J. Phil Thien's Projects

wouldn't a loose impeller vibrate like crazy and make a god awful noise ?

Which is a bad thing for a DC !

My rig is here http://www.jpthien.com/smf/index.php?topic=1181.msg6786#msg6786

Worked great for quite a while, recently its suction is getting weaker and weaker, to the point now where it is barely better than nothing. Bag is not even 1/10th full, trash can is nearly empty. Have a Wynn filter as you can see, certainly not clogged. No detectable vac leaks ,,, Thing is, I can hold my hand right up to the impeller with nothing attached and it is very weak, when I first got it I was worried it would suck my arm through.

So something is amiss, before I take it back would like to see if anyone has run into a similar problem with this unit. I noticed there is quite a bit of ait blowing down from the motor, I don't know if this is SOP or not. I remember reading a review I think on the HF site from some guy who said cracks developed around the motor housing resulting in a loss of suction, he sealed them up and all was well ... Going to try to find that review.

I did get an extended warranty on this and I have heard HF is pretty good with returns, not looking forward to lugging this in though ,,, I wonder if they'll accept just the motor and give me a new one in return, of if they'll need everything ?

I look at it as a work in progress. I have hooked it up and run it with my new bandsaw, barely any debris is making it to the bag so it must be somewhat efficient, though that shouldn't stop me from trying to make it even better.
The only real downside to using the stock HF cart is you are locked into certain dimensions, I only have about 6 inches between the motor and the separator, makes it a bit dicey to hook up with that  little play.

I wouldn't want a rig where I'd have to lug the motor off for emptying ... I'm gonna stick with what I got and see how it goes. Will almost certainly be an improvement over the shop vac.

I'm ready to roll, slow down now is caused by having to fabricate another dust boot bracket for my CNC machine that will accept the larger hose, it came stock with a 2.5" setup.
I'll give it a whirl with my new bandsaw, going to pick that up tomorrow and the collector should plug right in as is.

Thanks for the comments R, you are a guy that people listen to when you talk.

I thought about just what you are saying, the inlets I got were rockler and not much choice on the angle, though I guess I could modify it and cut the elbow off the output so its more straight down.
Also, the baffle is very close, right on the inlets in fact.

I patterned mine pretty much from pics here http://www.jpthien.com/cy.htm and this http://www.jpthien.com/smf/index.php?topic=436.0, other than the inside elbow I look to be pretty close. I realize subtle differences could have undesirable affects, I'm rarin' to fire this thing up but I don't want to rush it.

Thanks again, I have browsed through some of your posts and you are a very creative guy.

Making progress, would have been operational today but ran into a snag, looks like I need some kind of reducer to go from the blower to the can.
I don't know if everything is up to snuff, everything is tight ,,, I think it will do good enough.

Interesting design, too elaborate for me though I'm trying to keep it simple.

So am I missing something/doing something wrong, you guys got me psyched out here a bit.

Making progress, I have all the parts all I have to do it cut the lid & baffle and I should be in business. Fired it up, amazing air flow and a bit louder than I thought it would be, glad it didn't pop any fuses.

Have browsed through "retireds" excellent posts, I am aiming for something like this
http://www.jpthien.com/smf/index.php?topic=436.0
I have been using a separator for years with my shop vac, only new concept really is the baffle.

Plexiglas is acrylic, it is merely a name brand of acrylic [the original and most widely known] out of many. I am going to use lexan, which indeed is a polycarbonate.
[For the window I am making in the barrel, sure was not planning on making a top hat design]

I may have misunderstood a concept or something I don't know, I just want a simple separator with a baffle.

Have been using a shop vac with a separator for years, finally getting around to upgrade.
Am going with the HF model and a 20 gallon Brute. I am using the HF platform, not worth the time or expense to me to make a custom platform. I had to move the 3 support rods forward about 4 inches to make this work, even with that the separation from the impeller to the shroud is going to be inches, which is fine. The bag should sit properly on the platform, if not I'll just build a little extension.
As you can see, I mounted the motor pretty simply. Just a 3/4 chunk of plywood which sits on the edge of the cart braced up by a 2x4. Also put some screws through the bottom of the cart through the wood to prevent any skidding. Solid as a rock, I tried to tip it and it wouldn't budge. I have a tendency to overbuild and would have liked another brace on the other side, but that would have trapped the brute in somewhat, so I'll make do with 1.

I'm ready to get on with making the lid, will probably use .5 mdf which overlaps the rim about .25, then route out a grove for the lip pf the barrel. Either that or glue on a piece of .25 mdf that fits exactly into the barrel onto the .5 which slightly overlaps.
Anyways a couple quick questions.

I recall reading about guys cutting out the metal vanes in front of the impeller, do most of you guys do that ?
Is there an optimal distance between the lid & the baffle ? I was figuring just enough to allow room for the fittings, probably about 3.5".
Drop slot is about 1.5-2", correct ?

I am also planning on cutting out a 3x8" slot or so in the barrel and covering it with lexan so I can visually see when barrel is reaching capacity without having to take off the lid, will post pics when complete.
Am looking forward to the increased airflow, think I have just about everything I need and then some. Most dust in my garage comes from a CNC machine, mdf & corian dust is the worse. Have a Laguna 14-12 bandsaw on the way, so for sure I'll need some good suction for that.

My name is Doug, journeyman union carpenter [687] for 15 years.

Am looking to start a thread, don't see any options to create a new thread so ..... What gives ?

edit: Nevermind figured it out, cookie issue