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Overfilled My Cyclone Barrel

glenn bradley

glenn bradley

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Well . . . . I have overfilled the barrel before in so far as it was heavier than I like to lift. This time I overfilled it too far. I was reaching for something down near the post-filter bag and bumped it. Instead of its usual empty "flap" noise, it went "thunk". Some expert investigative work followed by a serious round of pipe-smoking, violin-playing deduction (that is a Sherlock Holmes reference, I don't smoke or play the violin) led me to realize I was hosed. Pulled the filter cartridge which was near solid packed. The cone was full up about half way. You get the idea, total fail!

I tapped and vacuumed the filter out. Thank goodness for the shop-vac dust deputy, I got about 8 gallons of dust out of the filter with the vac after tapping out all I could. I then hand flapped the pleats while vacuuming and tapped some more. Eventually I got a nice even light through all the filter material. Now how do I get it back on?

Gravity "helped" me get the filter cartridge off but I was going to need help getting it back on. I thought about the jack out of my little truck.

Cyclone Barrel Overflow (1).jpg

It was tall enough but, by the time I rigged something to stabilize it I could do it another way. Clamping cauls! They're not just for clamping anymore :D.

Cyclone Barrel Overflow (2).jpg . Cyclone Barrel Overflow (3).jpg . Cyclone Barrel Overflow (4).jpg

All set. I gave it the incense smoke test and all seems to be ready to let me continue on . . . whew!
 
I have almost cut a window in the barrel several times. My sleds are stored in such a way that I would not be able to see the window but, I should see it often enough. Most shop made bin sensors I've seen check at the neck of the barrel and by that time, its too late for me. The commercial ones come in a variety of formats but, all are $100+. I'll need to percolate on this a bit.
 
The question is, how many hours does $100+ buy of your time doing something that unpleasant? How many hours did you spend today taking care of the problem and cleaning up the mess? How much per hour did you 'make'? Maybe the century note expenditure is a bargain. And you have been known to factor in your time and effort in tool purchases. Just sayin'.

FWIW, I've done sloppier justification for rationalizing purchases. :rofl:
 
A buddy and I tried to make a bin level detector that used an utrasonic distance sensor. It did not work well because the beam width was to wide and so it always registered as full (or was inconsistent in the reporting of fullness depending on the exact location), also the sensor needed to "calibrate" itself every time it turned on (the actual distance to the remote side didn't seem to matter so I never did fully figure out the logic of it) which seemed to work poorly inside the barrel. I've meant to revisit the project with a different sensor but have never gotten around to it. It does appear possible to make a variant of the onieda sensor for maybe $20-$30 bucks though... if you're clever enough.
 
Would you like a relatively inexpensive approach to not having that problem? I put a Magnehelic on mine. This is a pressure/vacuum gauge (hooked up for pressure in my application) that simply displays a reading that indicates whether you have good air flow. In my case I put it on to gauge when my filter needs cleaning. By definition that also shows when the filter is getting clogged. I bought the gauge for about $25 off e-bay, it included everything needed to hook up except the plywood frame (see pic). Installation is little more than drilling a hole in the outlet plenum (just ahead of the filter) and screwing the NPT bunge in that comes with the gauge. That bunge connects to the high pressure port (as opposed to the low pressure port) on the gauge with a piece of 1/4" tubing. See what it reads while the machine is running, then watch for it to climb. An increasing reading indicates restricted air flow; ie: a filter clogging. For me, it also told me when I could no longer get my filter clean enough for optimum performance, and I replaced it. Anyway, if you choose to do this, I suggest a gauge that reads between 0-10" of water. I tried a smaller one (0-4") and had so much needle bounce that it was very hard to see changes. In the pic, you can see the tube I mentioned curling around the DC discharge.
 
fred hargis said:
Would you like a relatively inexpensive approach to not having that problem?
Click to expand...

THanks Fred. That looks pretty clever. I have see a variant where a clear tube with dyed mineral oil is used but, for $25 or so, I would prefer the "dry" method. I'll poke around the web for one.
 
fred hargis said:
I put a Magnehelic on mine. This is a pressure/vacuum gauge (hooked up for pressure in my application) that simply displays a reading that indicates whether you have good air flow. In my case I put it on to gauge when my filter needs cleaning. By definition that also shows when the filter is getting clogged.
Click to expand...

By the time its reading changes though I would think you're already into the filters by which point its already "to late"?

Not that this isn't a good idea for telling when your filters are full.
 
No advice, since I don't have a cyclone, but just wanted to express my envy that you still have a working version of that single-cartridge respirator. I still have mine, and even have a few filters left for it, but the rubber strap has dried out and broken so many times it's a lost cause. I need to hit up a fabric store for some elastic, I guess. (And I wish there was still a source for the filters.)
 
glenn bradley said:
Well . . . . I have overfilled the barrel before in so far as it was heavier than I like to lift. This time I overfilled it too far. I was reaching for something down near the post-filter bag and bumped it. Instead of its usual empty "flap" noise, it went "thunk". Some expert investigative work followed by a serious round of pipe-smoking, violin-playing deduction (that is a Sherlock Holmes reference, I don't smoke or play the violin) led me to realize I was hosed. Pulled the filter cartridge which was near solid packed. The cone was full up about half way. You get the idea, total fail!

I tapped and vacuumed the filter out. Thank goodness for the shop-vac dust deputy, I got about 8 gallons of dust out of the filter with the vac after tapping out all I could. I then hand flapped the pleats while vacuuming and tapped some more. Eventually I got a nice even light through all the filter material. Now how do I get it back on?

Gravity "helped" me get the filter cartridge off but I was going to need help getting it back on. I thought about the jack out of my little truck.

View attachment 80728

It was tall enough but, by the time I rigged something to stabilize it I could do it another way. Clamping cauls! They're not just for clamping anymore :D.

View attachment 80729 . View attachment 80730 . View attachment 80731

All set. I gave it the incense smoke test and all seems to be ready to let me continue on . . . whew!
Click to expand...

If you are looking for an inexpensive dust bin level sensor I have a few surplus Bindicator units. These are new in the box and work great for this application. I have two in use in my home shop and they have been 100% effective. They can easily be set up to turn on a light or alarm or even to shut down the collector when activated.
Spec sheet is here. http://bindicator.com/product/mini-roto-bin-dicator/
60.00 each plus shipping from Georgia.
 
Tom Wilkinson said:
If you are looking for an inexpensive dust bin level sensor I have a few surplus Bindicator units. These are new in the box and work great for this application. I have two in use in my home shop and they have been 100% effective. They can easily be set up to turn on a light or alarm or even to shut down the collector when activated.
Spec sheet is here. http://bindicator.com/product/mini-roto-bin-dicator/
60.00 each plus shipping from Georgia.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the Family Tom.
That sounds like a good deal Tom but can you give us more info about yourself so we know you just didnt pop in to sell something.
Dont forget to put up your location so we know where to come and borrow stuff
:wave:
 
Last edited:
Tom Wilkinson said:
If you are looking for an inexpensive dust bin level sensor I have a few surplus Bindicator units. These are new in the box and work great for this application. I have two in use in my home shop and they have been 100% effective. They can easily be set up to turn on a light or alarm or even to shut down the collector when activated.
Spec sheet is here. http://bindicator.com/product/mini-roto-bin-dicator/
60.00 each plus shipping from Georgia.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, how long is the stem on your model? That is, how deep into the barrel does it reach once mounted?
 
Jay Caughron said:
Welcome to the Family Tom.
That sounds like a good deal Tom but can you give us more info about yourself so we know you just didnt pop in to sell something.
Dont forget to put up your location so we know where to come and borrow stuff
:wave:
Click to expand...

I have mine mounted to the side of the barrel so I don't have to remove it when I dump the barrel. I'm in Douglasville, Ga. I used to be very active with the woodworker's guild here but life gets busy. I haven't been real active on message boards in some time.

I have a lot of homemade automatic controls in my shop. Dust collection turns on with each machine and opens blast gates. Phase converter turns on automatically when needed. Traffic signal in the shop lets me know when machine power is on, dust collector is running, phase converter is running, or when dust bin is full. Two green lights, a yellow and a red.

Here's a bed I built for my son several years ago.

2251_1040722180851_1309456635_30154280_4723_n.jpg
 
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