Dylos and dust collection

[Mark Daily]

​Greetings everyone! Longtime woodworker but new member here needing help.

I recently read Bill Pentz' information on dust collection and realized my system needs some upgrading. Before I begin I thought I should find out where I'm at "particle-wise" so I know which improvements help and which don't. I'm aware that a fine particle count of "0" is best but not actually achievable in our small home shops. So,

1. For those of you who have particle counters, what are you seeing for particle counts, generally speaking say while working or 30 minutes later, etc.? I know this is anecdotal and dependent on how your shop is set up but it will give me and others a ball-park idea of some real-world results.

2. Are there other counters that will measure the small particles we are concerned about that are less expensive but reliable?

3. Currently the Dylos pro is about $260, not cheap for those of us on a fixed income. Apparently some members participated in a group by about 10 years ago. Is there currently any interest in another one? What kind of savings did you see in the last one?

4. Is there anyone in the Phoenix area who would like to loan/rent theirs out? (Well, cant blame a guy for tryin')

[Ben Helmich]

I might be interested in a group buy.

[Jeff Clode]

I am a long time hobbiest but new to measurement of dust collection in my attached garage shop- just got a Dylos Pro because of the smaller particle counting ability. Ambient air so far (Spokane WA) seems to be in 150 - 200 range (small particle) unless the wind is really blowing. Similar in my garage shop until I start moving things around (amazing how even gentle sweeping can bump it to 3000-4000 seemingly in the blink of an eye). For reference, 75-150 is very good, 150-300 is good, 1050 - 3000 is poor and 3000+ is very poor according to Dylos
I have an older 2 hp Oneida cyclone air handler with internal filter and it will decrease counts to below 100 in a few minutes (10-15) running with 3 blast gates open. This really surprised me as the filter is stock pleated filter and not HEPA. Big gulp type collector right behind lathe gets remarkable amount of the dust unless the turning is larger diameter - then a fair amount seems to escape back toward me. Amazing how ROS throws dust around even with 2 close by 4” hoses running to the collector. Lots of other interesting observations like have charcoal grill starting on the deck with door into garage open - right up to 4000+ in nothing flat!
I am still experimenting with all of this as I have been using it only 10 days or so but it has really changed my workflows and points to need for separate good air filter in addition to the cyclone. More money but only got one set of lungs.

[Alan Lightstone]

I tend to look at the large particle numbers (even though the small particle numbers are the more dangerous ones to your lungs). My ambient air has been about 500 range in two separate shops. Sanding / wood cutting can easily get it to the 1500-2000 range. I was amazed how high it got when they were cutting the cement raised floor tiles. Ran about 30-35,000. And these guys don't wear masks/respirators, and refused them when I offered them. Scared the daylights out of me.

My air cleaners, when both on high can get large particles to the 50-100 range, and small particles to almost non-existent (10-15 range). Kinda feels like a clean room to me.

So, I'm a huge believer in air cleaners. They clearly work in my shop. Plus the 5HP Oneida cyclone doesn't hurt.

And I don't take off my respirator (3M, half mask) until the air returns to ambient levels.

[Monte Milanuk]

Ambient air so far (Spokane WA) seems to be in 150 - 200 range (small particle) unless the wind is really blowing.

Should be interesting to see what it reads come fire season here in a month or two

Here in Wenatchee where all that crap just settles and hangs... a Dylos would probably tell me I'd be better off sucking on the discharge from the belt sander

[Jeff Clode]

Should be interesting to see what it reads come fire season here in a month or two

Here in Wenatchee where all that crap just settles and hangs... a Dylos would probably tell me I'd be better off sucking on the discharge from the belt sander

Actually when the wind is really blowing in Spokane and the particle counts jump it’s because of all the stuff coming from Wenatchee :<)
Agree about the fire season - not looking forward to that

[John K Jordan]

Actually when the wind is really blowing in Spokane and the particle counts jump it’s because of all the stuff coming from Wenatchee :<)
Agree about the fire season - not looking forward to that

Yikes, you guys have scheduled an actual fire season? We schedule a humidity season here. I think I like that better than fire.

JKJ

[Jeff Clode]

Yikes, you guys have scheduled an actual fire season? We schedule a humidity season here. I think I like that better than fire.

JKJ

We didn’t schedule or request it - sort of imposed by factors out of our control- way beyond our control actually......

[John K Jordan]

We didn’t schedule or request it - sort of imposed by factors out of our control- way beyond our control actually......

Yes, I've watched the news and have been to several places in the west even several years after the fires swept through. Devastating. It's all so far away from here that it's hard for some to realize the true impact from just the reports since such fires are rare here. This hit home for many with the recent fire in the mountains that wiped out businesses, homes, and people in and around Gatlinburg.

JKJ

[Alan Lightstone]

For kicks, I put both my large and small Jet Air Cleaners on full for a few hours and didn't generate any sawdust. The readings got down to 25 for small particles, and 1 for large particles. Gotta be near "Clean Room" levels.

So kudos to the Dylos, but real appreciation for the Jet Air Cleaners.

[John K Jordan]

So kudos to the Dylos, but real appreciation for the Jet Air Cleaners.

I don't understand those both here and on other forums who say air cleaners like the Jet are a waste of money. My experience is like yours, but I never got the air quite that clean. The air cleaners are perfect for when you can leave and let it run for a while. The built-in timer is great for that, I wonder if they all have timers.

[Mark Daily]

Unfortunately there wasn’t enough interest to put a group buy together so I bought my own Dylos DC1100 pro and started some testing inside my house. Built in 2000, frame & stucco, 2 AC/heat pumps- one for each side of the house.

I set up in the living room where we watch TV and hang out. I only recorded values for small particles as that is what concerns me. Counts started in the area of 150 during afternoon hours and climbed as high as 750 between midnight and 8:00 AM when we were asleep.

The next day at 1:00 PM I turned both A/C fans on to run continuously to circulate the air. The count dropped from 380 to 65 after about an hour and stayed in that area. Turned the A/C fans off overnight and the count ranged from 60 to 90.

The following morning I installed a Filtrete 1900 MPR filter in each air return. Set both A/C fans to run and the reading dropped to “5” after about 20 minutes! It remained under 10 all day. Overnight it ranged from 28 to 92 with no fans running.

Looks like the house is sealed fairly well and the counts drop when the A/C is running. For several years I have been using washable electrostatic filters which apparently worked pretty well. Clearly the Filtrete 1900 MPR filters work very well- for now, I’m done inside the house.

On to the workshop- stay tuned for those numbers!

[Alan Lightstone]

I looked into the Filtrete 1900 MPR out of curiosity a few days ago. They don't come in many of the sizes needed for my house, so bummer there. Also, doesn't seem to have the proper size for the Jet Air Cleaners, but putting good filters there always helps, and I put filters with activated charcoal on my Jet units, which helps with chemical fumes too.

[John K Jordan]

I've had the Dylos Pro for years. I haven't been making dust lately but turned it on to check it and the count was about 300. Like Alan, I also use a 5hp cyclone which really helps according to the Dylos. I don't have my air cleaner up now but in the past I have watched the numbers go back down to normal over the course of an hour or so. I also use the 3M half mask respirators when making sawdust.

There was a thread here not long ago about some very low-cost air quality monitors available, I think, from eBay. Maybe search, or someone may have the info.

JKJ

[Ben Rivel]

Thought many times about picking up a Dylos Pro. If anyone gets a group buy setup let me know as I might be interested depending on the discount.