HF Dust Collector With Home Built Separator; Will This Work?

[Alan Gan]

I have had this drum sitting around for years, I think it is a 30 gallon. I have seen setups using the Thien baffle, will this work as is? Have not had a chance to use the system yet, the HF DC seems pretty good and I wanted a separator in place before I started testing it out.

Thoughts??

[Robert Delhommer Sr]

I have the 2 HP HF DC and a Thien separator built on a 30 gal barrel and love it.

[Alan Gan]

I have the 2 HP HF DC and a Thien separator built on a 30 gal barrel and love it.

Do you have any Pictures of your setup? Thanks!

[Jay Park]

Here's another way to the Thien baffle on the HF Dust collector.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Maki...lect/?ALLSTEPS
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[Dan Hintz]

I don't see any real separator there... you'll get some reduction in material, but you could catch a lot more if you put a separator in the drum.

[Anthony Whitesell]

As Dan said, add a 'Thien' type baffle in the drum and move the outflow port to the center as all the chips will be riding against the outside edge.

[Alan Gan]

I don't see any real separator there... you'll get some reduction in material, but you could catch a lot more if you put a separator in the drum.

As Dan said, add a 'Thien' type baffle in the drum and move the outflow port to the center as all the chips will be riding against the outside edge.

Thanks for the advice. I will see if I can locate another lid for this Drum so I can move the outflow to the center. Guess I got in a bit of a hurry building this.

I understand what the final result is supposed to be just not sure exactly how to accomplish it with what I have.

I did make a modification, do you think this will help at all? Got so much other stuff going on have not had some good time to test it out properly, ran a couple boards through the Planer and it looks like most all the fine dust remained in the Drum.

I have pretty thick skin so if I just wasted more time let me know, I have been known to do some dumb a$$ chit at times.

[Dan Hintz]

Not as good as it can be, but it will help significantly compared to your bare lid. And if it works well enough for you, well, the proof is the pudding.

[Michael Weber]

Be sure to let use know how it works for you. Portion of dust in the separator vs in the bag after you use it a while.

[Thomas Canfield]

One big advantage will be that any really large pieces should drop out and not go through the impeller of your fan even if all the "dust" does not all drop out.

[Aleks Hunter]

You're not really creating a vortex. The way a separator works is that the dust and chips are heavier than air and they are forced by the air vortex -- rotational flow tothe walls of the cyclone by centrifugal force. The air that escapes from the cyclone does so up the center of the vortex because it is the lightest stuff in the chamber.You are going to have to move the outlet hose to the center of the cover. to maximize the efficiency, you can either hang a slotted baffle, or build a top hat for a baffle or stick a 4" tub3 (Stovepipe or duct ) down about 8" into the center of the barrel through the top. This last approach will gain efficiency easily, but cost in barrel capacity. We can't see the rest of the shop, but another suggestion is to replace as much of the 4" flex tube as you can with metal duct. It will let the air move faster. Seal it and GROUND IT!! Dry wood saw and sanding dust can build up a tremendous charge and before you know it its "flame on!"

[Daniel Rodriguez]

I just made a homemade separator using a small workshop vacuum, and it really works great, check it out

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?209249-My-homemade-dust-collection-separator-Video

Probably it doesn't work as good as a comercial one, but you should try it ..

[Dan Hintz]

Seal it and GROUND IT!! Dry wood saw and sanding dust can build up a tremendous charge and before you know it its "flame on!"

Let's not go down this road again... this has been discussed time and again. With the amount of dust hobby shops create and the speed at which it is removed, the proper dust/air ratio is nowhere near what it needs to be for an explosive combination.

[Aleks Hunter]

Do what you want. I won't have an un-grounded dust collector. Watching a friends shop burn due to dust going through ungrounded plastic was enough to convince me that copper wire is cheap.

[Michael W. Clark]

Grounding and bonding the ductwork is not necessarily to minimize dust explosions ignited by static electricity in the ductwork. The minimum explosible concentration (MEC) of the dust "rarely" exists in ductwork for typical dust collection systems. The MEC is usually only present at the collection equipment. Grounding and bonding the ductwork is primarily recommended to minimize the potential to build up material in the ductwork. Once you have material build up in the ductwork, you have a potential fire hazzard. Or, in the case of combustible dust, you have fuel in the ductwork that will make the dust deflagration much more energetic. I think it is a good idea for PVC duct systems in home shops to be bonded/grounded. Conductive duct and collector materials are required for anyone subject to the dust codes.

Mike