New build....Here we go....

[Bulldog8]

Bulldog8, thank you. I see what you did now.  How did you adhere the lexan or acrylic to the wood structure?

It's mechanically held in place with the grooves and stopped grooves and then sealed where the plastic meets wood with clear silicon on the original and white silicon on the "tall" version. I sealed on the outside of chamber as to not put anything on the inside that could create turbulence.

[Rudy81]

Bulldog8, glad to hear the silicone has worded to keep things air tight bonding the two distinct surfaces.  I am also trying to avoid any fasteners that can either crack the acrylic or disturb airflow unnecessarily.

Thank  you for all the tips.  BTW, your video on your tall version was one of those that influenced me to start off with a tall version.  I hope you are still getting good 'flines' filtering with that setup. Although I will be porting to the outside, I still don't want a lot of large chips thrown outdoors. 

[tvman44]

I had about 12" tall in mind with the inlet about 1" above the baffle and the 5" outlet to the DC protruding 2 1/2" into the chamber.  Seems like the further the inlet is from the outlet the better the collection should be.  If I ever get enough time to experiment that is what I want to try. :)

[Bulldog8]

I think that tall chamber helps. The fact that the outlet is lower than the inlet seems to "pull" the airstream downward. I see a very distinct downward swirl. I produce a lot of fines sanding end grain cutting board with a drum sander. The separator has worked very well to keep the DC filter clean.

[Rudy81]

Exactly what I'm hoping for and it seems what all the tall chambers seem to validate.  This project is taking longer than I expected, but figured I'd do it right the first time.

[Rudy81]

Today I tested the GE adhesive I mentioned in a previous post.  My hope is to just adhere the acrylic cylinder to the support structure in order to avoid mechanical fasteners.  I tested the adhesive with both MDF and plywood.

The GE adhesive is perfect for this application.  After just 4 hours of drying, not even the recommended 12 hours of curing, I could not remove either MDF or plywood from the acrylic sheet.  I used relatively large pieces of scrap, so I had plenty of leverage.  I cannot remove either piece and suspect the acrylic would break apart before the glue would fail.  The adhesive also remains rather pliable, which is an added bonus.

[Rudy81]

Almost done with the build.  Took a few days, but I am hoping it was worth the effort.  I am waiting for the bellmouth and 6" pipe to arrive so I can cut the holes on the top section. Otherwise, I am nearly done.

The true test will come when I hook it up and figure out if I have any air leaks.  I am very optimistic the adhesive will keep an air tight seal all around.  At some point, I will finish painting, but for now, it is in the shop waiting for the adhesive to cure. The adhesive is 'cloudy' when applied, but dries transparent when cured. 

[Rudy81]

A few shots of the final product as it cures.....

[tvman44]

Man that is big, can't wait for the efficiency reports.

[Rudy81]

Man that is big, can't wait for the efficiency reports.

Yes it is. Turned out bigger than I thought, but it only uses up vertical space, so not a big deal.  The shape of the inlet forces you into at least a 10" plus height.  This one is about 19" in height.

I'm not sure how to measure the 'efficiency', but I'll be happy if it does the job.  Unless I end up with air leaks, it should work well based on the results of other builds.

Once I get it up and running I'll post some impressions.

[Rudy81]

Adhesive cured and it certainly seems like it will be successful.  Got a chance to mount the new Jet DC-1100VX. Now will have to wait for the bellmouth and pipe to arrive this coming week.  I purchased all my pipe from Home Depot.  I had to order all of it since I opted for the heavier gauge stuff rather than what they have in the store.  Pricing was the best I could find compared to waste PVC or dedicated DC pipe.

[Bulldog8]

If it's all sealed up, how are you going to get the bell mouth into it?

[Rudy81]

Since I didn't know the diameter of the bellmouth, I have not cut out the circle on the top section.  As soon as it gets here, I can cut out the top and install the bellmouth and pipe.

My plan is to make a cut out like retired2 did on his build.  Wide enough to allow the entire bellmouth to fit and a top section screwed to the top to seal the seam.  This should allow ample space for making changes etc.

I will also be coming up with some sort of air straightener since I intentionally made the Thien collector in a manner that rotates counter to the DC rotation. This, after studying the various publications on air rotation effects on CFM and horsepower.

[john t]

Check out my post of Aug 15 regarding Plexus  M310 adhesive for plastics. Go to the Jamestown Distributors site for more info.
John T

[Rudy81]

John,
Thank you, if the GE adhesive does not work, I'll look into your suggestion.

I should be continuing the build tomorrow if UPS shows up as scheduled.  Today I built my air straightener.  I decided to make it a separate section in order to offer me flexibility of positioning along the DC to Thien baffle connection.

I used two fluorescent bulb protectors from Lowes, different sizes allowed a tight fit in the 6" pipe.