Question about the Cyclone Clearview.

[Bill Jobe]

David, you cleared up some of my confusion.
My post directly following yours was being typed as yours came in.
But i still don't have enough understanding. Is it really that important to maintain the CFM you mentioned when very little dust is being created?
My goal, if achievable, is to have a DC system that can handle the worst case situation when huge amounts of dust are being created, yet the flexibility of lower power usage and less noise when I'm creating very little dust.
I'm beginning to suspect that can only be achieved with 2 separate dc systems.
What am I not seeing?

[Bill Jobe]

VFD's are available with different single or three phase input and controlled three phase output. Christ has a 3 phase input VFD. Might be a version of one of these. Look down the page and you can see the models with single and three phase inputs.
http://www.powtran.com/en/productpage24.html

I knew Christ was a carpenter, but did he really have a DC in his shop?

[David Kumm]

Bill, if very litle dust is generated it might make sense to put a couple of overhead cleaners in the shop. If placed higher than 8', the small dust cloud moves upward and away from your breathing range. Slowing a DC impeller can also work similar to a downdraft table to pull the small cloud towards a certain direction. I run mine at 45-50 hz to help the overhead but if you are cleaning the air in the shop the collector still needs to pull enough air through a 6-8" port ( or two ) to clear the air relatively quickly. That is why an overhead has such a large surface area. A small fan with low pressure can cover a large area. A typical overhead 12x24 has 10x the opening of a 6" port so you 10x the velocity for a DC to match the overhead in a fine dust comparison. Dave

[Peter Christensen]

Look at the second post in this thread. I am going to do exactly what you are thinking of doing, not for noise however. For that I will build an enclosure after I get the system set up. Everything is a compromise. The cyclone will be less efficient at lower speeds but it will still work. To me ambiant dust filters are collecting dust after it gets past the DC and you breath it until the ambient filters do their job. That means wearing a mask for hours after the dust making is over until the ambient has done it's work. Better to speed up the cyclone and get the dust before it escapes. I'd rather wear muffs and pay for the power than wear a mask.

As for JC he didn't have dust making machines or sandpaper for that matter but I'm the last person to ask about that.

[Chris Parks]

David, you cleared up some of my confusion.
My post directly following yours was being typed as yours came in.
But i still don't have enough understanding. Is it really that important to maintain the CFM you mentioned when very little dust is being created?
My goal, if achievable, is to have a DC system that can handle the worst case situation when huge amounts of dust are being created, yet the flexibility of lower power usage and less noise when I'm creating very little dust.
I'm beginning to suspect that can only be achieved with 2 separate dc systems.
What am I not seeing?

The VFD allows the cyclone to operate at different speeds, that is what you want and what it will do.

There are two ways to supply a VFD, one is single phase and the other is three phase

The single phase version converts the incoming power supply to three phase and also controls the motor speed as well as a lot of other parameters IF NEEDED

The three phase version does not need to convert the power supply to three phase but it controls the motor speed as well as any other parameters IF NEEDED.

Both versions of the VFD will run the same three phase motor.

There is absolutely no need to run two different dust collection systems as you envision it as you will be able to quickly change the speed as needed at the control pad of the VFD.

If you live in a mild climate as I do it is possible to exhaust the system straight to atmosphere avoiding the use of filters but most users can't do that in the US. if you can run it without filters the system will be quite a bit more efficient and a lot of maintenance is avoided.

[Bill Jobe]

I'm not going to use bags.
My concern now is related to a comment regarding loss of cfm.

[Chris Parks]

I'm not going to use bags.
My concern now is related to a comment regarding loss of cfm.

Which comment and what concerns do you have? Does what I have written clear things up for you or do you still have questions surrounding the VFD?