Tom Wilkinson
Member
- Messages
- 15
- Location
- Douglasville, GA Freedom, NH
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.
As someone else suggested, this is a poor way to determine when dust bin is full as it won't read until after filters start clogging. Planer chips can fill a filter very fast if the barrel fill, and you have to have the magnehelic mounted where it is visible in the shop. My dust collector is in the basement under my shop so cannot be seen.