Cyclone recomendations / which do you use

Dan L Clark

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2
I am new to this forum. Nice site. I am about ready to pull the trigger on a cyclone and would like your opinion / counsel.
Small shop, 10" cab ts, jointer, planer, bs, lathe, 10" csms. I have 6" underslab piping.

I have researched building my own, don't think that will work.
Questions I have, is a 2HP with 12" impeller big enough (1000 cfm), or should I go to the 2.5 hp with 14" impeller?
Thanks in advance for your response.

Dan
 
Welcome to the family Dan!

I'd think that the 1000 CFM one would do the job, but I guess a lot of variables could come into play. The type of pipe (length of flexable vs. rigid), and the total length of the piping. Since it's under the slab you've got a few extra feet to suck it back up to the collecters input. I would think this would come into play. Also, you'd want to make sure you've got enough cfm to keep those pipes clean, otherwise it might be a pain to clean them out since you cant just shake them to knock the stuck stuff loose.

Might check around the web for a cfm calculator that takes the piping into consideration as well as the vertical lengths to see what they come up with.
 
been there dun that!

dan i havce under slab duct as well and am running a 2hp with a 13" and its works ok but if ihad it to do again and if the chance happens i am going to go bigger.. so my vote is to go as big as you can the 14 and 2.5hp is what i would pick..also another thought is to have the exhaust outside rather than in bags if you can do that in your location that alone will increase the performance alot.
 
hi dan!
what size pipe are you pulling through, and how long are the runs?
will you use more than one blast gate at a time?
more important than horsepower or impeller diameter are cfm and static pressure, without enough of either your collector will be inefficient..
spend all the time you can stand on bill pentz site, he has tons of good information.
the advice larry gave you is sound, bigger is better(if your pipe will handle the airflow) and exhausting outdoors will increase the efficiency of any pump.
 
I have a Clearvue cylcone I purchased last August. I also upgraded my piping to 6". It really works well. I havent had to clean the filters yet. It does a very good job of taking the dust from the machine and putting in the container below the cyclone. This one is a 5 hp based on Bill Pentz design.

My table saw cabinet stays clean all the time now. I used to clean it out by pushing the sawdust toward the vacuum hose connected to the cabinet. That was with a Jet DC1100. It didnt suck nearly as much as the Clearvue.
 
Welcome to the Family Dan :wave:

I built my own, using the Pentz design, it works really well.

I have, IIRC, a 36 cm diameter impeller and a 2.2 Kw 3-phase motor, which works out to about 14" and just under 3 Hp. My system works well, but in talking with Bill Pentz, I found out my system would work even better with a 15" impeller and/or a higher RPM of the motor running it. I'm in Tokyo and the electricity here is only 50 Hz, which translates to a loss of power and speed, compared to 60 Hz.

At 50 Hz my motor runs at 2860 rpm
At 60 Hz my motor would run at 3440 rpm

The difference of 580 rpm is enough to impact the performance, so a larger impeller would take care of that, or a faster motor (expensive) but for me it works OK.

My point is that you really don't want to skimp on the motor impeller set up.

The 2hp 12" set up will not preform to the standard you want, a cyclone sucks up a lot of CFM by itself, with out any ducting added. Get the 2.5 Hp, or 3 Hp and the 14" impeller, you will be glad you did.

What kind of ducting are you running? I hope 6", or the whole thing is for naught, IMHO :D

Good luck, keep us posted and take pictures :wave:
 
This is debated to no end on "the other" forums. But one good point that is brought up is what do you want it to do? Do you want it collect the dust and chips or do you really want it to keep the air clean? As in healthy clean? There is a big difference in the two goals and what is required.

I am not going to get into this and start a debate but as was mentioned there is a ton of good info on Bill Pentz site. Some people say he is wrong and maybe so, but I tend to believe his site is the best/most relieable source out there at the moment.

Just to second what was stated, duct size is directly related to speed/CFM and static pressure. To big and the air speed in the duct is to slow. To small and you can restrict the volume. It is all a balancing act and depends on if you want to pull all the dust or just the visible dust.
 
I have a Grizzly G0441 installed but not running yet.

I really think I over bought. I think a 2hp would do the job. I can tell you the Grizzly is VERY well built. I am sure it will suck just fine and really help out the dust problem in my shop

I have read many, many threads on cyclones. One interesting fact. EVERY single guy says they are satisfied with there purchase. So Penn State, Clearview, Grizzly, or Gorilla... Who knows. check out all these links and do a LOT of reading.

Having one is Sooooooooooooo much better than not having one.

Also many people who do not go the cyclone route, wish they had.

You really have to consider the cost of the complete install NOT just the price of the unit.

I would not consider anything but 6" main piping.
 
I've decided (I think, for now)

Thanks to all for the input.
I have decided to go with the ClearVue - 5HP with the big impeller. Probably more than I need, but talking to Ed I get good vibes. He knows what he is talking about and after spending HOURS in Bill Pentz's site, I think these guys have it figured out. A little pricey, but what the hell, as Bill says, itis cheaper than the hospital bills.

Thanks again.
Dan
 
Clearvue

Ed's a great guy to deal with. Mine's going on 4yrs now and still haven't had to clean the filters yet. I do vent it outside when I'm not heating or cooling the shop. You'll get great customer service from Ed before and after the sale.
 
I agree with the others. Ed and his son Matt are real class acts. Always willing to help and answer any question they can, never make a fuss, and the service after the sale is unbeatable. I've had my CV for a little over 3 years, up and running for a little over 2 years. :huh::huh::huh: Bought it before I had power to the shop.:thumb: It does a great job. There are several good cyclone systems out there, but you won't be sorry you got the CV. Jim.
 
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