J. Phil Thien's Projects

I have a 3/8" thick closed cell weatherstrip foam between the can and the separator.

What is working well is I have the shelf under the can on angled shims - pull the shims out and the can drops straight down.

I just got done building a top hat separator and sucked up a bunch of shavings, mdf dust and table saw dust.

I wasn't real happy with the results - about half in the can, 1/3 in the bag and a fair amount in the filter (see picture of the three different piles).  Each pile was about 18" diameter.  The pile from the can was about 2" deep, the pile from the collector bag was about 1" and the pile from the Wynn filter was about 1/2" deep.

When looking a little closer I saw some leaks so I took things apart and went over the whole thing sealing it really well (caulk and weatherstrip).

I put it all back together and then sucked up the same three piles of dust/shavings.  The result is shown in a picture - maybe 1 tablespoon of dust in the bag.  I didn't check the filter because I didn't see a need to - it looked like everything was in the can!

So when you read that everything needs to be sealed up well for it to work - do it!

I've also attached a picture of my setup.  I really like it so far.

Thanks for everyone's input.  I've been reading much of what others have done.

I started a new thread with some things I found out.

When I was taking pictures I found a couple spots where I could see some leaks (dust spots).  So I sealed those up tonight.  I'll check it again in a day or two when the silicone is good and dry and let you know of any changes.

I'll also post pics at that time.

I've been lurking for awhile - reading and learning a lot.  Thanks to everyone who contributes!

I just recently purchased the HF 2hp collector and then built a top hat separator. 

I built a shelf unit and flipped the motor/impeller assembly 90 degrees so the inlet pipe (6" diameter) goes into the top hat separator about 4".  The overall height of my separator is 8".  I mounted the HF bag / Wynn filter assembly in line with the blower assembly and have just 4" of flex pipe between the two.

I sucked up a bunch of mdf dust off the floor from my table saw but it seemed like maybe half made it to the dust collector bag.  I was a little disappointed but thought maybe that much made it through because it is very fine dust. 

So then I sucked up some dust/chips that was from OSB cut with a skilsaw.  And then I sucked up some carving chips (very thin, 1/2" wide, 1/2" long).

In each case it looked like maybe 1/3-1/2 made it to the collector bag.

From the experiences I've read of others, it seems like what I have isn't as efficient.  So I'm wondering what ideas you all have for me to look at to try to get better performance.

One question I had was what difference does it make (pro/con) of having more or less of the outlet pipe inside the middle of the separator?