redo complete

[retired2]

Good luck on the surgery Raymond.  I used to think trigger finger was some kind of a joke.  However, last year I had a bout with my left thumb.  A shot took care of it (took about 4 weeks).  Unfortunately, it has now returned after about 13 months.  I've been putting up with the jerky motion for about a month now.  Since I don't have much pain I have put off going back to the doctor, but I guess that is coming.  I hope he can fix me up with another shot.  I'm not looking forward to surgery.  I'm not sure why I'm having the problem with my left thumb.  I'm right handed.

[RCOX]

Phil: Thank you. I am having the same doctor do it. Should be fine. With all the surgeries I have had it continues to surprise the doctors how quick I recover. The main thing that surprises them is that diabetics are typically not fast healers. They say I heal faster than most non diabetics they treat. I tell them I am just too hardheaded to let it get me down.

Retired2: I also am right handed and the left hand messed up first. Go figure. I also had the cortisone shot in my left thumb, it lasted about 3 weeks. I had that thumb done in July 2009, then in Dec, '09 my 2 middle fingers on the left hand acted up. I told the doctor to not even mess with the shot. Let's fix it. Now my thumb and middle 2 fingers are bothering me, again I told him to fix it, heck with the shot. Since we scheduled the surgery, my rt index finger is acting up. Will probably get him to do it also.

Trigger finger is what they call it. The doctor explained it as the ligaments not sliding properly. He likened it to fishing line getting a knot in it, hanging in the guides. Then popping through and when you reel it back it hangs again then pops through. They go in and slice a small part of the outer section of the ligament so the inner 2 parts can slide as they are supposed to do. No sweat. The irritating part is not being able to bend the thumb or fingers to pick up something without having to force them to bend.

Will continue to lurk about until I can get back in the shop.

Raymond

[galerdude]

Raymond, I was excited to let you know I got the Manometer made. As the pix show, it's in plain view when I'm at the CNC. I can't ever hear whether the DC is running or not so this is gonna' work great. My DC and separator sit right on the other side of that wall. Too late to do any testing tonight but should be able to get some data this weekend for you to ponder on. Thanks again for the idea!  8) 8) 8)

Gale

[RCOX]

Looks like a very professional build. Mine was very basic but it gave me the info I was looking for. With your dc in another room, your setup will be great as an indicator. First, is it running. Second, it should be a good indicater if you get a plugged line.

Glad I could provide an idea. You capitalized on it, top notch.

Looking forward to see your results.

Raymond

[galerdude]

Raymond, got some data for you. Not that it's relevant but I'll explain some conditions that exist pertaining to my system: with the Thien Top Hat in place there's 2' of 4" pipe from the wall to the inlet. Without the separator in the system; the same 2' of 4" pipe plus an HVAC metal 4" to 5" adapter. My motor/impeller sits on top of the separator. I have 2 gates on my 4" system, 1 at the CNC and 1 for my table saw & planer (I switch back and forth).

• # of Gates Open /  w/Thien / wo/Thien
•             0              /       7.5"  /        7.75"
•             1              /       2.5"  /        4.75"
•             2              /     1.75"  /         4"

Hope this helps you pursue your "suction loss" situation. Any questions or ..... I'll do what I can.

Thanks,
Gale

[RCOX]

Very interesting. Not sure what type of dc you have, how it compares to mine. I have a Powermatic 1900. It would be interesting to see what the comparison is in relation to stated cfm. Mine is supposed to be 1900 cfm at 8" inlet. I have it reduced down to 6". Not sure what that reduces the cfm to. I may have done my test wrong. I had the adapter for the manometer blocking the end of the hose at the very end of my longest line. I noticed you had a fitting in the duct just before it goes through the wall. Not really sure what this does to the test results between your setup and mine but for either, it gives each one of us a solid number to compare to.

The things we big kids do for entertainment.

Raymond

[galerdude]

Yeah, I found it interesting also  ::). Lotsa' factors, for sure, but here's a couple more facts specific to my system, hope it helps:

• The tubing used for the manometer was 1/2" ID.
• My DC is a 10 year old Harbor Freight advertised at 2HP(?). Don't know the CFM, other owners might.

The main thing being, it seems there is an abnormal amount of suction loss when your Thien separator is hooked up  :o. The #'s might have to do with where the tests were done, I dunno. I did find it strange, the variance in numbers with the gates open & closed with the Thien and with out. I'm not gonna pretend to understand any of that  ::).
     I'll be monitoring your success in getting this to acceptable levels. If I can get ambitious I might try to perform the test closer to how you did yours just for comparison.

Thanks,
Gale

[RCOX]

I do know that I have some leaks in my system but with me testing where I am, those leaks are taken into consideration with either test. If I have time before my surgery I think I will disconnect my ductwork and do the same test right at the inlet to the separator and then at the hose I connect to the the outlet from the separator. That should give a test that only has the separator to be considered. I need to caulk a couple of leaks in my separator first. I haven't caulked them yet because I am toying with a different configuration idea. Didn't want to waste the time if I am going to pursue this other idea. We will see.

Raymond