I purchased two Jet DC 1100 wired for 220 a few months ago in anticipation of building a house with a much bigger wood shop. The electrician is coming tomorrow so i can point where i want the outlets, and I am realizing i have no idea on the actual range of these collectors. I dont really know where to position them in the shop. I guess my question is, how close to they have to be and how many tools per collector? Shop design and layout will be a new and long process i am sure in the new shop, but i am definately looking forward to it.
This is by no means a technical answer but I have found my DC1100 to be pretty effective through 4" pipe even 20' away. Something like a planer doesn't really make dust (just chips) while the miter and table saw make dust, so I try to keep them closer. I even have a chip separator bases on the Thein design and feel like i have enough flow. Now you could read Bill Pentz's site and feel totally inadequate and scared, but it depends what your goals are.
Purchasing them a few months ago has made me forgot what i puchased a little. Both of them have the standard filter, and both have the upgraded 5 micron bags for it. I assume i can use that for all the equiptment, Table Saw, Band Saw, Jointer, Drum Sander, Planer. I just looked through the Owner Manual and that was about worthless. When i finally run all my lines, is there a limit to how high i should go with the runs. i have ten foot ceilings and i would seem to think that some of the suction would go away if i go all the way to the ceiling. or should i go to the floor and work up to the machine?
Not sure how comfortable I am giving more advice but it will help others to know what type of pipe/duct/hose you are planning to use. Lots of people go to the ceiling. Have you looked at Bill Pentz's site? You could even have one fixed and one mobile to optimize collection. Just throwing ideas out. I don't use the bags, I ended up venting outside to avoid spreading dust around but that's another ball of dust.
Nic,
Dust collection is one of those "sciences" with so many opinions, facts, misconceptions that its nearly impossible to get a straight answer from two people. I've been scouring lumberjocks, bill pentz info, and anything else that I could get my hands on the last few years regarding DC. I'll be glad to share anything that I have learned.
First, i would encourage you to search fine woodworking or most any woodworking magazine's website for a dust collection article. I remember a pretty good one from FWW a few months ago that I'll be glad to send you if you PM your email address.
Second, in terms of layout from the floor to ceiling and back again. I have asked the same question. You would think that it matters alot, but really its about the resistance that any given layout (length of pipe and number of elbows) that your collector can adequately support. The good folks at oneida air have a pretty good tutorial for understanding the basic science that you'll need to understand. http://www.oneida-air.com/shop_plan_design/ductwork_tutorial01.php
If all of this is just too much information. I would share with you a few basics that could probably take you pretty far. When possible match your duct work size to your collectors inlet. Use the largest size duct as far as you can and reduce duct size as close to your machines as possible. If possible use smooth walled rigid ductwork, like pvc or snap-lock hvac pipe. The flex hose is quick and convenienct but presents about 400% greater resistance than its rigid pipe counterpart. Finally, keep it flexible. Your dc layout will surely change over time as your shop grows and your needs progress.
I ran all of the wiring for my wall outlets straight down from the attic through 1/2" dia. steel surface-mounted conduits to steel surface-mounted Handy boxes (the ones with the rounded corners). They look good and the oulets will be relatively easy to relocate if/when I need to change things.
First of all, you need much better filters for your DCs. You want .5 micron filtration, not 5 micron.
Then, you probably want a Thein baffle, which can be placed before the DC using a trash can, or in the DC itself, above the chip bag, below the filter.
Your DC says it can take a 6" duct, and I'd probably use that for the main run, although I'm not sure 1100 CFM is enough to suck hard on a 6" duct. As mentioned above, no 90 degree elbows, just 45s with a short length of straight pipe between them. Go up to the ceiling if you want, or across a wall, use a straight run, and then use Y connectors to drops down to each machine. Probably you want 4" drops. Minimize the use of flex hose. Of course you want a blast gate on each drop. PVC sewer and drain pipe is a good choice, or use 26 gauge steel duct.
As to where they go, it's hard to say without looking at a layout, but you want to minimize the total length, and mostly the number of turns.
I'll throw in my $0.02 here; despite what you may hear, 4" duct will not provide enough CFM on your DC's to clear the dust thrown up by your machines. It may seem to be ok, ie. the chips from your planer get sucked up, and sawdust from your machines is reduced, but the real harmful dust, the 1 micron and smaller, needs at least 800 CFM of suction at each of your machines in order to be collected. The Jet 1100 has an 11" impeller, which means that with 10ft of 4" pipe, you'll have only 650 CFM at your machines; enough to collect chips, but not the fine sawdust. As well, as much as many people love the Thein baffle, as it is great for decreasing the amount of dust hitting your filters, and a lot easier to empty than the DC bag, it gives a serious hit on the CFM of your machine, by increasing the static pressure of your system. Eg. 10ft of 4" pipe with your DC gives a CFM of ~650 at the end of the line. Add a Thein separator and the CFM drops to ~300.
This probably just seems like a bunch of numbers, and as SWM put it, you'll read a lot of different things, on this site and on the internet in general. The best thing you can do is read as much as you can and educate yourself so you get the best use from your DC's.
I appreciate all the comments. I now realized that I have stumbled into an art within woodworking that I will probably spend years tweaking. My builder and I agreed on a 220 run in the floor for a stationary station for the table saw, but after more research on dust collection I have chose to keep the shop design more flexible till I get in and had several outlets set throughout the shop. I have decided to keep the dust collector Close to the table saw and jointer and keep the lines straight from the exit port with a 6 inch line getting as close to each tool as possible.
I went on the internet and entered Air Handling Systems. There is a site that has all the information and charts for you. Just go to designing you air handling system and click on it. Lots of information there. It could and should be used with the above information and experience.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
LumberJocks Woodworking Forum
2.5M posts
96K members
Since 2006
A forum community dedicated to professional woodworkers and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about shop safety, wood, carpentry, lumber, finishing, tools, machinery, woodworking related topics, styles, scales, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!