DC Overhaul

Carol Reed

In Memoriam
Messages
5,533
Location
Coolidge, AZ
No fancy built-in DC here. Never had one. Looked at them but never got around to it. Now that everything has to go in a trailer, I gathered all teh part laying around and assembled this Rube Goldberg. I had a 15 gallon fibre drum, a Dust Deputy, a small Rigid vac (a real sucker!), and a Grizzly Lone Ranger remote. I also had a hode hanger and an old luggage hand truck. Now they all have wheels!

Two criteria. Had to hold a garbage bag for easier emptying and everything had to be in one unit. Here is a view.

DC2.jpg

Here is close up of the business end. I used 1 1/4" drain pipe with a 1 1/4" elbow and a 1 1/4" coupler. The elbow fit into the vacuum nicely but quarters were too close, a coupler and a short piece of pipe took care of that. The pipe almost fit into the top of the Gust Deputy. A few thou too big. Required a bit of rasping. Fits nicely. The upside besides neatness is no corrugated hose to disturb the air. Thought the elbow might slow things down, but it collapses a hose instantly when plugged.

DC close.jpg

The bag will suck up without a hold down. One piece of 1/2" PVC, 3 caps (for the bottom of the legs to keep from tearing the bag, a tee, and two elbows. I had three tees on hand but elbows would work fine. I used a heat gun to bend the PVC. Not neat but it works.

DC bag holder.jpg

A side view that shows that 20-20 hindsight reveals I should of have offset the Dust Deputy for a more balanced look. Se la vie.

DC side.jpg

The Lone Ranger is mounted along side the vac along with a hook for the remote, and a hose hanger is tied to the vac pipe with plastic ties.

DC hose holder.jpg

Finally, it needed wheels. I bungeed on the luggage carrier.

DC wheels.jpg

Not beautiful, but it is functional, works well, and is not top heavy. I'd say it has character!
 
Looks like a great system, Carol. From what I hear, the Dust Deputy is a pretty effective cyclone, and the Ridgid shop vac that I had was great until the filter plugged (all too quickly). With the combination system, you solved that part.
 
FrankenDC! Love using the DD for sanding. Really helps keep the shop vac sucking, and the air a lot cleaner.
 
I LOVED McGyver! Kindred spirits, ya know!

Someday it may get a remodel, as I found more DC 'stuff' as I pack. Also, the band saw was not available to me when I did this, which would have allowed a couple of other ideas. For now it is functional - and kind of quirky looking.
 
I have a couple of things I'd do differently if I did it again - some of which I will do when I remodel this remodel. One, the metal top to the drum is quite flimsy. Back it, or top it, with 1/2" ply. Second, offset the Dust Deputy some to 'better balance the load.' Third, build a more stable 'table' for the vacuum. Forth, make a wheeled base with an upright piece on one end for the towing handle and storage for the various wands. Also a box for other accessories. I have had numerous vacs over the years and there are useful leftovers I've kept. So go for it, Peter.

I will add that I plan to make a 2 loop sling to lift the entire assemble off the drum. Just a small pulley above a handy spot with a rope attached to the sling. Park the McGyver DC under the rope and pulley. One loop of the sling around the pipe into the vac and the other around the vac handle. Undo the drum ring. Haul up the assembly a few inches and tie off the rope. Slide the drum out and remove the PVC anti-bag-sucker. Remove the full bag and replace with an empty one. Replace the anti-bag-sucker. Shove it back under the DC assembly. Lower onto the drum and lock in place. Undo the sling, and Bob's yer uncle. Have to get clever when you have a bad back. May need to figure out a full bag lifter as well. :)
 
Very cool. Your ability to envision eloquent and inventive solutions always amaze me. My thinking, while technical and detail oriented, lacks the imagination to think up solutions. Yes, Vaughn said it right! Definitely McGyver! See you soon - will be in the area around the 4th-11th of Jan.
 
My thought there, Ed, is that air comes into the vac, hits a filter deflector, and scatters. Air gets filtered and the bucket does sometimes collect stuff, especially if there is a leak in the system. Experience taught me that! I did think about laying the vac horizontally, but rejected that idea for much the same reason. If I moved the DD off center, the whole assembly would be better centered. Also, I could shorten the pipe from the vac to the DD to lower things, if that gets to be an issue. Love prototypes. Always a work on progress. Thanks for the suggestion, though. It will give others something to think about.
 
One more caveat for those would-be builders out there. The drum has to have a airtight seal. I forgot that on this build. Had to go back and put weather stripping seal around the lid so when the lid clamp was clamped, the seal squished and made the drum airtight. The penalty for not doing is a full DC and an empty drum. RWE*



*RWE = real world experience
 
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