# Flex Hose Lengths for Dust Collection?



## Steinbierz (Jan 9, 2018)

Hello,

I am currently finishing up the design of my dust collection system that will be connected to a sliding table saw, miter saw station, jointer/planer, two band saws, one drill press, lathe, and CNC router. The layout will also support future changes and/or additions as I am using clamp-together piping from Blastgateco.com.

The thing I am really struggling with is how much flex hose to purchase/use to attach to each piece of equipment (except the CNC and lathe…already know what I am going to do for these two). I am designing the system so that all of the ducting runs in the shop overhead and then has a vertical drop down to each machine. I obviously can control how close the ducting is to my equipment by where I locate it and how long I make the vertical drop.

I guess the gist of my question is if there is, in general, a minimum amount of hose length that you would use on equipment/equipment types understanding that there is no "one size fits all" due to manufacturer and port differences.

Watching a lot of YouTube videos, it looks like 3' to 5' of flex appears to be the minimum with there appearing to be no upper limit for some folks. I am trying to have as short of flex hose runs as possible but don't want to get ridiculous about it.


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

Less flex is better. Use the minimum amount that still gives you the function and convenience you need. For big machines that are unlikely to move frequently, run rigid duct straight in and skip the flex hose.

For CNC routers, you'll want just enough so that the gantry doesn't overstretch the hose at any point on the XY axis.


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## controlfreak (Jun 29, 2019)

Flex builds "static pressure" or resistance to flow, the longer the run the higher the resistance.


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## EarlS (Dec 21, 2011)

Make the main trunks and drops rigid pipe, with a few feet of flex hose to connect to the equipment. Having rigid pipe too close to the DC inlet on your equipment can make the connection to the equipment very difficult.


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

My table saw and RAS are hard piped, most of the others have probably a 3' piece connecting them to the ductwork. The only exception is the bandsaw, with the port being on the saw away from the wall, it has maybe an 8' piece of flex.


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## ibewjon (Oct 2, 2010)

ASAP. As short as possible. As stated, flex adds extra resistance to the system which you do not need. My only longer piece of flex is at my lathe. It is long enough to move the intake to where I am turning or sanding. I have it attached to the lathe bed with rare earth magnets for easy positioning.


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## AlanWS (Aug 28, 2008)

Only use flex hose if something needs to move (machines or ducts) or if it's difficult to obtain the right fittings to connect properly with hard smooth duct.

It's not that big a deal, but shoot for zero and settle for what's convenient.


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## mbchrapko (Mar 10, 2017)

I totally agree with Alan, use flex only when necessary. My first system was 1-1/2 hp and I totally overwhelmed it with 45 deg elbows and flex hose.









My current 3hp system has only 1 piece of flex 2' long for my planer connection. My machines are clustered centrally in the shop so I have only 1 vertical drop. There are 11 gates and 11 machines


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## Steinbierz (Jan 9, 2018)

Thanks for all the replies. My intention all along was to go with the minimum amount of flex hose as I mentioned in my OP. I'll have to take another look though to see if there are some machines that I might be able to hard pipe all the way. For one, I know that the sliding table saw is most likely not going to move so that would be an immediate candidate. Others…I might have to go with some flex initially until I know that my shop is flowing the best for what I do now. The clamp-together piping will allow for changes down the road but I really hope that it is just marginal changes…famous last words I suppose.


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## Steinbierz (Jan 9, 2018)

> I totally agree with Alan, use flex only when necessary. My first system was 1-1/2 hp and I totally overwhelmed it with 45 deg elbows and flex hose.
> 
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> 
> ...


Nice pictures…thanks for posting these!


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## Steinbierz (Jan 9, 2018)

I should have mentioned that my dust collector is a Felder RL160 with a 5 hp motor. It should be more than up to the task for my shop but I still want to make sure I am not introducing losses anywhere that I don't need to.


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