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Thread: Grounding dust collection system for static build up?

  1. #16
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    The original questions appear to be answered well.
    The way I ground my duct work and plastic hose is with aluminum electric fence wire spiral wrapped around the plastic pipe and hose. I use an occasional wrap of electrical tape to hold it in place. I connected it to the water pipe ground wire connection. It is simple, inexpensive and works very well for my setup.
    Last edited by Eric Arnsdorff; 08-13-2020 at 6:26 AM. Reason: Typos

  2. #17
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    Feb 2013
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Dufour View Post
    I very much doubt that tape is electrically connected to ground. Most adhesives are insulators as is dry masonry.
    Bill D
    In the realm of megavolts and femtoamps it might as well be a dead short. It will easily pass enough current to fully charge your shields

    However, in the admittedly unlikely event of the shield wire coming in contact with 120 V AC it will not pass enough current to trip the breaker. It won't function as a proper safety ground. That's why it's recommended to give it a proper connection to the electrical grounding system. Otherwise the shield wire can simply extend a serious shock hazard over the full extent of your duct system.
    Beranek's Law:

    It has been remarked that if one selects his own components, builds his own enclosure, and is convinced he has made a wise choice of design, then his own loudspeaker sounds better to him than does anyone else's loudspeaker. In this case, the frequency response of the loudspeaker seems to play only a minor part in forming a person's opinion.
    L.L. Beranek, Acoustics (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1954), p.208.

  3. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Mathews View Post
    I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this one. But based on the comments above and some additional research online it seems that I'm in fairly good shape with dissipating static buildup in the ductwork by having metal duct riveted together, which is attached to the Oneida all metal dust collector. The DC is properly grounded at its electrical connection. There may be some additional grounding at the floor sweep where it makes contact with the concrete floor borrowing from Glenn's installation. Then again, maybe that is a concern based on Mike's comment about having an alternate path to ground. The only change I plan to make for now is connecting one end of the flexible hose wire reinforcement to the metal duct. I'll leave the other end attached to the machines alone as the machines are already grounded. I'll also connect both ends of the flexible hose wire reinforcement to the DC and dust bin. That should take care of static buildup caused by movement of air and sawdust in the ductwork but there is static buildup created elsewhere that is probably more to my original concern. Last night I was buffing a wood bowl on my lathe and the shocks I got were constant and predictable. It only took a few passes on the bowl to generate a good shock. Our humidity is usually quite low in the high desert of Northern Arizona and I'm sure that contributes to the problem. I recall having similar issues when using the belt sander and even the jointer. Here is where I'm at a complete loss as to what to do. The static buildup is obviously caused by the buffing, grinding, etc. and the electrical imbalance is between the item being worked on and me. So, what to do? Clip a wire to my nose and a source of ground?
    Steve
    You have something odd going on here. If I am understanding correctly, you're getting shocked working at your lathe? which is separate from your DC?
    Are you standing on any type of a rubber comfort mat when working at the lathe? Other than connecting yourself to the lathe while working, I don't know what tell you. Somehow, or the other, you're building up a static charge. BTW, they do make break away wrist straps for working on rotating machinery that connect the operator and the machine, but I've never known of it needing to be done in a residential setting. Have you always gotten zapped by the lathe?
    "The first thing you need to know, will likely be the last thing you learn." (Unknown)

  4. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Cutler View Post
    Steve
    You have something odd going on here. If I am understanding correctly, you're getting shocked working at your lathe? which is separate from your DC?
    Are you standing on any type of a rubber comfort mat when working at the lathe? Other than connecting yourself to the lathe while working, I don't know what tell you. Somehow, or the other, you're building up a static charge. BTW, they do make break away wrist straps for working on rotating machinery that connect the operator and the machine, but I've never known of it needing to be done in a residential setting. Have you always gotten zapped by the lathe?
    The first time I recall getting shocked on the woodturning lathe was just a few days ago while buffing a wood bowl using the Beall system. It was very annoying and happened consistently with just a few passes on the bowl. I've used this same setup countless times before and never experienced a shock. I also remember times getting shocked on a few other machines in the shop. And yes, there is a large rubber mat that I stand on in front of the lathe. We've had some extremely dry conditions in Northern Arizona lately. Some days the humidity is in the single digits. Today it's about 26%. I'll check into one of those break away wrist straps mentioned. I also understand there are antistatic mats available that might help.

  5. #20
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    I would use an antistaic ankle strap around power tools. Much less likely to get grabbed by the machine. When I worked at the lab I learned to use my keys to bond myself to the autoclave before touching it. I could see and hear the spark. I do not understand how it could be at such a potential since it was all metal connected with metal pipes and the motors were grounded.
    Bill D

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