Hello All,
I am getting ready to build my first Thien Baffle for my garage shop. All of my tools are mobile, so no need for a large DC system yet. My plan is to use a large shop vac mounted to the wall with a short length 4" diameter PVC pipe connection on the bottom of the shop vac chamber to the separator under it, which will be hung off of the lid of a 32 gallon clear plastic trash can. Of course I would block the factory vacuum input on the shop vac. I plan to use 2" PVC pipe for the separator input and the piping to my work bench and to the middle of my garage ceiling. I will exhaust air from the shop vac outside through a vent in the wall.
I have been reading a lot of the posts here on best practices, but a lot of what I'm reading is geared towards a DC impeller rather than a shop vac. Would I see any benefit to a three-vane air straightener on the 4" diameter PVC pipe going into the shop vac chamber? Would a bell end going into the shop vac chamber have any significant effect? Should I implement a "neutral vane" on the input for the separator? I guess the basis of the questions is: Is the airflow of a shop vac motor similar enough to a DC impeller that I would see benefits from implementing design features that I've only so far seen on DC systems?
Finally, Does anybody see any definite red flags with my system design?
I've no experience but am presently working on incorporating a Thien Separator into my shop vac as my first attempt while I learn how Phil's invention works. So my answers shouldn't carry any weight, but here goes anyway. Like you, I question the efficacy of the bell mouth outlet together with the so-called air straighteners in shop vac applications, but I'm still planning on their implementation anyway, in part to see them in action, and after I try and figure out how to make them, which for me is where the fun lies! Doing so probably isn't going to do any harm by including them. I also think many of these principles at play are scalable and could possibly be worth the effort. To prove the theory, I will make the separator's exhaust pipe able to be swapped out between a bell mouth and a straight pipe.
Just curious, what exactly is a large shop vac?
Kelly, I think you're probably right. If you get yours built before mine, let me know how yours works with the "upgrades."
QuoteJust curious, what exactly is a large shop vac?
I'm going to be using the Bauer 14 Gallon Wet Dry Vac (https://www.harborfreight.com/14-Gallon-WetDry-Vacuum-56579.html) from Harbor Freight.
Quote from: masterelectrician2112 on June 12, 2020, 11:56:50 AM
If you get yours built before mine, let me know how yours works with the "upgrades."
Yes, I will; and likewise, please post some photos and share the results from your own Thien Separator.
FYI - I've finally gotten my first Thien Separator assembled inside my old Sears shop vac. Not a total success, nor is it a total failure. It's still in experimental/ test phase. See: The Thien Separator Inside A Craftsman Wet Dry Vac (http://www.jpthien.com/smf/index.php?topic=1368.0)