Setting up dust collector

Dennis Gerard

Member
Messages
28
Location
florida/tennessee
I'm setting up a dust collector I got from Grizzly wall hung, and ready for some ducting now, some one said try 4" plastic sewer pipe has anyone used this before?

Dennis
 
I have used a lot of 4 inch plastic "Sewer and Drain" pipe, but much of it has also been replaced with 6 inch S&D. 6 inch is a lot more expensive, but not as expensive as buying both 4 inch and 6 inch, when you want more capacity. (My main runs are now all 6 inch).

If it is a cyclone, be sure the pipe comes in straight for the last few feet, so the air and chips are flowing in a stream rather than turbulent as they enter the cyclone. That makes a big difference in the efficiency.
 
For clarity's sake, there is a difference in PVC pipe. The Sewer and Drain (S&D) mentioned above will have a thin wall thickness and the pipe will be marked ASTM 2729. This pipe is used primarily for drain field installations and can be a little harder to find. Even with the thinner wall thickness, this pipe is perfectly fine to use for dust collection systems.

PVC Sewer Pipe has a thicker wall thickness than the S&D pipe but the same outside diameter. This pipe will be marked ASTM D3034 on the outside of the pipe. Normal PVC sewer fittings will fit both 2729 and 3034 pipe.

The other alternative is PVC DWV Drain Pipe. This is the most expensive route to go and quite frankly IMO over kill. It will carry a marking on the outside of Sch. 40. This pipe has an even thicker wall and the outside diameter is different than the two other PVC pipes. You would need to use PVC DWV rated fittings with this pipe.
 
First an easy answer; yes people use PVC, ABS and others for dust collection. No there is not an explosion or fire risk in your home shop (way too much discussion on this near-myth).

I'm also on 6" S&D (ASTM-2729). When you say wall hung and ask about 4" pipe I assume this is a wall hung 'blower and bag' not a wall hung cyclone of significant power. Any DC can be impacted by the air mass in the pipe it has to move. Longer pipe/hose equals more captured mass that must be put in motion. The perceived (and actual) performance of the DC can be negatively affected by too much length of duct. The reason for all this preliminary blah, blah is that you can end up very dissatisfied if you strap 30 feet of hose or pipe to a small blower.

A given length of rigid pipe will add less drag than the same length of hose unless you get that really cool hose that is super tough and very smooth on the inside at about $10+ per foot :eek:. So your pipe will be better than hose but, either of a given length will kill your airflow. If you plan to use a hose to connect this device to one machine and then another (probably its intended use) I would locate the blower centrally, if possible, rather than run pipe to the centralized area and then take off with a hose.

On the other hand I may have missed the whole point of your question and am just rambling along until the coffee kicks in :)

P.s. My dad has a bunch of schd 40 pipe because he got it for a song from an irrigation outfit going out of business. He has cursed the weight of the darn stuff ever since. Especially when wanting to make a minor change which is so easy with thinner plastic ducting.
 
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My shop is 22 x 42 and most of the machines are at one end.. So I'll only need and 20 feet of pipe and then drop drop to the machines. My plan is for 2 DC one on each side of the shop wall hung with bags.. But being on a budget it's one side at a time till I start sell some stuff.

Dennis
old yankee workshop
 
If using the PVC, be sure not to use 90* elbows, use two 45* elbows with about a 6" piece of pipe between them instead. A 90* will slow down the air flow more than using two 45's. If you can find them they do make a longer sweep 90 that can be used, but they are hard to find.
 
My shop is 22 x 42 and most of the machines are at one end.. So I'll only need and 20 feet of pipe and then drop drop to the machines. My plan is for 2 DC one on each side of the shop wall hung with bags.. But being on a budget it's one side at a time till I start sell some stuff.

Dennis
old yankee workshop

Sounds like you're sold on it. As Darren points out, 90* elbows and T-connections are a no-no as they are real performance killers. I 'wye' out to the hose connections and do the dual 45* connections as described. My setup has changed but, here's an example from earlier years.

6x6x4-blastgate-crop.jpg . pvc-response-002.jpg . 45-not-90.JPG
 
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It looks like Dennis, has his question answered. So if I could add one more question on this thread to save starting another. I have 25 year old version of this Grizzly collector:



http://www.grizzly.com/products/1-HP-Dust-Collector/G8027


Would this machine be big enough to handle a collection system in a 20x28 shop? Right now it is used on the planner and sometimes on the table saw. I have a Shopvac that I move around for my small tools. Can't afford a bigger machine and afraid to spend the money for ducting, gates, fittings if what I have can't handle it.

Thanks guys.....
 
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I used to have that one Royall and it should work fine depending on how you have pipe the runs setup and how much loss builds up. For it, I'd not venture past a single straight run across one wall to pickup most tools, and keep it low and close to the intake height of the DC. I just don't think it would be able to do many corners or suck it up to ceiling height, across, and back down. Keep in mind that you can screw or tape the joints so that you can a) move stuff around as needed, and b)reconfigure/reuse it all if you upgrade later. I'd buy a couple of sticks of S&D and a gate or two to give it a try. My hoses have the quick connectors on the ends, I found these slip right into the 4" elbows and wyes. I started with just an extra 4" cap and swapped my hose around the first few times, capping off the unused part of the pipe a the elbow or wye.
 
Don't know if you have got to point yet of setting up the remote on/off for your DC, but I can tell you I found I was constantly losing the remote or it always ended up on the other side of shop. Believe me walking over to the DC gets old real quick or you'll get lazy and say I am just making a quick cut and not turn it on, kind of defeats the whole point of having DC. I went the Long Ranger blast multigategate system and absolutely love it. It's about $60 for the plugin controller and around $15 per gate. So at each station as soon as you open the gate DC turns on , close the gate DC off, works great, and a bonus the gates are metal not those plastic crap things. Seem expensive but IMHO worth every penny, just for cool factor alone...lol

http://www.amazon.com/PSI-LRMSET110...602833&sr=8-1&keywords=Long+Ranger+blast+gate

http://www.amazon.com/PSI-Woodworking-LRGATE-Additional-Multigate/dp/B0006FKJFA/ref=pd_bxgy_hi_img_y

addon: also you don't need to run a separate line to each gate from the switch. I ran a single pair of wires to the switch and ran along my main DC line and did drops to the gates at each station, works great and you don't have tons of wiring running everywhere.
 
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I really think it is to small to handle that size shop Royall. To give you an idea I am installing a 5hp system with a 14" impeller and it is only able to handle one machine at a time with out going to the 16" one and 8" main trunk line. But I am setting it up in a 30x60 shop
 
For it, I'd not venture past a single straight run across one wall to pickup most tools, and keep it low and close to the intake height of the DC. I just don't think it would be able to do many corners or suck it up to ceiling height, across, and back down.

That is what I was afraid of. I would have to do a major shop shuffle to get things on one wall. Doesn't even sound like fun. After spending so many days cleaning fine sanding dust out of so many crooks and crannies I was just thinking of getting everything connected. I'll have to do some brain storming (even hurts to say that!) when I go back out to the shop...

@ Mark:

That's a great idea. I'll keep those links hand to use if I put this together!

@ Jay:

Hey buddy, I hope you're wrong and Darren is right!! LOL 5hp!! whoa, that'll do the job I bet!
 
Since I have a 5 hp with 16 inch impeller in my 2 car garage ... oops - studio - my initial reaction was that no way was a 1 hp unit enough. On the other hand, I have lots of machines, and always leave the port to the saw open, etc.

So I think you heard the simple answer - If you are running one machine at a time, and your runs are short and efficient, 1 hp will continue to work as it has. If you want a network of ducts with long runs and lots of turns, it will probably not be enough. Usually I recommend at least 3 hp, or 5 hp if possible, since I have never heard anyone say, I wish I had less power. I have heard numerous people have problems with their DC system, almost always related to an under-powered system or a system with leaks.
 
...Hey buddy, I hope you're wrong and Darren is right!! LOL 5hp!! whoa, that'll do the job I bet!

Keep in mind that you need what you can afford. When my shop was a two car garage, I used a 1.5hp DC with a 6" inlet split into two 4" segments. I ran one 4" flex to my table saw full time. On the other side, I had a piece of 4" flex about 10-12' long that I moved to whatever other machine I was using. It might not have been a very elegant solution but it worked.

When we moved to a larger property where I have a dedicated shop, I installed a 3hp DC with dedicated steel pipe to most machines. I still use two pieces of 4" flex to move among some portable machines.
 
Years ago, when I lived in the 'country', I'd just take a leaf blower to the shop. Open the doors on either end, put on a respirator and goggles and have at it.

Then go in and take a shower and wash my hair!
 
It looks like Dennis, has his question answered. So if I could add one more question on this thread to save starting another. I have 25 year old version of this Grizzly collector:

http://www.grizzly.com/products/1-HP-Dust-Collector/G8027

Would this machine be big enough to handle a collection system in a 20x28 shop? Right now it is used on the planner and sometimes on the table saw. I have a Shopvac that I move around for my small tools. Can't afford a bigger machine and afraid to spend the money for ducting, gates, fittings if what I have can't handle it.

Thanks guys.....

I'm no expert at this and you have some good answers from other members, but I run a HF 2 hp blower on a double bag set up like you show, only difference is my blower is on the base plate with a pipe up to the diffuser between the bags.... my shop is 12 x 24 with the blower at one end, piped along the wall to the tool area... my little lathe at about 10 from the blower, the band saw is at about 12 feet, the table saw at about 15 feet and the big lathe somewhere in between on the opposite side of the shop as the band saw... the blower was rated (per the paperwork I received from HF when I bought it) at 1600 cfm... I do have some loss as I don't have a gate on the band saw so it's always "on", but I can close off the gates on all other tools except the one I'm using at the moment. I'm using the 4" wire re-enforced hose that generally comes with these units... I am thinking about taking out the main run and putting in the pvc pipe. To reduce the noise level, I actually have the blower outside the shop in a separate closet attached to the back end of the shop which added about 3 feet to the distance between the blower and the first tool on the line. For all other tools, I have a 16 gallon shop vac that I can hook up to the chop saw or hand sanders.

Edit: I started this post to say that HF often has their DC on sale for under $200...
 
Years ago, when I lived in the 'country', I'd just take a leaf blower to the shop. Open the doors on either end, put on a respirator and goggles and have at it.

Then go in and take a shower and wash my hair!

I still do that every so often... only I use my shop vac which as a detachable blower... biggest problem is I only have doors in one side of the shop and the windows are also on the same wall as the doorway... afterwards, I spend an hour or so picking up all the things I blew off the walls and off the work bench... then go take my shower....:D:thumb:
 
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