Need some help plz. Stuck on my build.

[bcurrey]

Hello. Read a ton on this forum. Lots of great info. Perhaps I've read too much and watched too many videos about this. I've hit a wall right now.

I have an old industrial vacuum. I can't even find a picture of it online to post anywhere. It's a Dustman by Shopvac. Model 940. I've had this for a while (dad gave it to me) but never used it because the suction was so poor. After reading up on the Thien separator, I pulled it back out. Once I took off the old dust collector cloth bag attached to the barrel, the suction jumped big time! I was about to buy the HF DC, but have put that on hold for now.

The good thing is, I have a solid working DC now. Bad news, I can't find any plans for my DC. I played around with it a bit today, and below is a picture I have in mind. Can you guys let me know if this looks ok?

Also, a couple more questions I had...

It runs 5.5 amps. Is this good for a DC setup?

What do I build to put between the air filter and the bag? I'm at a loss on it.

Look forward to your guidance. Appreciate the help!

[bcurrey]

This is my first (and it's terrible!) creation in sketchup. Would something like this design work? I would mount the motor to wood and build a frame and cart, but would something like this work in theory?

I would have a thien separate in the barrel and in the wood "box". The box is just for building in sketchup. I would make it round.

Thanks!

[BernardNaish]

Hi, Worry not there is plenty of advise on this site. First read this which I think is Phil's original design:

http://www.jpthien.com/cy.htm

You could build this into the top of your metal bin as a first stage separator.

You also need a separator between your filter and your bag. As most people buy a complete DC that includes a separator with a filter on the top and a plastic bag below there is nothing here (I think) that is just for this application. What you could do is adapt what is called a top hat separator. See here:

http://www.jpthien.com/smf/index.php?topic=563.msg3034;topicseen#msg3034
Persevere with this long thread and read it twice if you have the time. Most people find it very interesting but it took me a while to get my head around it.

This would not be all that difficult to do but will take time. You would need to bend thin ply to make a wide pipe to fit the filter on the top and another to take the plastic bag below.

I do have reservations about your motor. It looks far too small but I am not expert with fans and others here will know. Shop vacs generate a high pressure but pump a small amount of air. DC's are the opposite moving a lot of air at low pressure. DC's are suitable for sweeping chips and dust away from the larger machine tools such as full size planers and full size band saws. If you have smaller tools then a shop vac, like your Dad's, would do the job very well. It would need a filter in it so if you have one then you would need to put it and the fan back into the cleaner and build a good drop can like the one in the first thread above. If it does not have a filter and you cannot buy one then its back to adapting a top hat separator unless someone here has another solution. You would however need a suitable fan and I suspect these might cost almost as much as a DC.