J. Phil Thien's Projects

Your kidding about the copyright infringement, right?

Quote from: phil (admin) on May 03, 2014, 07:00:18 AM
The losses from a baffle INSIDE the DC's ring are substantially lower than those of a top-hat separator.  Fine Woodworking's test indicated they saw little initial loss from adding the baffle to a Jet dust collector.

It is probably substantially easier to add a baffle to your existing DC ring than building a top-hat, as well.

The only advantage to the top hat really is that it prevents larger chunks of wood or screws or whatever from hitting your blower wheel.  But the blower wheels inside single stage DC's are designed with this possibility in mind.

Was totally unaware of this. Awesome info!
Thanks for posting this!!!

Mike, I would imagine, if you are thinking of retailing your round to rectangle adapter, that an outside radius would need to be similar to a 32 gallon garbage can. That seems to be what the majority of the forum top hat users use. Myself using an even smaller collection container would be interested in an adapter as you have proposed. Have any idea at this time what one might be able to purchase one for? I have some other ideas for a new Thien top hat separator and this would certainly make it easier to incorporate those ideas.
Thanks for posting!

Quote from: bruegf on April 01, 2014, 02:37:06 PM
Just an update to my build, I emptied the 35 gallon garbage can today and still have virtually no dust in the dust collector dust bag, not even enough to fill a sandwich baggie.  The dust separation on the baffle far exceeds all expectations I had before I built it.

Fred

Yes it's amazing! I'm still amazed every time I go out in the shed and check for fill in the collection can. A couple days ago I checked it and the can was 3/4's full and I had less than a tablespoon in the bag. I'm confident as long as one uses the basic  "Thien Design" you can't go wrong. It just plain works. J Phil Thien is a genious!!!

Never played with it but seems one might need to experiment with the slot width to achieve optimal performance.

Quote from: tvman44 on February 20, 2014, 07:41:22 PM
Did you connect between the Thien & DC or ahead of the Thien?

Ahead or intake side of Thien.

Quote from: tvman44 on February 20, 2014, 07:31:18 AM
galerdude, where do you connect the manometer to in the system?  A picture and explanation would be appreciated as I like the idea.  :)

RCOX from this forum gave me the idea in a thread he started here. It's only a 2 page thread and has some info on a manometer. Mine is connected about 2 feet from the Thien Top Hat Seperator. I used an old leftover dishwasher connection to connect the 1/2" ID tubing to the drilled and tapped 4" PVC DC pipe. If I were to build another for the purpose of testing I would definitely make the numbered graph more detailed. I filled the tubing with cuervo and food coloring, didn't want to take a chance on freezing. Mine loses about a half a number per year thru evaporation I guess and I just been eye dropping rubbing alcohol to replace. The visual really helps me out cause with the router screamin' I can't remember if I turned it on or not (CRS-can't remember squat) so just a glance lets me know. Here's a couple more pix, hope it helps. Need anything else, please let me know.

Quote from: jdon on February 19, 2014, 12:58:28 PM
What sort of container is the "final resting place" for your chips? If it can be made reasonably airtight, why not make it into a simple chip collector (inlet port in lid, with hose to suck contents of Thien separator, and outlet port to shop-vac?

If you're like me, I dispose of chips with my residential trash in wheeled Toter bins (in yard waste bin if all chips are "clean"). Not airtight, and local requirements are that trash must be bagged. If so with you, maybe something like this would work to empty your separator into: http://lumberjocks.com/wdkits1/blog/8004  Just a thought

Great idea and link!
Thanks for sharing!!!

My DC is outside my shop so I keep an eye on its operation with this Manometer that I fabricated. Lets me know if something is a foul, clog, on or off, etc.. Have not used it for testing as I really don't have/take the time. Might be able to be used for testing though.
Just sharing  ;).

With planer shavings being considered different than regular sawdust, or so it seems, I did a search on the main page of this forum using "planer shavings". Came up with 23 threads that address it. Might be interesting reading while you wait for other responses.
Wish you the best with your design and build!

Quote from: Bulldog8 on January 27, 2014, 04:55:19 PM
Last year I remodeled our laundry room. I put new sheet rock on the walls and ceiling. (8x10 room) When I was getting ready to clean up the dust, I used a shopvac and my 5 gallon side inlet separator. It did better than I expecting. I was able to clean the room without clogging the filter, but in my experience it wouldn't do for all day work as you would have to clean the filter several times to keep the vac working.

In the past few weeks I've considered trying it out with ash from the pellet stove. Currently, I use a normal shopvac and am able to get the stove cleaned, but the filter is completely clogged by the time that I am done.

Steve

This doesn't pertain to using a Thien Separator but for the last 10 years I've had success just using a bag with no filter in my 8 gal. Shop Vac to clean out our pellet stove in the house. We only burn about a 40lb bag per day and I clean it on the weekends usually. A vac bag lasts the whole winter season. Have never experienced any blow by. I'll bet with a separator a guy could really get some mileage out of a vac bag  ;)

Glue that bonds plexiglass will not bond lexan and vice versa. As far as bonding to wood, I've not seen that be successful in the various sign shops I've worked in. Silicone will adhere to either one but the joint will not hold up to any sheering type stress. I would suggest talking with your local plastics distributor, let them know what you want to achieve and most times they can get you dialed right in.

I'd always read a few years back that builds had been successful capturing fines with a narrower slot so when I built mine I went with a 7/8" slot. Have been very happy with that choice. 80% of my dust is CNC generated, other 20% is table saw and a little bit of planer. I rout quite a bit of MDF and that generates fine dust, not like plaster though but like I said, I've been real happy with the results. If I were after the results you mentioned I'd sure try the 3/4" slot, maybe configure it so you could slide in a 5/8" slotted baffle just to compare.
Just my opinion and those with more experience and knowledge might have better suggestions  ;).

Quote from: giovanotti on January 24, 2014, 02:26:34 PM
Hello,
question for experts: basic design positions outlet in the center of the separator circle (looking from the top).

What about positioning it off center in a way, which is used for radial ventilators?

Interesting.
Anxious to see your test results and findings.
I understand Phil did various arrangements when initially designing the separator so hopefully he will have an opinion for you.
Best to you on your mods and execution.

Quote from: flagelpater on January 21, 2014, 11:35:09 AM
Thank you Dabullseye

More Photos
Can someone explain the function of the bell mouth outlet? 

Is it to not let fines go out?

Nice job!
I think I read where the bell mouth adds a small measurable amount to the efficiency of the overall Thien Separator. I would hope someone more knowledgeable than I, could chime in with more facts on it. I've discovered that using Phils basic design and theory, and winding up with a working system, that life is good  :) :) :)