Venting Delta 50-850 Outside

[Julio Vargas]

Hi, I have a detached garage that is my workshop where I do some hobby woodworking 2-3 times per week. Over the years I have build up my tool collection from craigslist finds and one of those includes a Delta 50-850 dust collector that is still using the original bag filter. I was close to pulling the trigger on a wynn filter for it but after doing some research I see that many are venting their dust collectors outside.

My shop is a detached garage that does not have any other appliances except a resistance heater and a window rattler AC unit. No danger of sucking in fumes from furnace or water heater.

If I were to vent the the Delta DC outside, I have read it's a good idea to separate the chips using a cyclone or thien baffle. What would be the better option for my little under-powered unit?

Can anyone provide their first hand experience with a setup like this using a 1.5 hp DC?

Thanks in advance.

[Julie Moriarty]

I just replaced a Delta 3/4 HP drum DC that I built a cyclone unit for. I had it set up like that for something like 10-15 years. During that time, it was vented outside. My workshops were in the basement, at the last house, and in a 1C attached garage in my present house.

First thing I did with the drum setup was vent it outside. Everything ended up outside. And I mean everything! The drum canister never needed emptying. But the air flow was much better and that dirty bag hanging off the side was gone.

Next step was converting it to a cyclone. I saw an article in a magazine that provided templates. My only regret was using 30ga sheet metal. But the chip, and to some degree the dust, collection was great, and no more chips flying outside the house.

When we moved to FL, the shop moved to the garage. The DC was vented outside again. Machines connected to the DC ductwork included a 10" contractor's TS, an 18" bandsaw, a SCMS, router table and a lunchbox planer. Recently the lunchbox was replaced with a 4HP JP.

The setup did collect most of the chips but the JP pushed it to its limits. Your DC, at twice the HP, would fare much better.

The only negative about venting outside is the loss of conditioned air inside. That didn't bother me in the former basement workshop because it was usually pretty cold down there in the winter. And we didn't run the AC much in the summer.

Hope this helps.

[Julio Vargas]

I just replaced a Delta 3/4 HP drum DC that I built a cyclone unit for. I had it set up like that for something like 10-15 years. During that time, it was vented outside. My workshops were in the basement, at the last house, and in a 1C attached garage in my present house.

First thing I did with the drum setup was vent it outside. Everything ended up outside. And I mean everything! The drum canister never needed emptying. But the air flow was much better and that dirty bag hanging off the side was gone.

Next step was converting it to a cyclone. I saw an article in a magazine that provided templates. My only regret was using 30ga sheet metal. But the chip, and to some degree the dust, collection was great, and no more chips flying outside the house.

When we moved to FL, the shop moved to the garage. The DC was vented outside again. Machines connected to the DC ductwork included a 10" contractor's TS, an 18" bandsaw, a SCMS, router table and a lunchbox planer. Recently the lunchbox was replaced with a 4HP JP.

The setup did collect most of the chips but the JP pushed it to its limits. Your DC, at twice the HP, would fare much better.

The only negative about venting outside is the loss of conditioned air inside. That didn't bother me in the former basement workshop because it was usually pretty cold down there in the winter. And we didn't run the AC much in the summer.

Hope this helps.

Great! just out of curiosity...what did you replace it with and is it still vented out? Did you ever run without a cyclone?

Thanks

[William Hodge]

I have a little blower like that for small demand machines. Shutting the blower off when you don't need it helps. I use a Long Ranger switch on my tool belt. I don't worry about short cycles.

Outdoor dust collection design depends partially on what your neighbors think. My dust collection shoots into a trailer, all the blowers into one trailer. The fine dust comes out and floats across the meadow, lands on my shop roof, truck, etc. The nearest neighbor is a long way away through the woods. The house is 300 feet from the shop, up wind. It doesn't seem to reach the house.

The dust collector bag is not totally useless. I cut mine up, and wrapped the filter in the shop vac with it. I hose clamped the top and bottom. It makes a great cleanable filter.

[Julie Moriarty]

Great! just out of curiosity...what did you replace it with and is it still vented out? Did you ever run without a cyclone?

Thanks

I think I ran the original drum collector for maybe a year or so. But the dust the bag let through convinced me to vent it outside.

My new unit is a Harvey G-700. It does not vent outside, which was one of the reasons for buying a new unit. The other was a more powerful DC.

Since moving to FL, working in the garage shop was almost unbearable in the summer, that is if I ran the DC. It sucked air out of the attic through the pull down stairs. So I wanted a contained unit. The down side is I have to clean filters. The upside is I can run AC in the garage shop and use it year-round.