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help with dust collection options

1K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  JBrow 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I bought, and after a few months of struggle, managed to install a Penn State Cyclone on my own. It has a 7" input. I have a table saw, a drill press, a band saw, a radial arm saw, a planer, a shaper and a jointer. (tool collector) My woodshop is a large 2-car garage, and I have access to the attic above the garage if I need it for ducting.

I have no idea how to proceed with ducting these tools. I'm not sure what size ducts to buy. Should I keep all ducts at 7", or step down? I have seen a few diagrams showing methods of ducting - there seems to be a consistency - a dust collector with a 4" input gets main lines and branch lines all 4".

What have you guys done? What works best?

Thanks in advance,
Jason
 
#2 ·
I also use a PSI cyclone. Mine is the 2 horse with a 6" inlet. I ran all 6" mains, including several feet of each drop. Then I reduced to 4-5" hard pipe, and a short length of 4" flex hose. Suction and overall collection is fantastic.

For your system, you can basically do the same, but start with at least 5 feet of 7" pipe. If any of your tools have 5" or 6" ports, you can run larger pipe all the way to the tool. This is not always practical, but will help with collection on large tools.
 
#3 ·
Yep, stay with the 7" for the first 5' or so. That was what Oneida insisted I needed to do with mine. But at that point I transitioned to 6" and ran it to all my tools. If any of them didn't have 6" ports (most don't) I did everything possible to make them 6"..in the case of my drum sander (Delta) I made a whole new top for it that would accept 6". My 6" is all thin wall PVC, and you can't find that in a 7" size. So the first 7' (in my case) is galvanized snap lock pipe, and then I forced a fitting between it and the PVC.
 
#4 ·
The right duct size will depend on how much air your system can move. A small system doesn't move that much air, and if the duct is too big the air flow will be too slow to carry the dust and chips and they will drop out in the duct, so using 8" duct with a 1hp collector isn't a good idea. I'd use the port size on the collector as a guide to what size main runs to start with.

As a general rule, keep the duct as big as you can, use 45deg elbows (or 2 of them) rather than regular 90deg, and minimize the use of flex hose. The key is minimizing pressure drop, and all those things (smaller bore duct, tight 90's, and flex hose) add more pressure drop than the other options. It doesn't mean you can't do these things if you have to, but you're better off minimizing them.

I too re-fit any tool I could with a 6" port. If the port is molded into a plastic part that bolts on to the tool, make a new one out of plywood with a 6" hole. The only knock I have on my relatively new Saw Stop PCS is I'm stuck with a 4" port. I've got a few blog posts here on LJ about my system if you want to look them up. It's worked well for me.
 
#6 ·
Chewmanfoo,

All that has been said sounds correct to me. While I cannot warrant my duct work installation as optimal or correct in every respect, I did some research before proceeding. I am well satisfied with the results.

My shop is a 2 car garage with an attic above. After considering duct runs in the attic, I elected to run the duct work on the ceiling inside the garage. That made running the ducts way easier and kept the attic free of clutter. I also worried about condensation inside the pipes if run in the attic. If I ever wanted to make a change or add a drop, I feared it would be in July, which would not be fun. Lastly when I die or move, removing the duct work should be relatively easy for the kids and sold along with the dust collector.

I elected to use SDR-35 6" pipe and smooth-walled 6" and 4" flex hose. The 6" pipe was run to the blast gate where a 6" x 4" x 4" wye machine transition fitting was added. Then dual 4" flex hoses ran to the machines with 4"dust ports. Second 4" dust ports were added to the shaper, router table, table saw, and planer. The bandsaw already had dual 4"dust ports. The radial saw dust collection hood was shop made and connects with 6"flex hose (along with the jointer and drum sander).

I documented the details of the duct work installation, in case you are interested, at…

http://www.clearvuecyclones.com/forum/forum/clearvue-cyclones/piping-and-dust-pickups/1361-duct-work-installation-using-sdr-35-6%C2%94-pvc
 
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