Member
Hi John - thanks for that info. I wasn't sure if longer meant weaker but it does seem in some way it may be so.
I may have screwed up if I stated 5" - it was 6" metal, 30ga and the sections were at that 5' length.
Regardless I still think it might make me nervous with a cyclone being that light and I'd prefer something heavier. I'm lazy and hate to do things twice
Contributor
Joel, I am sorry - must have misread your post. You did not mention 5". My duct was also in 5' sections, but the collapse occurred in a run that had about 2.5 sections between an elbow and wye. I think longer does mean weaker as I still have a short section (about 3') of 30 ga. left in my system. It does not flex at all, so I left it after the collapse. Doing it again from the outset, I would not consider using 30 ga. at all, except for the fittings.
Contributor
LMAO!
30 gauge?
My Woodsucker is 16 gauge. Real steel.
And a closed wheel blower. Louder, but far more powerful.
Let the buyer beware.
I think Oneida is the best one going right now.
Be careful of off shore stuff made of pie pans.
Member
When you say the "PSI was all 30ga." you're saying that's what your friend hooked up to it, not that it's a system that came that way from PSI; I don't think that's clear, it wouldn't. Go on their site, the lightest guage ducting they sell is 26ga., this could be misleading to Jay who asked the original question.Originally Posted by Joel Earl
3 had cyclones ranging from a PSI Tempest that I think was 2.0hp up to a big G0441 that is 3hp. Ducting was interesting - all used some form of 30ga metal for parts of the components and the PSI was all 30ga. I know thats light stuff and with that kind of power they have would have been mighty reluctant to do same. Having said that they all stated they researched and asked a lot of users who have done the same if they ever had issues. Nope. The only thing any have heard of was the comment and pics above on that section that collapsed awhile back. Each uses smaller sections of the 30ga stuff - 5' was longest single piece. Maybe that helps avoid stress? I dunno - they somehow got it all to work fine. I know Wood mags cyclone design from years back was 30ga too so ?????This DC thing is a wee bit overwhelming isn't it
Jay, why don't you call the Oneida people and get a recommendation from them, you know, go to the source.
Member
In reviewing what I posted I suppose one could maybe get confused. I was indeed talking about ducting only.
As far as the old Wood magazine homemade cyclone - that was a PSI DC that they used to power it and that too was made from 30ga.-to clarify this, the cyclone body was 30ga.
Hope this now is clear and sorry if anyone missed my meaning.
Member
I am using pvc with my cyclone, but I saw where someone re-enforced 30 ga metal ducting on long runs to prevent the tube from colapsing. They use a plywood ring that fits the OD of the metal duct.
Contributor
My first system was 4" pvc. I moved my shop and wanted to go up in size, so I went to metal. I have the Grizzly 2hp dc. The inlet is 5", so that is the size pipe I used. I found the straight pipe and the elbows at HD. Could not find 5" wyes. A local HVAC supplier had some made for me. I think they were $7.58 apiece. The only problem was I should have told them not to crimp them. They are made for heat and air, so they flow backwards to a dc.
Didn’t think about that when I had them made. I used 2 elbows in the turns. My blower is located outside the shop. The system does good, but I am sure it would be better if the crimps were the other way.
paul
Contributor
Paul, you can undo the crimping pretty easily, and recrimp as needed. I used the round end of an anvil and hammered the crimp out of a couple of fittings in just a few minutes.
[OP]
Contributor
I checked with my Furnace/AV/ hvac friend and he can get me 26ga 6" for about $16 for a section of 5'-0" he also can get me wye's and adjustable 90's in 6" 26ga...i still have to design this system and then analyze the costs...there seems to be so many options, and just as many opinions! My initial thoughts are that i could get the straight lengths of 26ga from him and maybe the fittings from another supplier. Shipping on the straight lengths would probably be big $$$...
Contributor
I used metal pipe for my setup. I destroyed my hands (didn't wear gloves as I should have). I bought all my straight pipe at the borg 8", 6", and 4" and all of my 90's and wyes from Oneida which was not cheap. For the hvac stuff, make sure you get long radius elbows as the standard stuff is short radius and I was shocked at the diference in flow they make. A lot of the HVAC wyes work, but they are crimped backwards to what you would want so having the crimping pliers is a must.
Metal is nice, but it can be a pain to get going.
Contributor
Prices may have changed, but when I did mine a little less than a year ago, I paid about $8 for a 5' section of 6", 26ga. snaplock. The 30ga fittings were cheaper than 26ga and I would not be concerned at all using them.
Member
I almost totally agree with John above, with one exception. I have a metal ductwork system working off a Grizzly G1029 2 HP collector. Originally the inlet was 5 inch when I set the system up. All the straight pipe was 26 guage snaplock from the Borg and the fittings were purchased from Oneida.
A couple of months ago I needed to add a branch to the system due to the acquisition of a wide belt sander. I modifed the input to the DC to 6 inch by cutting out the cover plate, ran 6 inch to a PSI economy wye, and ran 30 guage 6 inch BORG snaplock across the ceiling (20 feet) to the sander. The system seems to move dust in an acceptable fashion and the pipe has not collapsed.
Wood'N'Scout
Member
How large of a difference is there in airflow between long and short radius elbows?
Moderator
Rob,
I don't have any numbers for you but the difference can be significant. In an ideal setup, there would be ZERO bends and transitions. As you add more and more bends and such, it increases turbulence and decreases performance. Bill Pentz probably has some numbers for you if you search his pages. It is something like 1 90 bend (non-long-radius) is equivalent to like 15-20' of straight pipe. If you go long radius (i.e. a gentle, smoother bend), it likely drops in half. Now I'm just guessing at this so confirm this for yourself.
Suffice it to say, changing things in your airflow stream as gently as possible (or practicable) is the name of the game.
For PVC, long-radius 90s are very expensive. You can get very close by putting 2 45s together at ~half the cost of a long-radius 90.
Member
Oneida has 26 ga pipe 5"x60" for $15.80 plus they have 10%off right now and free shipping over $100.
I would think 30 Ga would be fine for 90's they have seems that add a lot of strength crush wise, put two together for a long radius.
Thank You
Ed
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