Question on Thien Separators, 6" duct?

[Alan Mikkelsen]

I've been reading all the threads and did some searches on the Thien separator/cyclone. I'm interested in building this, but have a 3 hp, Grizzly 1030 DC.

If I use a 30-50 gallon drum, would this type of system work? There's a fair amount of suction on the 3 hp motor, and I don't want to go to the work of building a lid and then not having it work. (I have both metal and fiberboard drums, both with sealable lids.) Anyone have any experience in using this on a larger system? I have 6" main duct and would use this in front of my DC.

Any thoughts?

[Mark Carlson]

Alan,

You should be able to create a Thien baffle with 6in connections. I'm going to try building one with a 30gal trash can and 5in connections. When going larger than 4in it looks like the inlet should be on the side versus the top. Phil Thien has a separate forum that you can Google that will give you a lot of advice on this subject.

~mark

[David Hostetler]

Not familiar with that particular DC, but if floor space is an issue for you, and if possible, why not put the baffle in the inlet ring? I know it doesn't keep you from emptying the bag quite as often, but it goes a LONG way to keeping your filter clean and safe...

Check out Phil's forum. Just google "Thien Cyclone" and you should see it there...

[Rob Cunningham]

Looks like my DC, just a different color. I built a Thein baffle using 6" duct and 2- 35 gal fiber drums stacked. I ran 8" from the DC to the top of the drums then 6" for the main and 5" drops to the machines. It works really well. I've been using it for about 2 months and only a handful of chips have made it through to the bags, the rest falls into the drums.