Oneida Cyclone - My Install Problems

[Jerry Booher]

I had many problems installing my Super Gorilla. Some of you may get a laugh at me, and potential buyers may want to avoid my errors. The cyclone has 4 parts. The cone is fairly light and the motor which goes on top is 90# - much heavier than my wife and I can lift 8' into the air. Here are the steps I performed trying to install it in the corner. One wall is block and the adjacent wall is a 2x4 stud wall with sheetrock.

1. I hung the bracket on the wall studs with a plywood backing plate using lag screws into the studs.

2. I hung the cone onto the bracket and set the barrel on top of the cone. They were not level due to slight give in the bracket mounting and that bothered me. I then welded up a 2" angle iron stand and started over. I left the required 2" ceiling clearance when I built the stand. Unbolted the 2 pieces, removed the bracket and plywood, patched the holes.

3. Bolted the cone onto the stand. Bolted the barrel onto the cone. Climbed ladders with the heavy fan housing. Oops. Can't get to the bolts. Need to assemble the barrel and fan housing and then climb the ladders with both pieces. We are not strong enough to do that. We decided to slip a piece of hardboard between the cone and the barrel+fan housing and tilt it on its side so I could get at the bolts. Tilted it back into upright position and thought all was well.

4. Unboxed the 90# motor and saw the fan protruding 5" below the motor. Oh, no! The total height needed to be 5" greater than appeared in the installation manual. I cannot put the motor on top of the assembled cyclone and drop the fan 5" into the fan housing.

5. Disassembled everything again. Cut 6" off the stand legs. Knowing I would never be able to lift the 90# motor 8' into the air, I assembled the entire unit on the floor.

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/jerrybooher/Oneida%20Cyclone/Oneida1.jpg

6. I used an engine hoist with a rope wrapped around the motor. The hoist would not lift it greater than 30 degrees so I called 2 buddies to push it the rest of the way. Like they say on TV. "But wait, there is more."

7. We pushed it into the corner, put rubber under the steel legs to isolate sound from the concrete floor.

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/jerrybooher/Oneida%20Cyclone/Oneida2.jpg

8. Tried to add the filter. The fan exit cannot be against the wall. Scooted the entire unit 7" away from the wall and built a box with internal 2x4s to bolt the stand to the wall. With that much weight 9' into the air, I was afraid it might tip over.

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/jerrybooher/Oneida%20Cyclone/Oneida3.jpg

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee184/jerrybooher/Oneida%20Cyclone/Oneida4.jpg

After making all of these mistakes, I decided to reread the installation manual to see where I went wrong. The only error I picked up was the very first one. 3 different methods to mount the barrel and fan housing were presented. When I tried to go cone, barrel, fan, I was inventing a new step that did not work. I wrote this so you could have a laugh at my mistakes, but also to help the next guy avoid them.

Jerry

[Sean Troy]

Glad to see you got it all figured out.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Jerry,

I mounted mine using the wall mount Saturday. I got everything but the motor on by myself. The oldest son came over for supper that evening and he helped me lift the motor up. Mine is the 3 hp motor.....105 lbs...IIRC. Luckily for me I have about an additional 14" of clearance IIRC...

I'm installing the pipe now..........that's no picnic either.

My sympathies!

[Jim Becker]

That's surely a very nice stand...which in the end was likely the best choice all around for support. I think that many folks underestimate the help required to lift these components into place. When my 2hp Commercial went in, Fred Voorhees and I were strained to our limits in getting that motor/fan assembly "up there" and due to constricted working space, there was only room for two people to do it.

Do consider updating to a 55 gallon bin at some point...you can fill that 33 gallon barrel VERY quickly when face jointing and planing. It would only require you to move one of those cross-pieces up so the barrel can be slid in and out for emptying. It does appear you have enough height to pull it off, too.

[Rob Wright]

Jerry - Not to laugh at your expense - I had to giggle a little - I went through no less than 3 iterations when I installed mine last winter;). I should have posted my problems as well so people could have learned from my many mistakes. Ah yes- the old cone barrel fan installation - that one got me the first time, the next one was that the filter wouldn't fit, then I - as well- couldn't drop the motor in with the clearance above. Oh - and I stripped three studs off from the inside because there was so much powder coating on the threads. Should have learned after the first one was twisted off with the impact driver that I should run a die down it to remove the coating - I will never Learn!

Your came out looking pretty nice and you will enjoy it. I wish I would have just bought the stand and saved myself a ton of frustration!

I second Jim's suggestion of the 55 gallon. Surfacing rough stock can fill the bin quite quickly and send it to your filters pretty quick DAMHIKT:mad:.

Now its time for the fun of running the ducting!:D

- Rob

[John Schreiber]

That looks close to the procedure I use to build or install anything. First try all the ways that don't work, then the last one must be the way that it does work.

[Joe Chritz]

No lie that it is heavy.

I used the wall mount and added a piece of flat steel with a single twist for a support brace. I think it took longer to install the pipe than the unit itself.

I have 10' ceilings and that helped a great amount.

It is well worth it when done.

Joe

[David Giles]

No laughter here! Three tries before it's done right is standard operating procedure for me.

[Phil Thien]

Yeah, but now that you're done you gotta admit it looks pretty slick.

[Shawn Walker]

My 3hp. Oneida is sitting on the floor in the shop waiting for assembly and install, and this thread isn't motivating at all. :(
Cheers Shawn.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Shawn.....Don't get discouraged. Just look at it.....and think it through before you start. I managed to get my 3 hp mounted on the wall lbracket. I only needed help getting that Baldor motor and blower on.

[sascha gast]

I assembled and installed everything in a 9foot shed that's about 30" wide and did it all by myself. I did sweat a little after and yeah, getting up on that ladder with the 3hp motor was a pain, but I managed.

I moved and installed ALL tools in my shop by myself, ............one wiggle at a time. the best one was getting my 10" oliver jointer on the mobile base by myself and also my Stubby 1000 lathe. lots of wiggling around

[Paul Coffin]

I mounted mine using the wall bracket. The motor and its mounting plate were the worst part by far. I rigged up my cherry picker/engine hoist to lift the motor but it could not quite reach. So tine I got on a ladder next to the engine hoist and pused the motor the final couple of inches to the top. Hope I never move because I do not want to do that again! The gorilla has been working great for a year now.

[Greg Narozniak]

I completely feel your pain. When I first got my 2hp Commercial Oneida, I read the instructions and liked the part that said "The motor and impeller is very heavy. Please have someone assist you" (Something like that) Well I don't need any stinking help...

I learned quite a few things that day. First is that the more you lift something heavy the weaker you become. The second thing is that when you drop a Leeson motor the end fan cover will dent when it hits the floor. The third thing I learned was to measure at least twice because when I mounted the Angle brackets I made the opening too wide for the impeller housing and it would not "sit" on the brackets. The last thing was that when I Swear very loudly in the garage people inside the house and outside the open garage door can hear me. :)

Once I made the changes, pounded out the dent the unit mounted just perfect but I can understand how you feel.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Jerry, your installation is coming along, I'm sure you'll be happy with the cyclone.

If you don't mind a suggestion, remove the stabiliser box that you built between the cyclone and the wall as it will transmit vibration through the wall structure.

Install a couple of safety chains from the stand to eyebolts in the ceiling if you are concerned about the unit tipping over, leave them a bit slack so vibration will not be transmitted through them.

Regards, Rod.

[John Schreiber]

What about putting three or four screw eyes in the ceiling and lifting the motor assy on ropes? Pulling down and pushing up at the same time would keep from having extreme tension on the bolts and having multiple ropes would provide a safety margin.

[Mike Gabbay]

What about putting three or four screw eyes in the ceiling and lifting the motor assy on ropes? Pulling down and pushing up at the same time would keep from having extreme tension on the bolts and having multiple ropes would provide a safety margin.


That's exactly how I mounted mine. I did it all by myself and a 1-ton come-along. It took a few hours to rig and test the pulley system but once I got things balanced etc. it worked like a charm! I had to get my SDG to sit in between two joist bays. The total height is a couple of inches more than advertised.

[Ben Grunow]

If you unbolt the can from the cone you could rotate the upper section to allow the stand to be against the wall and the filter to not be touching the wall. Just rotate until the filter works and keep going until the holes line up.

I did mine myself and I am still feeling it! Get some ducts hooked up asap but be careful. First time I turned it on it ate my pencils, pad of paper and 2 pairs of safety glasses in about 3 seconds. We all have our issues I guess.