Just a couple of Clarifications :)

[Aardwolf]

Hi Ive been looking at adding any form of a dust collection system to my 11x14 shop and I ran into this site the other day.  I  have a 2HP 10 Gal Shop vac at this point that I have been using only for cleanup, because it clogs up so fast.

This separator looks like just the thing for me & I will be building one in the next couple of days so I can have actually have a true dust collection system.  I work part time at a builders supply store & have access to all sorts of materials.

I browsed through all the posts on building the separator & still have a couple of little questions that I did not get answered clearly.


1) I plan on using a 3' piece of 20" sonotube & a 3/4" MDF bottom which makes about a 48 gal drum.  Do you think there are any problems with this as  I dont see where anyone else has actually built one out of sono tube. 

2) I see discrepancies in the clearances & placements for the inlet pipe & placement.  I plan on using a top fed 2" pvc elbow.
     a) what should the spacing between the top & the separator plate be?
     b) how far should the elbow be placed above the separator plate
     c) how far should the elbow be from the wall ( I plan of trimming the elbow front edge for fit)

3) I plan on using 1/4" redi rod to seperate the top & separator plate.  is it advantageous to slide a piece of vinyl tubing over the exposed threads to reduce turbulance? 

4) is the placement of the (redi rod) supports critcal in any way?

5)) I only have the smaller (1 1/4"?) hose that came with my shop vac at this point, but after all the reading here will be changing it up to the 2 1/2 " asap because it has the correct ports to take that one.  Will I need to make any changes to my separator design when I make this change?

Thanks for your help and a great website.

[dbhost]

Hi Ive been looking at adding any form of a dust collection system to my 11x14 shop and I ran into this site the other day.  I  have a 2HP 10 Gal Shop vac at this point that I have been using only for cleanup, because it clogs up so fast.

Yep, that's exactly why I built my first Thien Cyclone!

1) I plan on using a 3' piece of 20" sonotube & a 3/4" MDF bottom which makes about a 48 gal drum.  Do you think there are any problems with this as  I dont see where anyone else has actually built one out of sono tube. 

Wish I could help you there. No clue what sonotube is. But if I guess, it sounds like you are wanting to use a 20" diameter plastic or fiber tube, like the stuff they use for concrete pilling molds... As long as you can seal it up with something like RTV I don't see why not...

2) I see discrepancies in the clearances & placements for the inlet pipe & placement.  I plan on using a top fed 2" pvc elbow.
     a) what should the spacing between the top & the separator plate be?
     b) how far should the elbow be placed above the separator plate
     c) how far should the elbow be from the wall ( I plan of trimming the elbow front edge for fit)

I could stand to be corrected, but I believe that the idea is that the elbow  is to get as close as you can to the lid, while touching the baffle, and as close to touching the side of the container as possible. This distance for a shop vac sized system is typically 3" or so...

3) I plan on using 1/4" redi rod to seperate the top & separator plate.  is it advantageous to slide a piece of vinyl tubing over the exposed threads to reduce turbulance? 

Again, not sure what redi rod is.... And I worked at (managed) a full line hardware store while I was in college. Must be a regional or name brand thing.... But if I had to guess you mean all thread. Basically a length of threaded rod, typically sold in feet, 3 foot, and 6 foot incriments. And no, don't worry about the impact of the threads. At least I didn't... No problems with it yet...

4) is the placement of the (redi rod) supports critcal in any way?

Just try to keep them out of the path of the air going around the outside of the can. So figure anywhere inside of where your elbow mounts is good...

5)) I only have the smaller (1 1/4"?) hose that came with my shop vac at this point, but after all the reading here will be changing it up to the 2 1/2 " asap because it has the correct ports to take that one.  Will I need to make any changes to my separator design when I make this change?

Not sure since I used "proper" according to Shop Vac sawdust collection fittings. I think regular PVC you would want 2"... Which it sounds like you are doing...

You WILL want a HEPA filter in your shop vac because even though the Thien cyclone goes a LONG way to keeping the air clean, you don't want to put whatever fines make it to the vac back into the air...

[Aardwolf]

Thanks for the reply

I'm Canadian so the terms here are probably different.

Sonotube is cardboard/fibreboard tube used to pour cement into for footings

Redi-Rod is all thread

The actual 6' black hose that came with my shopvac is only 1 1/2 inch with a big 2 1/4" fitting on the end that connects to the shopvac, the openings for the fittings on the shopvac itself are 2 1/4 inches and I found that the 2" pvc pipe that you mention is close enough that a wrap or two of vinyl tape will allow my hose to plug securely & tightly into them.  My plan is to replace the 1 1/2" hose with a 2 1/2" shopvac hose which would have the same 2 1/4" end fittings to plug into the collector.  I figure this would give me far less resistance in the pipe and probably more cfm because of it.

[Aardwolf]

I am still unsure about the clearances for the elbow fitting.

Are you saying that as per the following, that all three distances  A, B & C are as close to zero as possible?

[dbhost]

I am still unsure about the clearances for the elbow fitting.

Are you saying that as per the following, that all three distances  A, B & C are as close to zero as possible?

Distance A. 0.0"
Distance B. Sufficiently far to make it work...
Distance A+B should = ~ 3".
Distance C. As close to 0.0 as you can muster. Literally you want to come as close as physically possible to touching the side of the canister...

Since you are in the Great White North... You might contact our friends at Lee Valley to source that 2.5" hose. I got mine at Peachtree, but their shipping is kind of hard to take. I would imagine shipping to Canada would hurt...

[phil (admin)]

I'm going to add that A and B aren't critical.  I like some gap around them to prevent chips that won't settle (for whatever reason) from getting caught between the fittings and the top or baffle.  So I'm going to say leave approx. .5 to 1" for A and for B, and then C as close to the wall of the container as possible.

[Aardwolf]

Super,
Thanks for the info

I will be building it end of the week :)

Will try to post pics when done