I recently sold my small 3/4hp Delta DC. It worked well, but took up valuable floor space. My intention was to try to get by with only a shopvac, but thats not going to cut it.
I am considering some sort of small DC that I can mount to the wall, and hopefully allow the dust to jettison through the wall of my garage, to the exterior of my house.
Has anyone done this?
My initial thoughts are to use an exterior dryer vent. Like this:
Maybe buy a 55 gal drum to place under it? OR Maybe just let the wind take care of chip disposal?
Does anyone have any ideas? Keep in mind that I don't need a 100hp, super-turbo-charged dust collection system. My machines are on wheels and I only plan to have one machine hooked up to the DC at any given time.
The only thing that'd stop me from exhausting directly outside like that is that you'd basically be providing a buffet for insects. Imagine a big pile of chips sitting right against the side of your house. Now imagine you're a termite.
True. But I already have hardwood mulch all around my house. So a little extra shouldn't hurt. LOL. Bugs gotta eat too.
Oh- and I should add that if I anticipate an especially large accumulation of chips- say, after planing 100 bdft, I'd probably set-up a trashcan or something to collect the chips.
A lot of folks vent outside, but they generally have some kind of separator to get the bulk of the chips. Then the wind takes care of the fine stuff. I think I would have a backup plan of putting a can with a separator on it outside, and let the exhaust of that blow freely. So try it as you plan, and be prepared to modify as needed. I suppose any outdoor separator would have to be made weather resistant in some fashion, or put in an enclosure.
I think you'd be alright with the finer dust being evacuated to the outside, but putting a barrel or something of that nature would be a good idea for the bigger stuff. I wouldn't be able to do that for three reasons, the lost heat, the neighbors and the WIFE!
I'd love to be able to vent outside, but my shop is a garage… In the middle of the city. So I doubt my neighbors would appreciate it. But if you can: go for it. No need for a fine dust filter stage!
My HF 2hp collector is vented directly outside No baffles or deflectors. Just a straight piece of 4" single wall stove pipe. There is a separator in line, so the dust exhausted is minimal and fine. Not a build up problem at all. No neighbors to complain, but the amount is so small, I doubt that any would anyway. You could run it into a collector out side, but you'd soon find the amount collected would make it unnecessary.
Some will attempt to dissuade you, citing the loss of conditioned air from the shop. I've run this set up for several years and have not experienced any loss of heated air. (shop is not cooled in the summer) In fact, the exhaust is not appreciably warmer. With the separator in line and 20' of hose, most heated air collected at the saw(s) is contained and dissipated within the shop.
The only downside is if you heat your shop in winter. You will be blowing out heated air, this may not be a problem in a climate where 50° is considered cold. However if you live in Minnesota and it and it's -40°, you would not want to be blowing heated air outside. It just depends on your locale and whether you work in cold weather.
Well Bondo, up here in the mountains, we have several days of subzero weather. But, nothing like -40. At that temp, I'd be very tempted to stay in the house. At any rate, as posted earlier, even at our lowest temps, I've not noticed an appreciable loss of heat.
YMMV
I have thought about venting to the outside, but I would
use a bag. There's a way to filter through water too. 1st
stage a bin for heavy chips, 2nd a tub pulling the air through
water. Not much fine stuff will get through the water.
Yes, venting out side will pump the heat out, and can do it quick. It can also suck doors open.
In commercial cook lines, make up air system is used near the cook line hoods to prevent those problems.
I would run a stub length of flex hose out the side of the shop. Make a rubber flange that will seal around the hose, and install the flange on a garbage can lid. Home centers sell rubber flanges like this.
That should keep the dust in the can where it belongs, yet make it easy to remove the hose and empty the can.
The problem I see is with the amount of discharge space your dryer vent is offering. This will block off over half you discharge area. That would be like using a 2 inch dia. hose for your machines. The trash can mentioned above would still have to have an opening to allow for discharging the air. Dust collectors are not sucking machines, they are blowing machines. They blow the air out to wherever. The result is the vacuum left on the intake side of the blower. You need the right amount of area for discharge.
I vent my dust collector directly outside thru a dryer vent. I use the plastic type with multiple vanes. Works great and quiet, with the blower outside in cabinet. I have a wall switch inside to turn on/off upon demand, that way I do not loose much heat/AC. I use electric space heaters so monoxide is no problem as with gas heaters.
Go for it!
I live down here in South Mississippi and I vent my DC outside. Inside I have a 55 gal drum used as a chip separator. It works great. I still have to put a screen over the outlet to keep small birds and flying insects out.
If you vent outside, you might create a negative pressure situation that can pull exhaust from a water heater or furnace into your shop. This depends on how tightly your garage is sealed and where those appliances are located. Something to consider.
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