J. Phil Thien's Projects

With the new Thien lid/can I'm looking at the plastic bag on my 2 HP HF DC and wondering if it's needed now.   I'm thinking it will probably take a decade or so to fill it up and wondering if that large volume of swirling air serves any purpose other than a reservoir for dust to fall into?

Could the plastic bag be hiked up to about 6" deep so the space below it could hold a barrel with Thien separator lid?

I built the Thien lid yesterday and it's quite amazing. I filled a 30-gal steel can halfway with dust and chips, shavings, and nails and debris from the floor, and only a handfull of dust got to my 2-hp HF's plastic bag. 

It's Phil's original plan but with 4" ducting using the new screw-on fittings from Rockler. I also tested with a Ridgid vac with a reducer on the lid inlet, and it worked great that way also (in fact, the vac dented the can).

I want to thank Phil and dbhost for plans and assistance.

Many thanks!

I thought I'd seen the answer to this question in a previous post, but now I can't find it again.

On the diameters of the baffle, should the 120 degree part always be 1-1/4" larger than the inner circle or should that be larger for a larger barrel with 4" hose?

Gotcha. Thanks!

And on a 55-gal plastic molasses deal (not tapered except inward near the lid), the 120 degree part should be 2-3/4" larger in diameter than the inner circle?

Although I notice in your original description that you said it "scales well" to larger sizes. Suggesting (to me anyway) that this distance should be larger on a larger barrel.

Can anyone tell me if the 120 degree part of the baffle on Phil's design should contact the side of the barrel, or should there be a space between the 120 degree part and the side of the barrel?  If so, how much space? 

From most design photos the overall diameter (i.e., if the 120 part were a full circle) looks to be smaller than the diameter of the barrel.