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DC flex hose giving me fits

3K views 15 replies 12 participants last post by  hairy 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hey gang, I'm setting up a DC with three 4" outlets with my machines in a 'U' around it.

I purchased this 4" clear flex hose, but am finding it to be quite the pain to work with.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/4-x-...ar-Hose/T23415

It is quite stiff and difficult to expand, and snaps back to fully retracted as soon as released. My DC is on casters and the spring in the hoses is strong enough to drag it accross the floor.

I can secure the DC, but am having difficulty getting the hose to stay in the orientation that I want it in. It's also a struggle to make up connections.

Any ideas out there?

I'm thinking of borrowing a heat gun from work and attempting to put a permanent set into some sections of the hose. But the clear PVC is not that thick, and I'm concerned I'll melt it.

Thanks in advance for any good ideas.
 
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#3 ·
How about bending some metal conduit to the shape you want and attaching the hose to the conduit with zip ties? If you don't have a conduit bender (rather inexpensive at Harbor Freight) you can use flexible copper tubing instead of metal conduit. But given the cost of copper these days, buy the conduit bender!

Good luck.

Cheers!
 
#5 ·
Send it back and get another kind, or from a different woodworking place…..like Rockler or Woodworkers Supply…I wouldn't put up with that at all….it shouldn't do that at all, so why fight it? I've never used that stuff, but then I don't buy Grizzly either…...
 
#6 ·
I was wondering why you decided to use that collapsible style hose? The picture shows the hose that is supposed to squeeze together in order to reduce it's size when not in use….it is more like a bellows then a hose. I would do as Rick suggested, and purchase another style of hose…..I have some from Rockler and it works great…I have had no problems with it that I can recall.
 
#9 · (Edited by Moderator)
Neil:

Plan B sounds ok, but you'd spend more time blocking the d.c. everytime you moved it, rather than keeping it in one sopt (?). That's just not the right kind of hose ssnvet needs to use….that hose is awful stuff…..I'm with reggie…..buy some good hose….....you'll be glad you did in the longrun….......
 
#11 ·
Is the blast gate on the collector size or is it on the machine side of the flex hose? If it is on the machine side then the collector would draw a vacuum on the hose and cause it to compact. Just thinking. If it returns to the original packing size with the vacuum off then you have a real problem. Talk to Neal
 
#12 · (Edited by Moderator)
I can't really ask them to take it back, now that I've cut it up into about four sections…

My shop space didn't seem to justify hard plumbing in the DC…. and the layout may change as I go along.

So I came up with a layout that placed the machines in a 'U' around the DC (show in blue up against the post to the left of the TS).

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I have a contractor TS, 6" jointer, 12" bench top planer, drill press, router table, 10" slide miter saw, and band saw arranged in an oval with the DC at the left side. The DC has a three-way 'Y' with 4" inlets… one to TS, one shared by jointer and planer, and the third split up into 2-1/2" lines to the band saw, router table and slide miter. Three 4" blast gates are at the 'Y'.

The jointer, drill press with work table, and planer are all mounted to an old wooden dest with a solid walnut top, that I cut and stepped to lower the jointer. The whole rig is sitting on a large plywood bottomed tray, which is on casters. The planer is actually mounted under the desk in the middle of the tray with the infeed and outfeed going end to end, beneath the desk drawers.

All the machines are on casters (or light stands) and can be moved to accomodate large/long stock.

So having the three DC branches with "flex" pipe seemed like a good way to go. At least initially.

The pipe seems to be OK, aside from it's tendancy to spring back into the fully retracted position. I basically have to hold it open by anchoring the machines. This is only a problem with the DC as it's the only one without locking casters.

I believ Rockler has this same hose as an option…. it's all PVC with a black PVC "wire" wound around clear thin PVC walls.

I thought I was going middle of the road, as this was a little more than the all black flex hose and quite a bit less than the flex hose with metalic wire.

The top left corner is burried in materials left over from construction. The top wall is kind of reserved for something fun in the future. The top right corner has a bench top milling machine mounted to a shop built stand. the right wall has two work benches with my tool box in the middle. The bottom wall is lined with recycled kitchen cabs and a desk. Air compressor (noisey airless model) is in a sound box in the lower left corner with two rubber hoses running through the ceiling to different locations.
 

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#16 ·
I bought that same exact hose a few months back. I thought it was odd at first, but now I'm ok with it. It has not caused me any problems. I can make it longer or shorter easily.

Loom Wood Gas Engineering Machine


I use a flex hose from my dc up to a 4" green pvc pipe that runs under the joists for the floor above. That pipe is about 8 feet long with flex hose dropping down from the ceiling. I move it around to where I need it. Not an ideal situation, but it works for me.

The new piece is connected to the green pvc pipe. I use 4" corrugated drain pipe couplings to connect flex hoses together. They're cheap and snap together.
 

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