My trash can separator isn't

[Brian Brown]

On my dust collector, the trash can separator is a 35 gal galvanized can topped with the ABS lid available from Woodcraft. The lid has an elbow on one side, and nothing on the other. Once the can has filled about 1/4 of the way with chips, the chips and dust (mostly) go directly to the DC. The chips mound up in the can under the elbow on the separator lid, forming a ski jump for the spinning chips, aiming them right at the elbow. Is this normal? I would like to empty the can less often if possible. If the DC is running, and no tool is is in use, the DC will even suck some of the chips out of the can while no new dust is being made. I thought the ports on the lid may have been hooked up backward, but I searched this forum, and it appears that they are hooked up properly (elbow to DC). Is it necessary to turn the elbow to a specific orientation in the can? Any other thoughts so I don't have to empty every 15 minutes? I'm a bit confused on this one.

[Duncan Horner]

I have a shopmade Thien Separator, and the elbow goes to the dust source, haven't messed with one of the plastic doodads yet.

Have you tried reversing the flow anyway, just to see?

Maybe someone with more experience with these things will chime in.

[Gary Lange]

I would take a look at the Phil Thien Cyclone Separator lid system. I built one for my Shop Vac and it works very good.

[glenn bradley]

From your description it sounds like you have the elbow on the DC side(?). If so, it goes on the machine side. Mine worked fine on my 1HP bagger but any more powerful machine seemed too much for it. I got it for protecting the impeller but have since changed things around.

[Paul Demetropoulos]

Brian,

You got a separator that doesn't do much separating, but you can modifiy the lid you have to make it into a Thien separator, and they work good.
Here's a link that shows how
http://www.evenfallstudios.com/woodw...ien-separator/

You might also consider a mini cyclone, they work great as well, ClearVue makes one and Oneida had one on sale for $59.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I made my "Phil Thein Separator" as a "top hat" so I didn't lose can capacity. Google "Phil Thein" and you will get a link to pictures of mine over at NCWoodworker. Title is "Another Vote for Phil Thein's baffle." Tonight, I planed several boards of cypress, and oak, and filled can almost to top. Checked cyclone can, and there were no shavings in it, only fine dust. I use my big planer on the apron in front of shop. By using separator, I can capture the shavings before they are sent to the back of the shop. Lots eaqsier to set can on back of truck, vs dragging can from cyclone to front of shop and then setting on the truck.

[Sonny Edmonds]

Bottom line is that the design stinks on those trash can separators from the start.
The center is where the cyclone occurs, the induction of debris is along the side.
Having the suction (dust collector) offset to the side upsets the cyclonic flow inside the can.
Not to mention the can is too small for proper separation to work well.
They are better than a knot or arbor nut/washer finding your DC fan.
But they can never be a very good answer for a cyclone.
Sorry dude.

[Ray Schafer]

I made a Thien spearator for both my DC and my shopvac. Works like a charm.

[Greg Magone]

I know this is an old thread, but I'm having the same problem. Just acquired the dust collector & trashcan separator. Not sure if there is an easy solution to this problem.

I have a 1.5 hp Delta 50-850 dust collector. Appears that the trashcan is a 30 gallon can.

[James Gunning]

I just posted this to another thread, but I think it applies here as well.

I started with a 1HP dust collector with felt bags. That was good at catching the large chips and applying a coat of fine dust to everything else. Plus, the bags were a pain to clean and empty when they loaded up. Then I tried a canister filter and clear bags. Much less fine dust settling on everything, but the canister filter would get clogged with chips and dust and was a real pain to clean. Then I tried a trash can separator (not a Thien baffle) with the DC unit. That caught some of the large stuff and allowed me to run a bit longer without the filter clogging up, but it still clogged. It also noticeably reduced the airflow from an already small blower. After a lot of research I built this: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...able-SDD-build It catches virtually everything. A small amount of fine dust is left at the bottom of the filter. Easy to empty.

If you aren't prepared to go to a cyclone of some kind, build a Thien separator hooked up to your DC. It's inexpensive to build and works very well. Phil Thien posts here and his website shows how it works and how to build one. Anything less will probably leave you disappointed and looking for something better down the road. Other than the cyclone, the biggest improvements in my system were the Wynn filter and going to 6" pipe and fittings on my machines. I don't know of any cheaper filters that work well. Mine is a 9L300NANO. 300 square feet of filter area, MERV 15 filtration rating, $165.

[Robert S Stewart]

Has anyone modified the Woodcraft trash can lid separator (30 gal. type) into a Thien type with a baffle? Any suggestions, how tos, photos appreciated
lid.jpg

[George Bokros]

I have the trash can separator and it works fine. I have added an elbow on the DC side. I read that adding that elbow helps but I am not sure it does. In any event mine works fine. I can fill the trash can pretty much full and little except the real fine falls into the trash can.

[Phil Thien]

Has anyone modified the Woodcraft trash can lid separator (30 gal. type) into a Thien type with a baffle? Any suggestions, how tos, photos appreciated
lid.jpg

Yep, it has been done, no details though.

[Jim Dwight]

My experience is very similar to James Gunning. I own a Delta 1hp DC. It came with really terrible bags which I upgraded to "shaker felt" and then to a cartridge filter. I did not roll it around, however, I ran 4 inch PVC around the shop and had gates at each machine. It worked OK, not great. Cleaning the filter and emptying the bag were the worst issues. Suction was enough to get most of what came out of the table saw and router table but the RAS and CMS still spewed stuff and the sander had no suction so it's bag caught some of what came out. I had dust, the fine kind that is the worst, all over. Probably mostly from the early days of the DC, mainly.

I've moved and am still setting up the current shop (in between house projects). So far, all I am using is my shop vacuum (6 gallon Rigid) pulling through a dust deputy on top of a drywall bucket on a cart based upon plans from Woodsmith. The HEPA filter on the shop vacuum almost never needs cleaning and the shop vacuum never needs emptied. I have to dump the bucket under the cyclone more often than I had to change the DC bag but it is a lot easier to do. I don't love moving it around and swapping hoses but it is collecting about as much as my old DC did and it works with my track saw and sander with the DC won't. I may not hook up the DC.

If I do hook up the DC, the tentative plan would put it outside and pulling through a SDD (like James). Probably no filtration. Maybe I should think about my 4 inch PVC but smooth pipe is a lot less resistance than flex hose. I don't heat or cool the shop and usually use it with the garage door open so the air loss from having the DC outside doesn't matter. If I spent the money to have a remote and put a gate at each machine it could be a sweet setup. Biggest "issue" is it won't work well with the track saw and little orbital sander so I still need the shop vacuum. Space is tight and putting the DC outside will not be a tiny project so I may just use the shop vacuum. My table saw (Ryobi BT3100) has a 2.5 inch port and the shop vacuum works well with it. The ports on the RAS and CMS are also shop vacuum size.

[Prashun Patel]

There are two differences between yours and Phil Thien's:

1) You need to hang a baffle under the inlet.
2) You should move the dc outlet to the center. Else, it's pulling from the edge of the cyclone, which defeats the purpose.