Outside Dust Collector?

[Cathy Schaewe]

I have the opportunity to rearrange my shop after a long time away from it.
In my dream world, the dust collector (PSI tempest) would be outside where it would be less obnoxiously noisy, and I would thus use it more.
It would be under a deck, and I could have some sort of shelter built for it.
Does anybody do this, and what would I need to do to protect it? Keeping in mind I live in upstate New York where it is currently snowing.
I apprciate any advice anyone has to offer -

[sean meltvedt]

If you use your shop in the winter, I would seriously consider an air return plenum-otherwise you’ll suck all the warm air out of the shop🤔

[Cathy Schaewe]

If you use your shop in the winter, I would seriously consider an air return plenum-otherwise you’ll suck all the warm air out of the shop🤔

Ugh, good point. There goes that idea.

[Andrew DiLorenzo]

I plan to put mine outside with a short air return to the filter inisde of the shop. Mine will go in a small insulated box that opens for maintenance and chip removal. Remember that duct sizing is critical on the vacuum side of the collector. Too small of a duct chokes off the fan, dust pick-up at the tool falls, and dust can fall out of the air borne suspension on the way to the cyclone. Too large of a duct creates a problem with keeping the dust moving because velocity falls. However, the duct work to the filter can be oversized since that is on the pressure side and any remaining dust should be very small and easy to carry to the filter.

[Robert Engel]

If you use your shop in the winter, I would seriously consider an air return plenum-otherwise you’ll suck all the warm air out of the shop��

I think this is a bit of a myth. I know several people with outside vented DC's and notice no appreciable problems.

I suppose if you had a big unit running constantly with several gates open all the time it might be an issue.

I would go ahead with your plan. You will be happy to get rid of the noise and have the extra room.

[Peter Christensen]

Make the outside insulated addition and have two open/closable vents. One on the outside for the summer and the second back into the shop with filters for the winter if you find you need it.

[Martin Wasner]

I think this is a bit of a myth. I know several people with outside vented DC's and notice no appreciable problems.

I suppose if you had a big unit running constantly with several gates open all the time it might be an issue.

Depends on temperature difference and cfm. If it's -40ºF outside and 63ºF inside. You're going to notice.

I exhaust the air from the baghouse outside in the summer, if an overhead door isn't open, you can't get a pass door to open when the dust collector is operating. 6400cfm is a lot of heat going nowhere useful.

[sean meltvedt]

I think this is a bit of a myth. I know several people with outside vented DC's and notice no appreciable problems.

I suppose if you had a big unit running constantly with several gates open all the time it might be an issue.

I would go ahead with your plan. You will be happy to get rid of the noise and have the extra room.

Robert, not sure what winter is like for you-but some back of the napkin calcs assuming a -20 winter temp, 70 indoor temp, real world collection flow of 600 cfm comes up with approx 58,400 btu/hr exhausted outside. This is over half of the output of my heating system that is also charged with heating a space that is twice the size of my shop. So very quickly I would have a cold and unhappy wife. It is not just a myth, but a real issue when there is an large difference between inside and outside temps. (Colder or hotter for the air conditioned folks). If your fortunate enough to live in a mild temperature zone, then it is best to exhaust outside-otherwise keep the expensive conditioned air, and clean it as best as possible.
Stay warm
Sean

[Jim Andrew]

I vent outside, but during really cold weather, below freezing, I use my filter and do not blow the air outside, as my heater can not keep up. Building a lean to shed on the side of your shop to put your DC and air compressor in is a good idea, you can always run the exhaust back inside. I just made a blast gate which I close when I want to return the air inside.

[Chris Parks]

There will be a difference in heat loss and the ability to get the air back to temperature if the building has been heat soaked or not. By that I mean if the building and all its contents are heat soaked to the thermostat temperature and cold air enters then the air will return to the set temperature very quickly. There is a post in the archives of this forum that discusses this effect in detail but god only knows where it is.

[Armando Jaimes]

If you have some room you could enclose the Dust collector with safe and soundproof insulation. I converted my Grizzly to a 2-stage and enclosed in garage between our car bays. What a difference in sound, from a jet engine to now I don't even need hearing protection, actually listen to music or Tv while DC is working. Here's a few photos to give you an idea.

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[Peter Christensen]

Armando the pictures didn't attach. It might be because at this point you only have 2 posts and you may need more to be able add attachments.

[Brian Behrens]

I plan to put mine outside with a short air return to the filter inisde of the shop. Mine will go in a small insulated box that opens for maintenance and chip removal. Remember that duct sizing is critical on the vacuum side of the collector. Too small of a duct chokes off the fan, dust pick-up at the tool falls, and dust can fall out of the air borne suspension on the way to the cyclone. Too large of a duct creates a problem with keeping the dust moving because velocity falls. However, the duct work to the filter can be oversized since that is on the pressure side and any remaining dust should be very small and easy to carry to the filter.

I have mine vented outside, but I live in North GA. Most of the noise comes from the exhaust. I just ran a 10" insulated hvac flex line through the wall for the exhaust. In fact, it is extremely loud outside (Clearvue cyclone). It literally sounds like a jet engine idling in my backyard . I like it because I have no filters to buy or maintain, and I live in the middle of nowhere on a mountain, so I am guilt free putting out the noise. Again, it is usually in the 20s at the coldest here. I do not have any problems keeping the shop warm. My shop is insulated 2*6 walls covered in pine tongue and groove, so the theory of thermal mass keeping the shop warm works for me. I have overfilled the collection bin once or twice by mistake and was glad I didn't have filters to contend with.

[Frank Pratt]

I have mine in a sound proof room in the basement next to the garage. The return air is a 32" x 8" serpentine duct lined with acoustic duct insulation. Very quiet in the shop & in the house it can't be heard at all unless you're within about 12" of the door.