Cyclone in unheated space

Hi, looking to reduce some noise in the shop. I have a 3hp cyclone and was thinking of putting it in the attic of the garage which is unheated, I would leave the filter stack in the workshop as well as the dust bin.
i am in VT so its quite chilly.
The question/s are

1. Will it even reduce much noise? Seems most of of it comes from the exhaust to the filter so I suppose i would need to put the filter as close to the ceiling to minimize the hose.

2. Would I have a lot of heat loss / cold air from attic blown into shop?
I am thinking when I initially turn it on it would bring in some cold air in but after that i would just be recirculating the shop air

any one done this? Thoughts?

thanks, Mark

My cyclone is outside. The noise level is only slightly reduced. I don't believe there is a great deal of heat loss as the air stream cycles through so quickly.

Any possibility of insulating the cyclone and filters? If the filters were enclosed in a box and then have a couple baffles in the return to the shop there should be less noise and heat loss.

How are you heating your garage shop space and/or air conditioning it?

If you’re doing neither or expecting to do either, it could be a fun project.

From the sounds of it

you’re pulling the collection outside to the blower and then dumping the collection material... inside with replacement air

or…

You are separating the collection on the inside and then going through the blower and replacing blower activity back to the inside.


Do you have some pictures of what you’re doing or planning on doing?

I wouldn't think there would be that much effect. The air going through the blower won't be there long enough to be cooled.

To each his own, but I don't find the DC noise to be that objectionable. I'm only using mine with machines (which are louder that the DC) & since I'm usually wearing hearing protection with machines, it doesn't really matter.

You'll have to evaluate the benefits/hassles of installing the unit in the attic.

Much noise can be transmitted by contact. In my cyclone closet I mounted the thing on an outside wall. If you have room, maybe build a sound-insulated space in the closet so the sound won't be all through the space and transmitted through the entire ceiling.

I've read of people having good results by wrapping the duct between the cyclone and the filters with insulation to make a muffler. Some people used flexible hvac insulated duct but the thicker the better. All this should be easy enough to mock up and test in the shop before moving the cyclone. I like the idea of the bin below. If you use a transparent section at the end of the drop you could see when the bin is overflowing.

Can you possibly put the filters in the attic too? If you build an insulated space in the attic (essentially a closet). I built a baffled plywood duct for the return air, from the closet to the shop in my case. Almost no sound gets through. A couple of bends in the inlet duct might be sufficient as long as the duct is big enough so it wouldn't restrict the flow. (needs to be much larger than the input ducts since the pressure will be much lower)

For a sound insulated closet, I used staggered stud construction. I can hear a whisper outside the closet when the thing is running. (5hp clearvue) Without the closet it caused bleeding ears and brain implosions. (just kidding, but it is very loud)

I can't see how you could get much cold air from the attic with the closed system since the air coming in will be from the shop and the air going out will be too the shop. As a winter bonus, the return air will be warmed slightly from the heat of the motor (if you enclose the cyclone in the attic).

JKJ

My cyclone is in a sound reduced closet that gets no attention from my HVAC system...so it's colder in there at this time of the year for sure. No issues. I think you'l be fine.

Mark, the heat loss in the winter and gained in the summer on your uninsulated cyclone and ductwork will be roughly the equivalent to a single pane window that is twice the exposed surface area of the cyclone and ductwork in the attic. So, not too horrible-but would be much better if you insulated it slightly. If you do insulate, be sure to leave the motor exposed for cooling. Also make sure the attic doesn’t get too hot in the summer and cause the motor to overheat.
Personally unless space is a premium, I would put a sound enclosure around the cyclone and filters.
Cheers
Sean

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mark e Kessler

Hi, looking to reduce some noise in the shop. I have a 3hp cyclone and was thinking of putting it in the attic of the garage which is unheated, I would leave the filter stack in the workshop as well as the dust bin.
i am in VT so its quite chilly.
The question/s are

1. Will it even reduce much noise? Seems most of of it comes from the exhaust to the filter so I suppose i would need to put the filter as close to the ceiling to minimize the hose.

2. Would I have a lot of heat loss / cold air from attic blown into shop?
I am thinking when I initially turn it on it would bring in some cold air in but after that i would just be recirculating the shop air

any one done this? Thoughts?

thanks, Mark

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I have some thoughts, and experience.
I worked in a shop with a cyclone in the attic. In the winter, the cyclone would cool off all night. In the morning, turning the blower on would give us a bracing draught of frigid air to make us feel chipper. In the summer, the attic would heat up to 140 degrees. The return air was brutal. The attic was so hot that the bats died, so I guess this attic might have been hotter than yours.