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Still another dust collection system question

Posts

Still another dust collection system question

#1

Still another dust collection system question

Earl

>I just bought a new style Delta 1 1/2 horse unit with a 1 micron bag on top and disposable bag on the bottom. The salesperson said he has designed alot of systems for people and he recommends building a manifold very near the dust collector. Instead of one or two main pipes going all around the room, you have a seperate pipe going the most direct route to each machine or station. Each pipe is connected to a seperate port on the manifold, with the blast gate for each pipe on the manifold. He claims you have far less pressure drop and fewer problems with leaks because only the pipe going to the machine your using is open...the rest are closed off right at the manifold. It really is no more expensive if you use plastic pipe because you have alot fewer fittings. The pipe itself is cheap. The main disadvantage is the manifold would have to be in a central location for ease of use.

Have you ever heard of this system? I haven't come across it in all my research but it makes sense. I'm about ready to do it unless you can think of our know of problems with this approach.

Re: Still another dust collection system question

#2

Re: Still another dust collection system question

Jack Diemer

>Efficiency wise it makes sense, practically it doesn't, you want the blast gate by the tool, not the dust collector. Also, it would use a ton more pipe, and that can get expensive. I would stick with short runs to the tools. If efficiency is an issue, get a bigger fan (say 14") and run bigger pipe (6 in).

Re: Still another dust collection system question

#3

Re: Still another dust collection system question

Earl

>Thanks for your comment, Jack. Not having ever used a system I'm at others mercy. What your saying does make sense. I figured there must be a reason that I can't find anything written about manifold approach.

Any other comments from others?

Earl

Re: Still another dust collection system question

#4

Re: Still another dust collection system question *LINK*

Fog Tanner

>If you have the airflow, a manifold is a waste of pipe. I have an Onedia 2hp cyclone with two basic runs down two walls and a takeoff to the center of the shop and the table saw/planer/jointer. My lathe is along a wall along with the bandsaw. The layout of my runs was done by people at Onedia that know what they are doing. Had a manifold been better they could have sold me more pipe - I have metal snaplock pipe on all the runs. But, they designed a layout that would produce the airflow required for all my various machines in the most efficient manner.

There is more to just running some pipe, there is the volume of air and the correct size pipe to give you the flow. Too big and you won't get the velocity to carry the dust, too little and you have too much restuction and not enough flow. This is a case where bigger is not better. I have no problems with airflow, but the bag units and cyclones are apples and oranges. I also have a Jet bag unit, which I use only for handsanding operations. It has a single run of pipe to where I am sanding. And I only use it for low volume dust production.

I found a very good site that contains a lot of info on dust collection. Some of the info on the site I found out the hardway, after it was too late - permenant sinus problems. I also did a lot of reading on dust collection before buying the cyclone. It would pay you to get some books on dust collection, most have tables for calculating the runs and give you hints or guidelines. You will need to know the actual airflow and not what the manufactors claim. The ratings from Jet and Delta are free rpm no load conditions, put a run of pipe on them and they fall way off. That translates into less airflow and not really enough to do the job. You can get these numbers in some of the books and the net. Since I was buying the cyclone from Onedia they did mine for free or I paid for the layout and they gave me the unit for free - depends on how you look at it.

Before you trust your lungs to some salesman, get yourself some books and do some reading. Check the various sites like Onedia's and the one below. Then you can best make the decision and not rely on something that someone thinks is OK - he's not the one breathing the dust. Sounds like a soapbox, but if I don't use the cyclone and a powered respirator when turning I wind up with a three day sinus headache - all because we didn't know any better 25 years ago. Good luck with your research and breathing....

Fog


http://billpentz.com//woodworking/cyclone/index.cfm

Re: Still another dust collection system question

#5

Re: Still another dust collection system question

Earl

>Thanks for the info. I have read extensively, did the analysis, air flow, etc and that's why I picked this particular collector. It sounds like the layout I had figured out is very similar to yours -- unitl this salesperson threw in the manifold idea. Sounds like the manifold is a waste of time and space and I will go back to my original idea. Thanks. Earl

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