My most recent completed build.

[dbhost]

Okay I got REALLY lazy on this. I was going to make the template out of the hardboard, but my brain kept telling me consider the weight, and, well... I ended up using 3/16" tempered hardboard for the baffle, 1/4" all thread, etc...

I used the barrel lid to insure a nice tight seal and simply used my jig saw, and rasp to cut the holes out, and hot glue to hold the PVC in place..

Here's the pics...

The connection from the separator to the DC.


The lid / baffle assembly. The fat end of the baffle did NOT line up the way I expected, but it doesn't seem to effect how it works. I sucked up about 30 gallons of cedar shavings as a test, and ended up with NOTHING in the bag...


The entire assembly. Even with the screwed up alignment of the baffle, it works great!


I cobbled this thing together in about two hours tonight, while talking with my wife, and neighbor about an upcoming hunting trip this year. All in all I honestly think I have less than an hour of real labor in this...

[bill958]

Hey dbhost,

Looks great!

In a post on BT3 forum, you mentioned that the baffle in the separator ring was noisy (and that you had to empty the bag frequently).  Did you remove the baffle from the separator ring? Are you running both a trashcan separator and a baffle in the dust collector separator ring?

Just curious if flow performance would suffer with both.

Bill

[dbhost]

I took the baffle out of the inlet ring. My issue with noise was impeller obstructions, and yeah, emptying the (insert obscenity here) lower bag...

I have been doing more jointing, planing, and ripping tonight, and filled up the 55 gallon drum nearly to the bottom of the baffle. I have about 1/4 cup of fine dust in the lower bag AFTER I knock down the filter. (Simply turn off the DC, and tap on the metal top to the filter, all the way around and a couple of times in the middle. Maybe 10 gentle whacks...

I still have the trash can Thien cyclone as well. I use it with the shop vac.

A good example of why is tonight. I was ripping the cedar into 3.5" wide 2x4s for my workbench project. The ZCTP doesn't allow dust to go down except at the front of the blade. But the shop vac hooked up to the Shark Guard gets almost all of it.

For what it's worth, the DC, Shop Vac, AND table saw together are sort of deafening. I am REALLY glad I have those Winchester shooters muffs...

[dbhost]

I have had the 55 gallon drum based separator on and in production for nearly 3 months now. Not sure any more how many fill / empty cycles I have gone through, but it has been no less than 6, I think more like 8... The dust in the lower bag is still under a half a up when it all settles and gets shaken into a corner of the bag.

Due to me wanting to put a foam weatherstrip seal between the inlet ring and the lower bag, I had a chance to have the bag off, and look up into the filter yesterday. I wish I had taken pics. It is still clean, almost new looking... There is just the slightest hint of dust on the filter.

FWIW, I got a roll of MD closed cell foam weatherstrip tape from Lowes in Webster Texas yesterday, and the backing tape simply would NOT peel off... Like they used regular paper instead of wax paper for backing tape... Not blaming Lowes, this looks like a MFG screw up...

The little bit of dust blow by the lower bag IS a concern, and I do want to address that, and will be stopping by Ace Hardware for their house branded foam tape on the way home... They are more of a pain to get to than Lowes due to hours of operation, but I KNOW their products work...

Like I mentioned in another thread, I did change some things from the way I built the setup, for starters, the inlet, and outlet ports did not hold up with hot glue against the semi flexible lid of the drum, so I peeled the hot glue out, and used clear silicone adhesive sealant instead. So far excellent results.

I also built a stand to put the DC on, that lifts it, to within 1" of the ceiling. (The Wynn cartridge is MUCH shorter than the OE bag...) which gets the inlet almost in line with the outlet of the drum. It also provides me with space underneath for my hot dog tank air compressor and air hose.

The only failure in DC so far with this set up has been a slip of the DC hose from the table saw when cutting a LOT of Walnut... My fault, fixed....