Outdoor DC

[Matt Lentzner]

I was thinking of installing my DC system in a small shed on the exterior wall of my garage as opposed to putting it inside the shop area.

This seems to have two big benefits:
1. Saves room in the shop
2. Particles don't get blown around in the shop by the DC

With some possible downsides:
1. Will the noise bother the neighbors? (I live in a suburban housing development)
2. Will the dust bother the neighbors?
3. Is there an issue with having an external 220v outlet?
4. Will the DC work correctly in a small confined space?
5. Is there any issue running a 5" - 6" pipe through the wall into the garage?

Thanks for any advice. I'm having the wiring done in a few weeks and I need to know if it's going to be inside or outside.

Matt

[Rob Will]

I was thinking of installing my DC system in a small shed on the exterior wall of my garage as opposed to putting it inside the shop area.

This seems to have two big benefits:
1. Saves room in the shop
2. Particles don't get blown around in the shop by the DC

With some possible downsides:
1. Will the noise bother the neighbors? (I live in a suburban housing development)
2. Will the dust bother the neighbors?
3. Is there an issue with having an external 220v outlet?
4. Will the DC work correctly in a small confined space?
5. Is there any issue running a 5" - 6" pipe through the wall into the garage?

Thanks for any advice. I'm having the wiring done in a few weeks and I need to know if it's going to be inside or outside.

Matt

Matt,
If you are considering a cyclone, I would suggest putting it outside under roof with a return air pipe coming back in to the filters. With the filters inside, the neighbors probably won't complain.
If you're looking at a bag system, try to insulate the room from sound transmission. You can get a small motorized louver for the wall to return air into the shop. When you shut off the DC, the louver automatically closes.

Rob

[Frank Hagan]

If you were a commercial shop, you would probably be required to have the DC outside (at least the filter bags or cyclone). I corresponded briefly with Bill Pentz on this, and he says its a great idea where you can do it. None of the really fine stuff that is so harmful will be in the air, because you're exhausting it outside. But there are a couple of things to consider:

1. You are moving air from the shop to the outside. You have to provide for "make up" air inside your shop. So you will need to provide vents capable of providing the amount of air your DC moves. There's also a danger if you don't provide enough make up air if you have a gas water heater or gas furnace in your shop. If you "go negative" in the room, it may reverse air flow down the gas appliance vents and expose you to CO poisoning.

2. Moving that much air into and out of your shop may be expensive if you are heating or cooling your shop air.

3. You may be able to mount a cyclone inside the shop and direct the exhaust outside without worrying about filters. Same caveats as above, but it avoids the noise issue you are concerned with. I'm toying with this set up, thinking that I'll put the exhaust into a "shed" that will act as a baffle box to capture any dust.