Optimum DC ductwork???

[Chris Yarish]

The process of setting up my small shop has been slow....I am now ready to get my DC connected to everything. I just have a 1hp DC, but my overall square footage is around 200 sq feet.

I can go with a flexible hose, but am reluctant to give up what little suction I have to the resistence in that type of ductwork. I am interested in using ABS but understand there will be problems of flexibility, inability to accurately locate any clogs etc....

Is ABS superior to flexible hoses due to the smoothness of the walls?
....and regardless of what material I use for the ductwork, should I opt to run a larger diameter (6") over a smaller (4")?

Thanks

[Lee Schierer]

If your DC has a 4" or smaller inlet, use 4" pvc drain pipe. It comes in 10 foot sections has lots of fittingts where you can take itapart if it clogs (no need to glue the joints). Static may be a minor nuisance when you first start using it, but it does no permanent harm. It will not cause a dust explosion and you don't need to ground the pipes unless the static is bad or really annoys you. You can reconfigure the pieces easily anythime your layout changes.

[Chris Yarish]

If your DC has a 4" or smaller inlet, use 4" pvc drain pipe. It comes in 10 foot sections has lots of fittingts where you can take itapart if it clogs (no need to glue the joints). Static may be a minor nuisance when you first start using it, but it does no permanent harm. It will not cause a dust explosion and you don't need to ground the pipes unless the static is bad or really annoys you. You can reconfigure the pieces easily anythime your layout changes.

Cool....how would I gound the pipes if I wanted to be proactive in preventing static?

[Anthony Whitesell]

The best way is to purchase a grounding kit that includes bare copper wire. Because the static charge builds on the inside the wire needs to be run down the pipe secured at both ends. The easiest way to do this is as follows:
1. At the machine end of the piping, to tie the end of the wire to the handles of a plastic bag
2. Turn of the DC
3. Place the plastic bag, bottom end first, into the pipe
4. Control the feed rate by supplying holding on to the wire. Don't let the bag meet the impeller.
5. When the bag gets to the last connection before the DC, turn off the DC
6. Take out the bag, untie the wire ,and connect the end of the wire to a copper grounding rod. Per the NEC, the ground of the machine or electrical system is not to be used for static discharge.

[Lee Schierer]

Putting the wire inside will potentially cause clogs. Place the wire along the outside and secure it to the outside of hte pipe with aluminmum tape, either continuously or intermittently. Run the wire to a cold water pipe or electrical ground. If your DC has a three wire plug attach the wire under one of the screws holding the cover on the elctrical box the cord goes into. You can also attach the other end to the piece of equipment if you want.

I have PVC in my shop and have never been zapped. I run my table router, tablesaw, bandsaw, planer and dust collector for my spindle sander all through 4" pvc duct. I have no ground wires on my system. The dust will collect for the first few weeks on the outside and will eleiminate the static.

[Jim Becker]

Chris, honestly, you'll get the best performance from your 1hp DC with a short hose connected directly to each tool as you use them...move the DC around. While you "can" use a little hard pipe (4" is about the best you can do in this case), you will reduce the performance of the machine greatly over a very short duct length. These small machines were not designed to be hard-piped in.

[Chris Padilla]

Oh, and if you hardpipe with PVC, forget about grounding it. Even if you want to do it, it isn't easy to do it correctly and frankly, there is no need.

However, I'm with Jim, for that small of a DC, you might be better off moving it from location to location. You just won't get good performance otherwise. You need a much larger system to make putting in hardline worthwhile and if you want to do that, get a system with at least a 6" outlet so you can run 6" pipe everywhere.

[Chris Yarish]

Chris, honestly, you'll get the best performance from your 1hp DC with a short hose connected directly to each tool as you use them...move the DC around. While you "can" use a little hard pipe (4" is about the best you can do in this case), you will reduce the performance of the machine greatly over a very short duct length. These small machines were not designed to be hard-piped in.

...and this was actually my initial plan, but I had thought I'd just have the DC stationary but run ductwork to each machine with a gate to shut it off to the machines I wasn't using. I would rather open or close a blast gate than move the DC around the shop as I bounce from machine to machine.

Being a bit lazy on occasion, I just didn't want to use, say, the bandsaw, without the DC because it was a pain to pull the DC over and attach it to the BS port and then back to wherever I was working.

[Chris Padilla]

Chris,

You can use "quick-connect" type of couplings to help minimize the pain. I've seen clear plastic ones offered in various ww'ing catalogs so Google is your buddy.

[Barry Lloyd]

If you do decide to go with hard pipe, the local Lowe's around Atlanta all stock the 4" thin wall Sewer & Drain pipe (ASTM D2729) with all the fittings at reasonable prices. Hopefully the ones in your area do too. For some reason the Home Depots are spotty in what they carry of the S&D pipe.

Barry