New to dust collection with a couple of questions

[Nickdarr]

Okay. Sorry to be asking such basic questions. But I have some ideas and want to make sure it will theoretically work before hanging the pipe.  This is my first serious DC as I have been using a couple of shop-vacs with 1.5 inch pipe to do the job to this point. I have two ceiling mounted air filters (one in each room) that help clean the air. I have read a ton of stuff from different sites and books (including Mr. Pentz and Mr. Thien), but hope to get some ideas from people with some experience as to what really works.

My playground is in the basement into adjoining rooms. One room is 120 square feet and the other is about 170 square feet. The DC is located in a third room that is also used for wood storage. The pipe will run along the top of the wall separating the rooms. The DC is mounted on a raised base at the level of the separator output. I will be using S&D PVC pipe. Blast gates will be used for each tool. Tools include a miter saw, scroll saw, 17in band saw, sanding station, planer, and drill press. The sanding station is the first tool area with the band saw being second. The band saw has two four inch ports. Fortunately, I live in a rural area and can exhaust the DC outside. I have read and done the calculations that lead me to believe my DC can manage the six inch pipe. I will hopefully be upgrading to a larger DC as I add more toys.

I have a Grizzly 1029 2hp single bag DC with a six inch inlet that has an attachment that goes to two four inch pipes (I could use this on the bandsaw wye). I will have a 55 gal plastic drum with a top hat separator with six inch pipe in and out. I have a main line that will be about 10 feet long after leaving the preseparator. It will wye into tools on both sides of the pipe into the adjoining rooms. I will have one run that goes to the drill press that has about 6 feet of pipe, the sanding station about five feet, and the miter saw about six feet from the main. There will be two 45's that move the pipe down the wall. Also there will be two 45's that will turn the pipe to get to the miter saw.

The questions:
!- Should I run six inch for the whole main with wyes going down to four inches for the tools or should I go to the first wye and then drop to four inches?
2- For the band saw, should I use two wyes off the main or a six inch wye separated into two fours to the machine?
3- Will the 55 gal plastic drum be suffecient for the six inch pipe? Do I need to make the baffle slot wider than 1.25 inches?

Thank you for all of the help.
Darren

[phil (admin)]

The questions:
!- Should I run six inch for the whole main with wyes going down to four inches for the tools or should I go to the first wye and then drop to four inches?
2- For the band saw, should I use two wyes off the main or a six inch wye separated into two fours to the machine?
3- Will the 55 gal plastic drum be suffecient for the six inch pipe? Do I need to make the baffle slot wider than 1.25 inches?

Thank you for all of the help.
Darren

(1) I'd go with a 6" main all the way.
(2) I think most go with a 6" wye and break to two fours at the machine.
(3) Yes, a 55-gallon drum will work.  No, you won't have to increase the slot width.

[Nickdarr]

Thank you for the quick response. I have learned a lot on this site and appreiciate everyone's willingness to share.