J. Phil Thien's Projects

Well not sure I can be much help as I have yet to complete my baffle (other priorities at the moment). 

My 50-850 did not have the internal baffle you describe, but while researching I found that other newer models did have this and people have removed them with no bad side effects.  The concensus seemed to be that it was there to prevent large chunks of scrap from getting sucked into the fan blades.  My inlet is about 6.5" in diameter and all open to the fan blades.  I need to use a HVAC 7"-6" reducer to connect 6" hose to the inlet.

It is possible vertical motor mounting could cause wear, but unless you use the motor very frequently I personally would not be too concerned ... but I am FAR from an expert in this area.  In my research I saw many mounting as you described and I have no recollection of any related problems.  Many of the new DC's orient their motors in this fashion, but of course they could be using different motors to compensate.

Good Luck!
Greg

I have little doubt that I will eventually convert to using a filter, and thus my desire to build a design that would work for both external venting and filtered venting.  With the unit running it wouldn't take long to exhaust the entire air volume of my house ... and heat/AC is expensive :)

Interesting point Phil.  Does most of the separation occur on the first pass around the ring?

Has anyone experimented some type of internal veritcal baffles (either between top and baffle or connected to internal exhaust pipe and baffle) to redirect airflow towards the exterior wall ... especially near the intake?  I have seen examples of round to rectangle intake conversion to direct the incoming air flow down and to the exterior wall.  However if I use the DC canister with round intake this would be difficult.

Thanks Phil.  I have searched, found, and read many posts here and elsewhere on using your baffle inside a DC canister.  All that I have read have reported good results, but many have also reported a fair amount of fine dust getting to their filters (at least more so then custom made tophats).  I guess I am trying to decide if using the DC canister if worthwhile or if I should build a larger diameter tophat with some of the other "bells and whistles" people have used to improve seperation.

I haven't been able to find any specific recommendations on tophat diameter based upon CFM or pipe size, so any pointers there would be much appreciated.

A few of my more specifc concerns of this design are ...

• Diameter of the DC canister - The DC canister is only about 19" in diameter.  With 6" intake and exhaust there will be lots of air flow and a rather minimal distance between the exhaust pipe and canister wall.  I would think that this will result in lots of particle discharge through the exhaust.  This isn't really a big deal when venting outside, but if I switch to a filter it become problematic.
• Mounting of the Thien baffle - It may not be apparent from the diagram, but I was hoping to not use the traditional three supports between the top of the tophat and the Thien baffle.  Has anyone done this?  The baffle would only be supported by sealant around the exterior of the DC canister and of course the 120 degree solid section of the baffle along the exterior.

Quote from: galerdude on January 12, 2012, 05:51:37 PM
You must have thick skin to woodwork outside in Minnesota  ;) , ouch!

Thick skin comes with the territory :) ... just happy to have all my fingers as they can get numb in the process.

I forgot to mention that I would also like to keep the DC components used in the unit as unmodified as possible.  The attachment above shows the original DC components being used in green lines to indicate that they are unmodified components from the DC.

I have been lurking and researching for awhile, so first ... Thanks to everyone for all the information available on this forum!

I have a samll enclosed basement shop, very limited space, and a family with many allergies.  I have done the majority of my dust producing woodworking outside in the past, but living in Minnesota makes this very limiting.  Therefore I have decided to add some real dust collection to my shop and give things a go indoors.

I recently purchased a Delta 50-850.  It is a standard original Type 1 unit with dual 30 micron bags.  Clearly not going to cut it from both a collection and footprint perspective.  So planning to condense the unit using the Thien baffle inside the DC ring and at least start by venting outside with maybe a future addition of a WynEnv filter.  I realize there is somewhat of a debate on "push through" versus "suck through" topic, but I currently plan to go "suck through" primarily because of the condensed footprint.  I attached a photo of my proposed design and I would like some feedback prior to construction.  And please dont worry I have very thick skin and would just appreciate some input from those that have been through this process.

Thanks in advance, Greg