For those of you who built your own, was it worth it? Was it worth trading your time for the financial benefits (if there were any). Would you do it again?

For those who went the commercial route; did you consider diy as an option? Why did you buy?

Rob

[Randy Denby]

I am in HVAC and as such have been around sheetmetal working now for close to 30 yrs. I bought an Oneida with only one regret (its a great unit)....and that is I didnt try and make one. I know I could have, especially with all the plans, cut sheets out on the internet.I dont believe I could have used as heavy of gauge as my oneida tho. By the time I would have bought the motor , wheel,sheetmetal and filter I dont know if I would have realized much savings....but buying furniture is cheaper than buying tools if you try and justify our hobby. To me, its the satisfaction of building something. So....I wish I had tried, and might still do it.

[M Toupin]

Rob, I built mine based on the Pentz design. I'm happy with the results and performance. I've got a lot of sheet metal and welding experience from a previous life so it was not new territory for me. While I saved by going DYI cost Wise on materials, it was probably a wash if you consider time. I went with 20ga as I had the tools available to work with it so it's a hefty unit. You'll have to decide for yourself if this is a project for you. Personally, I enjoy the build no matter what it is, furniture, shop stuff, rebuilding a owwm machine etc. Some folks don't enjoy that stuff though.

Mike

[Mike Spanbauer]

I wanted a unit that was more stout than I could make myself (went w/ the Oneida 5hp Pro unit, weighs about 500lbs and is SOLID!!

Sucks like mad and has a remote control, can't complain :)

mike

[Darryl deHaan]

I seriously considered the DIY route, but in the end I purchased an Oneida. After a lot of research I found that the cost savings would have been minimal for me. For some who may have better access to cheaper components than I do, the cost savings could be greater I suppose. Another thing that factored into my decision was time. With two small kids and a busy life, my shop time is (unfortunately) limited. Had I decided to build instead of buy, it would have taken me 6 months to build... 6 months in which I would rather be making sawdust. Just my 2 cents.

D

[Alan Schaffter]

I bought an old 3 Hp Griz DC w/14" impeller on Ebay. Pitched the base and bags and built a Pentz cyclone. Added a cartridge filter. REALLY sucks for under $400. Cyclone less than $50 in sheet metal. Satisfaction of building, and in my case, saving big bucks. You might want to check out Clear Vue.

[Jeff Miller]

I found mine at a scrap yard. $50.00. It sucks:D


http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f32/woodfarmer/OWWM/owwm037-1.jpg





JEFF:)

[Rob Floyd]

Darryl,

I know what you mean. My kids are on their own and I'm headed toward retirement. I've jumped into a lot of projects to save some money and gain some experience. But in the end, I mostly ended up with experience gained and there's certainly value in that.

Alan,

I like the idea of heading to Ebay to gather parts. I'm amazed at the stuff you can find on there and the Craiglist.

Rob

[Paul Johnstone]

I ended up buying a clearview (or is it ClearVue)?

Took about a weekend to put together, although if I was uninterupted, I might've been able to do it in a day.

I had no desire to mess around with sheet metal, because I have 1000 unfinished projects around the house.

To me, it was well worth it to buy.

I think you need to ask yourself the following questions:

1. Will I enjoy building it myself? For me, the answer was no. I love wood, hate sheet metal.

2. Do I have the time to build it myself? Be honest with yourself. Free time is my most precious resource. If you end up buying all the parts, but it takes you a year to finish it, it's not worth it, even if you do have fun.
(It would've probably taken me a year to finish it, given my other stuff going on).

As far as I know, the cost savings isn't that much at all, compared to the time you will spend on it.

[Edward Henderson]

I made my own several years ago from plans I found in "Shopnotes" magazine. When I discovered Bill pentz site a few years later I inquired about his opinion of it and he made a few recommendations regarding duct size.
I'm happy with the project but wish I'd had access to the Pentz info. I'd build one again rather than buy.

Ed

[harry strasil]

Probably not what you want to hear, but I have a real small space for a shop and mine came about as a way to recycle an old kaput shop vac to keep from plugging the filter on the new one.

A piece of stove pipe, a piece of scrap plywood, a plastic plumbing elbow and about an hour and a half and it works like a charm. The main shop vac gets almost nothing in it.

Didn't even know it was a cyclone till I saw one while browsing a WW magazine at the store years later.

[Al Barale]

Rob It took me a while to actually get around to building a Bill Pentz cyclone and having built one I dont regret it one bit, I downloaded the plans from Bill Pentz's web site and found the plans to be excellent.
I have attached some pics and also included a link of more pics
http://gallery.clearvuecyclones.com/Als-Cyclone-project

[jim mckee]

Guy on ebay sells cyclone for 185?
Proper design, Very well made, I have one.
jim

[Bob Aquino]

Guy on ebay sells cyclone for 185?
Proper design, Very well made, I have one.
jim

Jim, I've seen his stuff online. Not to hijack the thread, but can you post some more information on it and pictures and maybe a short review?

[Al Willits]

fwiw, I'd look at several of the plans out there, Pentz has some good info on his website and maybe google building one, see what's all involved and especially what tools you'll need and then maybe decide if you want to spend the time.

Always enjoyable to DIY, but if the learning curve and tool expense is high enough, maybe buying one is a better option, especially considering you probably will only ever need one of them.

I work in HVAC also and just like wood, there's the, to long, to long, ooops factor to deal with, and learning tin bending may be a bit much for just one cyclone.
Good luck either way.

Al

[Rod Sheridan]

I look at the cyclone as another tool in the shop.

When I am trying to decide whether to make a tool I ask myself the following questions;

1) Is it available from a manufacturer, or must I make it?

2) If it's commercially available and I make it, how much more, or less will it cost compared to purchasing it?

3) Is the one I make going to work as well as the purchased one?

4) Will I have to buy more tools to make the tool?

5) How much time will it take to build, and can I give up that much woodworking time to build a tool?

When I looked at the cost of making a cyclone, as well as the time involved in chasing down materials and components, I realized that the Oneida cyclone was the route to go for me.

I paid my money, received a product that was great, and haven't regretted it.

Your decision may be different..........Rod.

[Keith Beck]

Guy on ebay sells cyclone for 185?
Proper design, Very well made, I have one.
jim

Jim,

Like Bob, I'd like to hear more about this cyclone. I believe I read somewhere that it requires some modifications to get the best performance, such as an air ramp? I've got a Grizzley 1029 DC w/a 12" impellor that I'd like to convert to a cyclone, do you think this would work or is 2hp not enough oomph?

Bob (and any other Tidewater denizens),

If you'd be interested in getting together and helping each other out with constructing a homemade cyclone, I'm game...

Keith

[Matt Meiser]

Keith, I have a Jet 2HP/12" blower which sucks through an Oneida C-650 cyclone. Using 6" duct I get excellent performance based on the fact that my shop stays pretty clean. The exhaust of mine blows outside so I don't deal with filters. I think I might get better separation of the extreme fines with a different cyclone, but I'm happy with the way it is.

[Pat Zabrocki]

I wound up buying the TEMP1425S from Penn State Industries before I joined this forum. I don't see too many people comment on these as most seam to have the Onieda but I reall like it. Anyway, before I bought the big unit, I too, thought I would make my own since I had a dust collector I figured I could use the motor (2hp) off of that and Penn State sells just the cyclone without a motor (part no. CYCLONE2 $325) which I bought too. However, because I travel 4 days a week for business and as someone else said "I have a 1000 other projects stacked up", I abandoned the project. I guess I'd rather build woodworking projects than tools. With all that said, the reason for this post is that I still have the CYCLONE2 I got when I thought I would build. I was going to post it in the classifieds and I still will if the moderators get upset about this post but I wanted to let you guys know that I'd part with it for $150 or so. PM me and we can work something out if interested. It might save you some time but you'll have to decide what's cost effective. You can see the item at the Penn State site www.pennstateind.com/store/cyclone2.html (http://www.pennstateind.com/store/cyclone2.html) using the part number CYCLONE2. Just thought I'd let you know since there seams to be a couple guys get ready to start building.

cheers
Pat

[Keith Beck]

Keith, I have a Jet 2HP/12" blower which sucks through an Oneida C-650 cyclone. Using 6" duct I get excellent performance based on the fact that my shop stays pretty clean. The exhaust of mine blows outside so I don't deal with filters. I think I might get better separation of the extreme fines with a different cyclone, but I'm happy with the way it is.

Matt,

Thanks for the info. I've really been wanting to upgrade my ducts from 4" to 6", but since I'm currenly using a trash can separator, that's not going to work. It sounds like I could efficiently use my current blower and build or buy the cyclone carcass and save myself some money in the long run. Now I've just got to figure out which route I want to take. :D

Keith

[Greg Narozniak]

A few years back I had ordered one of the "kits" and once I added up the cost of the kit (sheetmetal, fastners, etc) the motor, the impeller, cost of building the impeller housing, filter, dust bin, etc. it worked out to over $1k. For roughly $1200 I ordered an Oneida 2hp Commercial and within 3 days it arrived and has been running OUTSTANDING since it arrived.

IMHWWO, it was just not worth the time and labor to build one. I love building things but just not this :)

[Lewis Cobb]

Rob It took me a while to actually get around to building a Bill Pentz cyclone and having built one I dont regret it one bit, I downloaded the plans from Bill Pentz's web site and found the plans to be excellent.
I have attached some pics and also included a link of more pics
http://gallery.clearvuecyclones.com/Als-Cyclone-project

Sorry - don't want to hijack this thread but being in the "i'm gonna build" camp - I was wondering Al - what are the dimensions on the flanges that you used to bolt the top and bottom of the cyclone together? I have been thinking of doing the same and not having seen a Grizzly or Oneida unit, I was guessing at the size of the bolts and flanges used to mate the two pieces. I have access to a cnc laser that can cut the flanges for me so there's no restriction on thickness. Then it will be off to the welder to fasten it to the drum and cone.

Thanks !

[Jim Becker]

I did not consider building a cyclone, preferring to purchase the product from a company that knows the business and concentrates on small-mid size shop dust control.

[Al Barale]

Sorry - don't want to hijack this thread but being in the "i'm gonna build" camp - I was wondering Al - what are the dimensions on the flanges that you used to bolt the top and bottom of the cyclone together? I have been thinking of doing the same and not having seen a Grizzly or Oneida unit, I was guessing at the size of the bolts and flanges used to mate the two pieces. I have access to a cnc laser that can cut the flanges for me so there's no restriction on thickness. Then it will be off to the welder to fasten it to the drum and cone.

Thanks !

Lewis The flange rings were 1 1/8" wide, the upper cylinder and cone both had a 1/4" turnout which the flange rings slid to.
Hopefully the picture makes some sense of what I mean.

[Prashun Patel]

Don't make it yourself if yr only motivation is cost savings. In the end, the time and effort spent won't justify that. Do it bkz you want the satisfaction of having built it from scratch.

[Lewis Cobb]

Lewis The flange rings were 1 1/8" wide, the upper cylinder and cone both had a 1/4" turnout which the flange rings slid to.
Hopefully the picture makes some sense of what I mean.

Yep - I understand it now. I may PM you with a couple more questions rather than tie up the thread here. In the meantime I printed out some of your pics and this diagram and included them in my ever increasing cyclone plans file.

Thanks very much !

Lewis