J. Phil Thien's Projects

I want to share my experience with you and ask for advice.

I make my own version of the cyclone, I will show you some photos:





After fabrication, I conducted several comparative tests and was surprised that I did not notice any significant differences between cyclone designs: with and without a baffle. Here is a photo of the result of my tests:


In spite of everything, now I am using a vacuum cleaner with a baffled cyclone and I am very pleased with the result of the dust separation.

I share my drawings in PDF format and a step-by-step video of making:

PDF Plans



Youtube

Maybe I did something wrong with the baffle element? What could be my mistake? What can I improve?

Hi all!
I am amateur woodwoker from Russia. I have a few questions about the design of the cyclone separator. I hope I get answers here

Den!

I'm here but nothing to report, I have no idea what the status of his patent may be.

Eleven months after Kelly Bellis' response prior to this, and I happened to stumble across that DusTopper device while looking for other parts on the Home Depot site.  This matter still pisses me off!

Phil, are you still around?  Has there been any progress (in any direction) on this matter?
Do you need donations for legal fees?

--Mik

No empty body either... :o :o

I can only upload 1 picture at a time due to size.

Hello everyone that hears me!!
I have a situation that needs addressing. I am hoping to make continual tweaks until I get this thing dialed in. My first change was lowering the baffle 1 1/2". I originally had it adjusted to about 1/2" below the 45 degree inlet. My next thought is to adjust the angle in which that inlet is currently set. I would love to hear some feedback of what I am doing wrong. I will post more pictures or take more measurements to work through.
Thanks ahead of time for your time....

Nate

Hi everyone, I?m Mike. I live in Australia on a 0.5 hectare plot of land with my wife and 2 cats in a small rural hamlet about 180 klms West of Melbourne.
I have a metal clad (ColorBond) workshop 9m x 6m  with a 2.7m wall height and a roof pitch of 22 deg. There?s no ceiling or internal lining boards but it is fully insulated so tolerable in both summer and winter. It?s divided into the equivalent of a 2 car garage space inside (6m x 6m) with an attached single car space carport (3m x 6m). All built on concrete slab. 
It?s a real mess having been storage for the last 10 years or so and needs organising and tidying before it can become a useful workshop. I?m 67 and my health situation makes any project a slow moving chore. I have been known to complete jobs eventually. I do a little frequently so getting I?m getting a little more control over the space each week.
Anyway I?ve been drawn here by the mystery that is Dust Extraction/Filtration and not having any brings home that it must become a priority for my next project.
I?ve been watching quite a lot of YouTube and have settled on a design inspired by young Marius Hornberger?s channel and his construction of what he called his ?small dust extractor.? Matthias Wandel is my biggest inspiration and have brought a few of his plans to life.
Thats it for me - hope to chat with some of you as time passes. Thank you Paul, for generously sharing your space and your ideas.
My workshop comprises an assortment of hand held power tools (mostly 18v Makita) along with a floor standing pedestal drill press and an Evolution Rage 5S 254mm contractors table saw. An assortment of small bench tools like a combination disc and belt sander, bench disc grinder, spindle sander and a 230mm band saw with a very meagre 65mm cutting height completes my setup. Oh I have a 3HP 75litre belt drive air compressor too.
Writing it all down like this makes it seem so much - I guess I?m fortunate to have so many tools readily at hand but every project and video I watch, reminds of things like a jointer, thickness planar, decent bandsaw and table saw (all the expensive tools) that I?d love to have one day. My age and health probably don?t make them realistic goals but a dust extractor with some air filtration is a must.
Now that Ive committed my self in writing to undertaking this as my next project , I?ll have all the motivation I need to get it done. Wish me luck.

6" inlet extended into the blower housing

I modified the 6" plywood inlet so the pipe extended 1/2" into the blower housing.  I then measured airflow and motor performance with both 5" and 6" ducts.

The charts below show data for the 6" plywood inlet plate, initially with the pipe ending flush with the inside face of the plywood, then with the plywood rounded over, and finally with the pipe extended 1/2" into the housing (6" tight inlet).  The tight inlet showed the best performance and the highest efficiency.  The best inlet/duct size combination was to use the 6" tight inlet to draw from 5" duct through a 5-6 reducer. 

Quote from: Hoota on April 03, 2021, 08:20:13 AM

[quote ] The load current of an induction motor shafted to a fan inside of a housing is purely based upon how much the output flow is restricted.  A completely open output causes the motor to draw maximum current, maybe even exceeds the rated load stamped on the tag.  Always restricted the output of the fan housing slightly to prevent burning the windings to toast. When the fan housing output is restricted, the shaft spins slightly faster (less load) and load current declines.  Should the intake be restricted, there is less air mass available to the fan blade to draw upon, motor rpm is increased and load current will reduce (slightly).  Measurements should use pressure deltas inlet vs outlet and mass flow volume (ft^3/min?).  This type of problem is a mass flow and finding the solution on the curve is a differential equation.  Set up the parameters and Excel has Goal seeker app to solve differential equations for these particular problems.   

Thanks for that explanation, Hoota.  The first measurement I made was motor amperage to be sure I had enough restrictions.  At 9.5 amps/240 volts, the blower is drawing almost as much as the nameplate of 10 amps/220 volts.  I will measure the blower without the filter ring, 5" flex hose and outlet flange fitting and post the results.  I'm less interested in the pressure across the blower (inlet to outlet) than its capabilities on the suction side, because my eventual installation will have an outlet plenum and pleated filter.  My immediate decision is whether to install 5" or 6" ducts.