J. Phil Thien's Projects

Thanks, Greg. It sounds like they changed the model I have, because the outside diameter of the inlet is 6", not 6.5" like yours. I think removing the inner baffle would be possible, although there are about 8 spot welds on mine that I would have to grind or break loose. I an always put it back together again if it causes problems. I know what you mean about having other priorities. I've got a bunch of unfinished projects I should be doing, but this looks more interesting! 

Thanks again!

I have been looking at various posts on this site and have been very impressed with the design ingenuity of many of you folks. I have a Delta 50-850 that I have used as a portable, but I would like to upgrade my shop to a central system and a better pre-separator. Presently I have a plastic trash can lid-type of pre-separator on a 30 gal. trash can, which helps with the big stuff, but it still lets a lot of dust get through to the bag. I'm anxious to give the Thien system a try!

I'm new to this forum, so forgive me if this subject has come up before. Here are my questions:

1. I will be connecting to the 50-850 with a 6" duct. On the inside of the 6" inlet flange is spot-welded a piece of metal with a 4" hole in it that would seem to direct the air to the center of the fan. Does anyone know if this metal reducer is necessary when connecting to 6" ducting?  It would seem that removing this would reduce the static pressure at the inlet, which would be good. Of course, that would also reduce the air speed hitting the fan, which might be a problem. Any thoughts on that?

2. I would like to eliminate much of the flex hose by mounting the blower horizontally, with the end of the motor pointing upward. I read on one blog that orienting the motor in that way might put excessive stress on the motor bearings. Anyone have anything to share about that question?

Thanks again for giving me inspiration to upgrade my system.