Results of chalk powder test

[phil (admin)]

Got the following E-Mail form a guy named Rich:

*****
In a magazine test some time ago they used chalk to test filter efficiency.  You could do the same thing with your cyclone separator.  Add a couple tablespoons of chalk to your intake and run the vac for a minute or two.  Then see how much dust stays in the cyclone can and how much gets to the vac.  Don't use too much, it can clog filters badly.  -Rich

*****

I thought it was a neat idea so I took some bright pink chalk and sanded it with 150 sandpaper.  I created approx. 2 tablespoons of powder and then poured it into the cyclone's intake.

I've included a few pics below w/ results.

After performing the test and removing the hoses, I noticed a little chalk in the exhaust port.  I figured most of it had snuck through.  But upon further examination I was pleasantly surprised to see that most of it stayed in the cyclone (garbage) can.  The walls of the can, below the baffle, had a thin pink coating.  And the debris that was already in the bottom of the can had a thicker pink coating.

I don't know that this test tells me much, but I feel better with the chalk in the can than I would if the chalk ended-up in the vac. :D

[fshagan]

If nothing else that's certainly a good way to see how the air flows in the collector.  The chalk is probably similar to the most dangerous of the wood dust, the really fine stuff you can't even see.