See-through Cyclone Build

[jeff norris 2011]

I have been working on upgrading my Dust Collection to a two stage system. I have a small shop and ofter work with the overhead door open and I have long giving up on getting a Penz style dust collection system that collects 'everything' at the source. This is about better and less messy and not about collecting every bit of dust.

The only thing really interested or different about this system is I went with a clear garbage can and clear out bucket. I am glad I did, as I like the visual reminder to empty them when needed.

Here is the finished system:

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My starting point was an offshore no-name brand "2hp" dust collector that I bought ages ago and have run in various formats. The motor as far as I could tell after running a few test appears to be a true 2hp, and when I looked under the hood it had 11 3/4" impeller. So not a bad starting point. According to my (crappy) Anemometer it was pulling some pretty good CFM numbers.

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The inlet and outlets were 5" so I made short work of switching them over to 6" to fit the Dust Deputy better. After the mod it was pulling 35% more CFM. I was moving so fast I took a shot of the before, with holes drill out to make jig sawing out the 6" hole easier that I forgot to take after picture with the 6" Hvac fitting in place.

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Then it was on to building the unit. I am not sure if this was the easiest way to go about things, but I decided I would use an 8' section of plywood as a base for the unit. I built and mock things out on the bench and then shimmied it into place. In the end it worked out fine, but as I had a tight fit it took bit of work to get it up on the wall.

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I never took good picture of it, but I built a simple box to connect the filter to the blower. I also added a blast gate to direct vent outside most of the year when I have the overhead door open anyway. I picked the filter up an industrial supplier. The specs would be very competitive with the more popular filters on the market at about half the cost.

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For the clean out I used a gamma seal lid and clear 5 gallon bucket. Finding a clear bucket was a major project of internet sleuthing, but I have to say I love being able to see if any dust is collecting in it.

I also had to hunt around to find a clear garbage can. I found it a food supply company, and it is very robust and heavy gauge. No issues with the collapsing.

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The lid has a channel routed in it and a couple of hinges and a hook to make pulling the can in and out easier. I had planned to use a gasket of some kind in the channel, but so far the suction of the dust collector creates a perfect seal.

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I ran 5" ducting to the tools with a mix of 5" and 4" ports. The runs are the best I could do with where I needed the duct work to go.

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I am getting some shockingly high numbers for FPM (from my super unreliable Anemometer). I take the numbers with a grain of salt, but compared to my old setup the FPM has gone up allot over-all even with the addition of the Cyclone. It could be that I have no or less leaks now, but I actually suspect it has more to do with getting ride of the filter bag and going to the cartridge filer and direct vent outside. As an aside, with the filter fresh and and clean I am not seeing any difference from venting outside or through the filter.

If you are eagled eyed you will notice I used what looks like grey duct tape to attache the Cyclone to the blower. It is actual tarp repair tape, that you heat and it shrink to size. I wanted to to try it out for this application over the long term as I link the idea of shrink tube over the joints. Not sure how it will work, so I just used in that one area to try out for a bit.

Thanks for having a look.

[Patrick Curry]

Thanks for the post. Do you have the make and model of that industrial air filter? I’ve got a similar setup (open garage) and would like to save a few bucks.
Did you buy the metal duct at a box store? I’m on the pvc/metal duct fence at the moment. Leaning toward pvc due to costs

[jeff norris 2011]

Thanks for the post. Do you have the make and model of that industrial air filter? I’ve got a similar setup (open garage) and would like to save a few bucks.
Did you buy the metal duct at a box store? I’m on the pvc/metal duct fence at the moment. Leaning toward pvc due to costs

I sent you the details of the filter by PM as I am not sure if you can post commercial referrals.

All my ducting is 5" HVAC fittings and pipe. Most if is scrounged from a used building supplier so dirt cheap. The elbows are the biggest issue, but smooth elbows are crazy in pricing.

I would be all for PVC but 4" is too small to take advantage of the blower I have and 6" I suspect would be too big. The difference if your DC can handle it between 5" runs and 4" runs is huge.

[Mitch Fenneman]

I sent you the details of the filter by PM as I am not sure if you can post commercial referrals.

All my ducting is 5" HVAC fittings and pipe. Most if is scrounged from a used building supplier so dirt cheap. The elbows are the biggest issue, but smooth elbows are crazy in pricing.

I would be all for PVC but 4" is too small to take advantage of the blower I have and 6" I suspect would be too big. The difference if your DC can handle it between 5" runs and 4" runs is huge.

I would be interested in the info on the filter you used as well. Could you send that to me also? Thanks!

[Lee Schierer]

I sent you the details of the filter by PM as I am not sure if you can post commercial referrals.

Links to suppliers are permitted as long as you have no personal or financial affiliation with the vendor other than being a customer and the link is germane to the topic being discussed.

[jeff norris 2011]

Thanks Lee, for the clarification. No affiliation or financial position, just a guy shopping for air filters.

So for those who asked I ended up buying from http://www.aircleaningspecialists.co...ge-filters.php

Super nice to deal with and easy to buy from. Filter I went with was $87.

My specs are:

-12.74 X 8.38 X 34 - Open/Open w/ 14.25" Flange
80/20 media - 310 Pleats - 292 SF media
Gasket - 10.75ID x 11.75OD 1/2" tall
(ref p/n E05873)


Part number was ACS280

This is a Merv 10 filter, but you can also go with a Merv 15 filter if you prefer or other types of media. Merv 10 mades lots of sense to for many reasons, no the least of which is I plan to vent outside 80+% of the time.

This is what I did, but you can come up with just about anything depending on your needs as they have 1000's of options, just input the specs you want and they seem to get back fast with a quote.

If I was to buy again, I would go with a larger flange to make mounting a bit easier.

[Malcolm McLeod]

Might want to check the new ampere draw with the in/out enlarged? Sometimes the motor's load is 'throttled' by the in/out restrictions. Opening them up can result in overloading the motor. Moving more air is never free; you're moving more electrons too.

[jeff norris 2011]

Good point Malcom. I ran the numbers and appears to be no issue when the ducting is in place. As I have 5" outlet on the cyclone, I think it is safe to safe the the airflow restriction is just moved down the line.

As I changed the duct work etc, there no way for me to really compare apples to apple if the 6" inlet helped or not, all I know is the overall set up is moving more air.