# Couple of "Worth it?" DC questions



## WorksInTheory (Jan 5, 2014)

I always appreciate and value the feedback of this forum and since I don't have a lot of other woodworkers around here to bounce off of (esp now), I always turn to here.

A few "is it worth it to do" questions on making changes to Dust Collection setup. First my setup is ala Jay Bates top hat stack (ugly messy pic attached). It does have the Rikon impeller mod but I did not open the inlet so it's still what it was. It's going out to a bag but I have the option to open that door and run a house outside.

I have a short line running into the set up and I know the first rule break here is that I run 6" into the 5" port but do have a gradual transition.

I run 6" main for about 6 to 8 feet with one split in it a few feet out to a router table then another 4 feet and it goes into 4 foot hose to a split to the table saw and then another 1 feet to a split to a band saw. All in a straight line.

It works decent enough for my garage shop but as all DC related things, can't leave stuff alone as you read or watch info and people's opinions.

Questions:

1) 2 diff YTer tested and showed that Cyclone was much better than Thien Baffle. Can't afford the Oneida so need to get a cheap knockoff or try to make one myself. Worth it to undo all this do that?

2)Some comments say you are better off having just gone all 4" and keep up velocity. A few other comments say no keep it as big as you can for as long as you can and that the Rikon impeller can handle the 6" and it will help with pressure drops. So… switch the 6" main to 4" all the way through or not?

3)I have the Craftsman clone of the Ridgid 4512 and so DC port on bottom of enclosed cabinet. I recently ran hose inside up from the port up to a small contraption that encloses the blade area creating a smaller air path I guess. Thought this would make DC suction more focused and faster. Not sure if it made it better or worse. Should I just leave the full cabinet design?

Thanks for imparting any wisdom and experience. As we are all home during these times, funny enough my wife and kids are not interested in having this conversation with me - go figure! ;-)


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

1) The Cyclone is better how? Seperaton, reduced SP loss, more air flow? In any case I built my first cyclone from the wood magazine plans back around 2000 or so, and it's not that hard to do. The one they published worked pretty well for me, though it may have been because I had a much larger blower than they used. But to your question about the Thein, I did remember wood did a comparison of smaller cyclones (again, some years back) and they gave the Thein baffle high marks for it's performance. (Was there supposed to be a pic of your setup?).

2) Your problem (as I see it) is that you feed the 6" truck with a 4" ; so the air in the 6" section is slowing considerably and you can get clogs that way. Your DC may support 6", but you only get that airflow if the 6" goes all the way. So my opinion would be the 4" line would work just as well as your current setup.

3) Too many variables for me to guess, did it seem to you to improve the performance? What was lacking before you made the change?


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## WorksInTheory (Jan 5, 2014)

1) You are correct - sorry I mean improvement in CFM. 
2) But don't most setups always run a 4in drops to tools anyways? That's the part that confuses me is they say run 6 main as far as you can to the dust collection site then you can do 4" drops.
3) True this one is a hard one to comment on, I think I was solving for a "pull effect" into the table saw vs what I was seeing above on the table top - I think probably the only way to solve this is to have overhead DC. And maybe what I've done is made it worse now with a dirty cabinet ha.



> 1) The Cyclone is better how? Seperaton, reduced SP loss, more air flow? In any case I built my first cyclone from the wood magazine plans back around 2000 or so, and it s not that hard to do. The one they published worked pretty well for me, though it may have been because I had a much larger blower than they used. But to your question about the Thein, I did remember wood did a comparison of smaller cyclones (again, some years back) and they gave the Thein baffle high marks for it s performance. (Was there supposed to be a pic of your setup?).
> 
> 2) Your problem (as I see it) is that you feed the 6" truck with a 4" ; so the air in the 6" section is slowing considerably and you can get clogs that way. Your DC may support 6", but you only get that airflow if the 6" goes all the way. So my opinion would be the 4" line would work just as well as your current setup.
> 
> ...


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

Well, on the 4" drops I have no idea what "most" do. But for me I ran 6" all the way to the tool. If that tool didn't have a 6" port, I did everything possible to make it have one. In the case of my Delta drum sander, I made a whole new top for it to hook up to 6". I sold that one, and now have a Supermax…I haven't converted it yet. But my tablesaw has a 4" cabinet connection that I left alone, since there is also a 3" over blade pickup. The only other tool that is 4" is my bandsaw, it's a steel frame saw and I cannot come up with a way to increase the port; much as I would like too. When using it I keep another 4" gate open to allow more air in.


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