Looking for 6" flexible tube in Canada

[Rob Beckers]

Can anyone suggest a Canadian source (online for mail-order, or in the Ottawa area) for 6" flexible PVC tube. I'm planning to use this for dust collection. I purchased a ClearVue cyclone that's due to arrive next week.

I know there are US sources that will ship to Canada, but after the attrocious "brokerage" fees are added this gets expensive compared to the price of the tube. I've been searching on the Web for a Canadian source, seems nobody sells that stuff (or they don't advertise on the Web).

Thanks!

-Rob-

[Christian Rupp]

Hi,
Try Industrial Supply Companies in the Ottawa area, Waltco Systems in Woodstock www.waltcosystems.ca or Kraemer Tools in Bramton www.kraemertool.com (they build industrial systems)

[Bob Dodge]

Hi Rob,

In Ottawa, you can call RubberLine. Also, General and General International offer 6" flex though their machinery distributors. Mark's Machinery might be one source for you.

There can be major differences in quality where flex is concerned. The vinyl flexhose is cheap. Urethane hose looks similar, but is much heavier duty, and comes in 2-ply, 4-ply, 6-ply etc. It's very durable, and chemical and abrasion resistant. A lot more expensive too.

Some hose distributors, sell only in minimum lengths. Often, that is around 40-50 feet, and sometimes up to 200-250 feet minimums. Some will cut to short lengths, but generally charge a fairly steep cutting fee of around $40.

J.R. Normand Inc. is yet another source. They carry a line with pre-cut lengths of 6',12', and 25'. Very heavy-duty rubberized-cloth flex-hose, with spiral outer wear-rings. For what it is, the prices are cheap. Roughly $10./ ft. for the 12 foot length.

I bought some of the General hose, and am quite happy with it. Seems to me that I paid $10./ft about 3 years ago. Bought mine at Chas. Gentmantel & Son, in Montreal.

Good luck,

Bob

[Art Mulder]

Hi,
Try Industrial Supply Companies in the Ottawa area, Waltco Systems in Woodstock www.waltcosystems.ca or Kraemer Tools in Bramton www.kraemertool.com (they build industrial systems)

Christian, that waltcosystems web site doesn't exist. I tried a few variations, as well as googling with no success.. Care to double check that and let us know the correct one.

thanks.

[Chris Curry]

Rob:
I'm sure that Frank Pellow will be along shortly to chime in on this. He is always happy to help. When I visited his shop, he had some gorgeous 6" flex. It felt like real quality stuff.
All the best, Chris

[Frank Pellow]

Chris, the flex that you saw is 5", not 6". It is very nice stuff and I got it at Welbeck Sawmill (http://www.welbecksawmill.com/). Rob, I don't know whether or not they also stock 5" but you could check. The folks at Welbeck are very friendly and helpful.

By the way, the 5" flex cost me $6.30 (Cdn) per linear foot.

[Andy London]

Lee Valley, I received a personal email from Rob Lee the other day that they finally have it and it will be in the next catalogue.

[Garrett Lambert]

House of Tools - Excellent quality

Cheers, Garrett

[Rob Beckers]

Lee Valley, I received a personal email from Rob Lee the other day that they finally have it and it will be in the next catalogue.

Thanks for the info Andy! I checked Lee Valley just a few days ago and noticed they only list 4". I'll give them a call and tell 'm "Rob says you have it" .

-Rob-

[Glen Gunderson]

I would be very interested in hearing your experience with importing the ClearVue to Canada as I'm considering doing the same thing.

A couple of questions: Were there extra shipping charges (I know that within the US it's included in the price)? Which carrier did they use? And how much were the fees? I know there should be the standard 14% for provincial/federal sales tax, but UPS and other couriers usually add a "brokerage fee" on top of that.

Also, did you order the filters, and if so what was the shipping like on those?

Sorry if this is a lot of questions, but I'd like to hear the experience from the customer's end before I make my decision.

[Rob Beckers]

Hi Glen,

Glad you're asking!
The ClearVue is on its way as we speak, in 3 boxes. Punching in the Fedex tracking numbers tells me they're supposed to arrive on the 26th. Shipping is included in the price, ie. it's the same price for Canada and the US, no extra charges, US$895. The owner, Ed, has been very responsive in answering my questions. He shipped about a week after I placed the order.

I've been shipping quite a bit from the US over the last 6 months. My experience is that Canada Post is the cheapest in their brokerage fees, just a few dollars. Next is Fedex with a fee of around C$26 if I remember right, and the worst offender is UPS with C$54. That's regardless of the value, just a fixed fee addition. I hope Ed shipped all 3 boxes on one manifest, so I don't end up paying 3x the brokerage fee. Regardless of the shipping method, there's always the GST and PST to pay, adds up to 15% for Ontario I believe (but I could be off a bit, I've only moved here 6 months ago from the US).

To take a step back, my choice of the ClearVue came about after reading through Bill Pentz's Web site, which is as much about the perils of wood dust as it is about dust collection. My previous 'shop' (a kind name for what I had) was the garage, and my woodworking was simply outside if it got dusty, with a dust mask on. The shop I'm setting up now is in the basement and the climate here doesn't allow outside work for a good part of the year. My hope is that sticking to Bill's recommendations will make my shop safe, from the dust perspective.

Bill publishes plans of the cyclone on his site, so you can build your own if you want to. Since finding parts is so much harder here in Canada compared to the US I opted for Ed's ClearVue package. It's simply Bill's design with everything you need except for the filters and chip bin. I did read through many people's comments before deciding on this one, these were unanymously positive. Hopefully it'll live up to its reputation!

The filters are on order from Camfill Farr. These are the filters Bill recommends. As it happens there's an office not far from here, so I can pick them up when they arrive. I believe they also ship if you want (this is a very large company, so they may well have an office close to where you are). Part number is Farr # 125154-005. These are 300 sq. ft, 13" cartridge filters, 99.4% efficient at 0.5 microns and 1000 cfm. Price is C$57.20 each before tax, and it takes 2 filters for the cyclone. Lead-time for the filters is 2 weeks. Their Ottawa office is phone number 613-521-5555, I've been talking to a guy by the name of Craig there, they seem happy to deal directly with consumers.

My install of the cyclone is going to be somewhat non-standard, as it's going into the cold-room (just off of the basement shop). Ceiling height there is 91", so it's not high enough for a standard install. I have some ideas on how to go about this, but will make the final decision after the parts arrive and I get a better sense of how things fit together. For one, I'll mount the filters in parallel, with a plenum box on the top and bottom. Then use the gained space between filters and motor for flexible A/C duct (with fibreglass liner) to muffle noise somewhat. If you have any more questions feel free to ask. I'll post more when it's all said and done, though that may be a while since projects tend to move slowly here.

-Rob-

[Frank Pellow]

Rob, thamks for the info about the Clear Vue, and good luck on the installation.

I guess that a "Welcome to Ontario" is also in order.

[Paul Glendenning]

That website www.waltcosystems.ca is up and running now.