Dust Cyclones

Choosing a cyclone is very good. Yo might want to check out Clearvue Cyclones. I have had mine for quite a few years and it works perfectly. The people behind the design are extremely competent and serious about their product. They include high quality impellers and motors. They will stand up to the on and off cycling. I suggest you also install a remote switch to make it easier to turn on and off. It is easy to do. John

-- Oldworld, Fair Oaks, Ca

I have an Onieda cyclone system that I have been very happy with. If you send them a plan of your shop – location of tools needing dust collection – they will design a system for you and price it. The system they designed for me went together as planned and works great.

I made mine. It’s wonderful. If I decide I don’t like it, I can throw it away. It might be a good first step for you.

http://www.cgallery.com/jpthien/cy.htm

I just fired up a JDS-3100-CK, and I’m thrilled with it.

I had a limited ceiling height and this fits under it.

-- - Real men read directions

If you are ambitious, & handy, you can build your own Clearview from the free plans here.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

I’ve got a ClearVue CV1400 for about a year now and am very happy with it. Ed Morgano is a class act and will talk to you at length both before/after the sale.

-- Use the fence Luke

I am in the process of installing a Penn State Temp142CX cyclone system. It had good reviews and I got to see and talk to a guy that had one. The cyclone is in and after bow season I will get the the duct work done.

God Bless
tom

-- Mc Bridge Cabinets, Iowa

I just recieved a Penn State Industries Tempest 142 this afternoon. I haven’t had time to put it up yet but I did open the boxes and I’m very impressed so far with the construction of it, I also like the 5 year warrantee on the motor. Hopefully I should have it up in a couple days. I think it’s going to be a great unit.

-- If you can't find the time to do it properly, how will you find the time to fix it ?

I gave a 2hp grizzly and although it is no fun to assemble, it works great. I think that it offers more for your money

-- making sawdust....

Well, thank you for all your comments, I think I’m leaning towards ClearVue now….but it is not my final decision yet. I’m concerned with the assembly part. It looked like I could figure it out, but I’m still not positive. I believe I can’t go wrong with any of them though.

-- http://rusty@midohio.twcbc.com

Assembly of the Clearvue is really quite simple. I ended up welding a steel frame that mounts on the wall to support the collector. They can be mounted in various ways. You will want to be sure to use 6” main piping to all of the machines. You can reduce near the machines where necessary. I suggest you put 6” blast gates ate the machines. Reduce between the gate and machine. I could help you with your layout. SDS plastic drain pipe and fittings will work. I used metal spiral pipe. Get the largest collector they make in 5 HP. It is well it.

Good Luck, John

-- Oldworld, Fair Oaks, Ca

John O…

You start out by stating that assembling a Clearvue is easy, then talk about welding up a frame. <g>

I mean this with all due respect…

-- - Real men read directions

Mine’s home ( shop) made and it works really well.
It’s not rocket science so don’t be afraid to consider building your own system.
Truth be known, I don’t believe you could put a business card between the various makes. ( china excluded).
They all pull air thru a pipe. <g>

If you can’t get that done then any of the above recomendations are good.

Cheers

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

I built a custom mounting frame in order to install the cyclone in a way that would be suited for my particular shop space. I also mounted it on isolated rubber cushions in order to reduce noice and vibration.
I could have just as easily put it on a wood frame, as is done by most folks. If one were to look at the gallery of photos on the Clearvue website, you will see many variations of ways people have mounted their cyclones. We sometimes think outside the box.

-- Oldworld, Fair Oaks, Ca

John, I spent lots of time on the CV site, as I was trying to get one to fit under my ceiling and still take a decent sized drum. I saw a CV locally, as well. If I had been able to fit the CV, I would have needed a larger price difference to be willing to invest the work required to build the system, over a comparable unit.

The JDS 3100 I ended up with uses a lower height cyclone than most, yet still gets very little material in the bag. After reading the CV site, I was expecting more fine material to bypass the JDS cyclone and land in the bag, but was pleasantly surprised.

-- - Real men read directions

I understand your circumstances. I try to look at these types of things in a long term application. A dust collection should be thought of in this way. It all depends on the types of equipment used and space constraints.
The reason Clearvue uses the 5 hp units is to have the hp to prevent motor burnout and have enough force to spin the larger impeller efficiently. Impeller design is very important. It is the super fine dust particulates that are most important to collect. My can gets very heavy after cutting up lots of mdf. This shows that the collector is doing it’s job correctly. My shop stays quite clean with the clearvue. Sure, it does get dust in it. So, I put fans at the openings and blow out every nook and cranny periodically. This helps keep the shop fresh. I think this lingering dust causes much dirty air as it get stirred up during the coarse of a days work.

Are you using an overhead air clear in conjunction with your cyclone?

John

-- Oldworld, Fair Oaks, Ca

“Are you using an overhead air clear in conjunction with your cyclone?”

Yes.

I collect lots of MDF dust in the cyclone, but it falls into the 55 gallon drum and never makes it into the filter area. The stuff in the bag is like fine talcum powder.

I’m a serious bicyclist, so I’m pretty sensitive to dust.

-- - Real men read directions

Bigdogs117, I have the Penn state 3.5 hp cyclone. This is a very good dust collector, I have nothing bad to say about its performance. The thing is really strong, altough I still need to run more ductwork I don’t see it causing any problems at all. As others have said I would guess you want go wrong with whatever you choose.If you have any questions that I can help with about the Penn state collector let me know.

-- F.Little

I am currently installing a 5hp Dust Gorilla from Onieda.
I just assembled and mounted the unit this week end and it is build very well with heavy gauge steel and good welding.
I will post more when I get it hooked up and running.

-- Wade, Nashville, www.casetn.com