Rant, do all dust collectors just #@*#

[Patrick Walsh]

All males perfect sense and is very simple in black and white.

Dint get me wrong it’s not that I don’t take time to maintain equipment

Quite the contrary, if you all could see first hand how much value i place on a clean well kept space and problem avoidance you would see this is not me bring lazy or some rookie oversite.

In the case of my RL it’s just a problem with no solution than to continue on as i am. As is it is every time I set to work in the shop I have to go through this. It’s gets me through good enough but by the end of a few days a week I can see the fine dust piling up again escaping right out the top of the unit.

The advise in the smoke candle with the Oneida units makes perfect sense.

Sounds like if I put as much time into dialing in a Oneida unit I could probably be happy. My problem is height and I can’t work out of a 30 gallon collection bin. That’s like ten minutes of work for busting 1/8 off rough stock.

Hmm

Well I just pulled the unit apart again. Took the filter outside and spent a good 20 minutes cleaning it out with my dam finger.

Put it in and zero dust. Well not zero not even close but as good as one can expect working with wood.

The issue is even maintained like a hawk in a single day of good use that filter will be caked up and pushing fine dust through it blowing gaskets as a result of it being clogged and to much pressure in the system.

I just can’t buy a dust collector right now or really anytime soon. And honestly I’ll have a hard time selling this to anyone without feeling like the snakes that sold it to me.

Well I guess I just work harder and save less.

[Patrick Walsh]

Hmm ok I though when researching phase converters I heard side mumbling of running 3phase dust collection.

So what one then. I’m limited by 90” floor joist 98 between them..

[Patrick Walsh]

Right so it’s all maintenance.

So size your collection bin according to your willingness to empty.

Im my case once a day is acceptable..

[John TenEyck]

I got rid of the filters/bags on my 2 HP/1200 cfm (realistically 800) unit about 2 years ago, and routed the outlet of the cyclone directly out a window, and open another window to let in makeup air. No more clogged filter and no more loss in static pressure. And no real loss in shop temperature either even if I run the collector for an hour straight. Yes, the temp. drops off a few degrees in winter and the RH goes up a little in summer, but the temp. and RH are back to normal in a few minutes after I'm done thanks to the furnace and dehumidifier. I live in WNY where the temp. often drops below 10F in the winter.

The cyclone gets 100% of the chips and 99% of the dust. The only thing that goes out the window is the stuff that would plug the filters over time or get through the bags and go back into the shop. I can live (healthier) with that.

John

[Dan Friedrichs]

I can say I did not pay anywhere close to 20K about little over half that plus shipping.

I was about to ask. That's not bad... (and those Al-Ko's look REALLY nice compared to the Felder RL series...)

Anthony, what do you do for power for it? It says it's 3ph 400V?

[John Gornall]

Now I have 2 shops, one where I make my living and one at home. I use Oneida cyclones. In my work shop there is only 1 specialty machine which produces fine dust connected. When I installed it had issues. The pleated filter kept plugging and after the first year the filter could no longer be cleaned - it was plugged. I realized the filter was plugging because there were air leaks. I reworked all joints, eliminated the filter and directed outlet to the outdoors. Been working just fine ever since - no dust in my shop. No dust evident outside. Without the filter the flow volume rises and the cyclone is more efficient which came out in a conversation with an Oneida tech. And my bin can hold a month of dust.

[Kevin Jenness]

John, how do you deal with a month's worth of dust?

[Keith Outten]

No bags no filters no clogs no dust inside.
Make an exterior chip box.

I have been using an exterior chip box for 30 years.

[Mark Daily]

My Grizzly 1.5 HP dust collector has been working fine for me for years. No leakage, upgraded to shaker style top bag and plastic lower bag.
My Dylos particle counter confirms it’s not leaking.

[Darcy Warner]

I have a 15hp Atlantic, 20hp woodchuck (dustek) and a 30hp dust technologies with hoppers an air locks.

They are set up in a separate area. Honestly, I don't really care about stray chips or dust, not much you can do with a big moulder, SLR, gang rip, BS, etc. Its better than shoveling.

[Jeff Duncan]

Right so it’s all maintenance.

So size your collection bin according to your willingness to empty.

Im my case once a day is acceptable..

Hah.... maybe if your doing small projects in a couple hour spurts at a time. If I'm milling stock for a decent sized project, I'll be changing bags every couple hours if not sooner. Once a day.... I'd need a 400+ gallon bag! Even the milling for a small furniture project can end up being a couple bags in a day.

Your problem is going to be your height limitation. Really hard to get a cyclone and 55 gallon drum that will fit in that small a space. Mine stands somewhere around 11-12' tall and if I wanted to split into 2 drums it would be even taller. And the overflow problem is a PITA! I have three filter bags and emptying them whenever it overflows is a kick in the groin. I'm thinking of redesigning my system to convert to canisters on top with a single bag hanging for overflow.... but I digress.

I don't believe there's any system thats truly 99.9 percent effective, and even if there was there's still going to be dust in the air from things the collector can't get. Just pulling stock out of my rack creates dust. Best bet IMHO is a decent to good collector, and one or 2 air filters that run all day.

good luck,
JeffD

[John Gornall]

My situation is a specific operation cutting small hardwood with triple chip blades - just dust, no chips - one month is 1 barrel - into garbage bags - into dumpster which goes to landfill.

[Malcolm McLeod]

...Your problem is going to be your height limitation. Really hard to get a cyclone and 55 gallon drum that will fit in that small a space. ...

I'd agree with Jeff, that height is Patrick's biggest (smallest??) limitation - - same as eleventy-seven other posters/threads here. I'd guess most agree that the design effort in cyclones is to minimize cost, footprint, and (sometimes) the assembly effort .... so they stack it all, and leave you praying for 113" ceilings.

One way around this is to roll-your-own cyclone design. Install a cyclone body as high as possible, with just enough space above it for a 90-elbow, and a short straight run into a filter box. Install the filters to allow 'outside>>in' flow (easier to clean). The inside plenum of the filter then leads to your blower(s). I recall Mr. Pentz describes much the same thing as an ideal, since it keeps the impeller out of the dirty air, and so no restrictions on what type is used. ...Anyway, common knowledge. Some Torit's are built along similar lines, at least as it pertains to the order of flow, IIRC.

Downside is it takes considerable space to execute. But you can spread out laterally, rather than vertical. And maybe even have room for a big, trashman's-back-wreckin', Texas-sized barrel under the cyclone???

I'm guessing if anyone can prototype this, its Patrick!

[John Gornall]

If there is only room for a small bin how about a few bins - when 1 is full push it aside and put an empty bin in place - just need a convenient connection.

[Bill Dufour]

I think the rotary airlock on a cyclone would solve most problems. But the airlock is expensive and I would suppose it could leak at the seals. Still if the bin gets full the airlock can not dump. But with an airlock the bin is visible to the naked eye.
I think a window in a sealed bin with a sealed airblast to clear the window might work.
Bill D