# question for anyone that has used sewer & drian pipe for dust collection



## taylormark (Jul 19, 2011)

Hi
I have been reading up on dust collection and have decided to use 4" sewer and drain pipe. The 4" drain pipe that I have found measures 4 1/2" outside dia. which is too large to work with the 4" blast gates. I was wondering what have other members have done to get around this ???

thanks


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## Grandpa (Jan 28, 2011)

Pipe is measured on the inside and tubing is measured on the inside. Look for a bell reducer that has a 4" OD on one end and 4.5" ID on the other to fit the pipe. There are rubber connectors that will work for liquids that you can squeeze that much. Around here those are typically called by a brand name (Hubbless Connectors). I don't think they make 3.5" PVC pipe but they do make a bunch of different adapters to join schedule 40 to schedule 80 or 20 etc. Go to a good plumbing shop and talk to them about it. They should be able to help you. This is not a job for WalMart. Go to a big plumbing shop where real plumbers go for components.


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## longgone (May 5, 2009)

I use alot of 4" drain pipe on my dust collection system and have quite a few fittings that adapt it to make connections for other pipe and my various machines. Most of these connectors and adaptors can be founs at Rockler and Woodcraft.


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## TheWoodNerd (Aug 30, 2009)

I used 6" S&D, built my own blast gates with plywood and S&D fittings.

http://www.thewoodnerd.com/workshop/dustCollection.html#blastgates


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## taylormark (Jul 19, 2011)

Thewoodnerd,
Very nice looking setup, I was wondering if you can give me any more info on your homemade blast gates ?
Also I never though of making my own pipe hangers from scrap wood, I might have to borrow that idea from you ;-)
thanks


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## DLCW (Feb 18, 2011)

Just make sure you run a grounding wire through the pipes to carry static charge buildup to ground. In my non-metal sections of DC piping (flex hoses) I run a 14 gauge stranded copper wire (bought a 100' roll at the local hardware store) and then connect it to the metal pipe which is tied to a ground rod. The other end is connected to a bolt on the machine chassis. Make sure you scrape a small section of paint away under the bolt to get a good ground.


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## TheWoodNerd (Aug 30, 2009)

Grounding PVC is a myth. You simply can't do it and it doesn't matter anyway.

http://www.thewoodnerd.com/articles/dustExplosion.html


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## LeeBarker (Aug 6, 2010)

This is one of those situations where Edison's "pile of junk" quotation is very apt. I have used PVC, ABS, 4" galvanized, aluminum sheet, stovepipe elbows (aluminum and galavanized) and dryer flex (aluminum). Where you think there might be a leak, wrap it with plastic shrink wrap. Be creative and in a problem solving mode, rather than in a "what is on the shelf of the store that I have to buy so this is all the same color" tight spot.

If you have a run that you have to plug until it gets its designated tool, you might find that a cottage cheese carton lid is just the ticket.

Kindly,

Lee


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## TheWoodNerd (Aug 30, 2009)

any more info on your homemade blast gates

No, that's one of those things I keep meaning to write up, but I keep refining the design …


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

I've used the connectors as mentioned and in some cases made my own. Sometimes you can grind the inside of one or the outside of another to make it fit. If not, metal wrap and duct tape will even serve. The connectors are best, but I hate to wait, so if I don't have it, I will improvise.


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## Vrtigo1 (Mar 18, 2010)

I used 4" S&D that I got at Lowes. Home Depot here doesn't carry S&D anymore, they only have schedule 40 now. The cheapo plastic blast gates that I got at Harbor Freight fit right in the PVC nicely:










Also, I found an adapter that will take 4" S&D to something that you can easily fit 4" flex hose over at Home Depot. I don't know what it's called, but here's a picture of it. I have two runs of 4" S&D, one goes to each side of my shop, and I just move the flex hose from my DC to whichever side I happen to be using.










In short, I just take whatever it is that I'm trying to connect and/or adapt with me to the store and walk around the plumbing / heating/AC aisles until I find something that will work. As already mentioned, Rockler and Woodcraft do have a pretty good selection of specialty adapters that are specifically designed for use with dust collection, but you will pay a premium going that route.


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## Vrtigo1 (Mar 18, 2010)

By the way, I ran all of the 4" S&D along my garage walls just below the ceiling and made some quick and dirty support brackets out of plywood. Just cut plywood into 2 or 3 inch wide strips, then cut the strips into shorter pieces to assemble something that looks like this:










If you drill a hole in the slanted support piece 45 degrees to the face of the board (shown in blue above), you can get in there with a drill to screw the back piece to the wall. I used tapcons to anchor these to the cinder block walls of my garage in two places (yellow above). This works really well, and they're really cheap and easy to make. I just used finishing nails to hold them together and they're plenty strong enough for holding up PVC pipe if you space them every 4' or so. I also used a larger version of these to mount some old speakers in my garage. They're about 14Hx14DX36L and weigh maybe 30lbs. Two of these brackets worked perfectly for that as well.


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## Grandpa (Jan 28, 2011)

http://home.comcast.net/~rodec/woodworking/articles/DC_myths.html
This is a very informative article on static and plastic pipe.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

Like was mentioned above, pipe is measured ID, tube is measured OD. I have typically been able to run a bead of clear silicone caulk around th ejoint to seal it, and then hold it together with a couple of short sheet metal screws. I am using Lee Valley self cleaning aluminum blast gates if that helps any…


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## Grandpa (Jan 28, 2011)

Can anyone here name a person that has had a fire in their dust collection system in a home shop? How do you ground an insulator such as plastic pipe?


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## TheWoodNerd (Aug 30, 2009)

How do you ground an insulator such as plastic pipe?

You can only ground a fractional area around the grounding medium. In other words, the only way to ground PVC pipe is to wrap it in metal.


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

Wrapping PVC pipe only grounds the outside. In any event, what you really need to calculate are the Lower and Upper Explosive Limits (LEL, UEL) for wood. Depends on the size of the chunks and the amount amount of oxygen in the pipe (assumed to be ambient, 20.8% oxygen). The source of ignition is irrelevant if the mixture isn't right. I'd suspect, based on my experience, that the LEL is not generally exceeded for a shop, based on the fact that most of my shavings are pretty large, and most are in the cyclone separator, not in suspension.


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## DMIHOMECENTER (Mar 5, 2011)

@taylormark, to answer your original question: the ABS 4" to 3" reducer is the key because the 3" OD is a great fit into a 4" flex line (like Rockler in my case), then that will fit to your gates. Here are some pictures that may help you with your fittings from one thing to another:

*PICTURE 1 AND 2 ARE OF THE SAME FIRST (MAIN) MANIFOLD…*


















*PICTURE 3 AND 4 ARE OF THE SAME #2 MANIFOLD…*



















You have just looked at all of my exposed "ductwork" (two manifolds, actually). I chose to NOT have ductwork of any kind running all around my shop and at my machines. So unnecessarily cluttered and space-wasting in my opinion for a home or even small commercial shop in most cases. I have no grounding and never will. No hint of static. Blah Blah Blah.

When I was trying to find my way, the most difficult thing was filtering through all the advice to glean the useful information and throw out the well-meant but skewed advice at nearly every turn. Good luck.


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## TheWoodNerd (Aug 30, 2009)

"... what you really need to calculate are the Lower and Upper Explosive Limits (LEL, UEL) for wood"

No, what you really need to do is ignore the whole "dust explosion" myth  Make pretty stuff, suck up the dust, be happy.


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## DMIHOMECENTER (Mar 5, 2011)

^^^ I concur. I represent that remark ;=)


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## Grandpa (Jan 28, 2011)

I believe that is exactly what the man that wrote the article I said to read posted. It just doesn't happen but the myth has surely sold a lot of stuff to prevent something that doesn't happen. I think I am getting dizzy!!


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

When your workshop has had a fire and your insurance company refuses to pony up, due to a non-grounded DC system, this info will come in handy. Be sure to present this thread to your insurance adjuster! On second thought….just ground your ductwork, already!


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## DMIHOMECENTER (Mar 5, 2011)

No ! I will NOT… and you can't make me. You're not the boss of me … Bring the fire ! (He shakes his fist defiantly in the direction (Northeast) of Vulcan (the god of Fire) in Birmingham, Alabama). lol


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## TheWoodNerd (Aug 30, 2009)

"just ground your ductwork, already!"

Um, just how is he supposed to do that?


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## DMIHOMECENTER (Mar 5, 2011)

He better not even try. ;=)


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## Grandpa (Jan 28, 2011)

I insist that you can't ground an insulator and plastic pipe is an insulator!!


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