Dust Piping Opinions + Stealth gloat

[Chris L Smith]

Hi All -

My Oneida Cyclone is on order thanks to the best wife known to man (on our 20th Anniversary, she said, "It doesn't always have to be about the wife getting a great gift, why don't you order the dust collector you want"!!!) - so I did . One Oneida V-3000 is on way and due at the end of next week.

My questions concern ducting. I have read all the posts I can find and Bill P's site, but I am still torn between 26g Snaplock or PVC drain pipe (6" of course). I have a basement shop that is 18 x 30 with lots of water and heating pipes across the plaster ceiling so I have to hang everything and noise is a consideration as well as cost. Longest run is about 24', and I will need 6 drops off main (lotsa wyes!) for 1) miter saw, 2) TS, 3)Jointer/planer/router group, 4)BS/Performax type sander, 5) OSS/DIsk sander, 6) lathe/floor sweep.

So, what is quietest? Is PVC really better flow wise? How painful is it to seal elbows with snaplock? Any ideas to keep cost down? Any general recommendations from those who have done this? What have folks done for blast gates - cheap plastic ones at main trunk wyes ok?

I am going from a modified HF with Wynn cartdridge DC with 4" pipe along one wall so this is like going from a Fiesta to a Escalade to me!

Any comments appreciated!
Chris

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Chris,

I used Oneida's snaploc pipe for my 3 HP. I used self-tapping screws at the joints and then used foil tape to seal it. I also ran foil tape down the seams.

Before anyone posts it. There are no investigated and confirmed instances of PVC pipe in a home/hobbiest shop causing a fire or explosion.

Grounding the pipe is fruitless as you can't ground the entire surface of an insulator.

I would advise using whichever you prefer.

[Bartee Lamar]

Take a look at my install here: http://mysaw.com/cyclone-piping-aug-2008/

PVC all the way.

[Fred Floyd]

I have the Oneida 2hp Commercial DC. At the time they were out of 2hp motors, so they sent a 3hp. I opted for the SnapLock ducting and followed the ducting plan provided by Oneida. Today (four years later) I have no regrets.

The pipe is held together with sheet metal screws and sealed with foil tape. I haven't had any problems with blockage due to the sheet metal screws. One point to consider. Over time, you will change the equipment in your shop and will likely want to change the drops. Using SnapLock with sheet metal screws (as opposed to rivets) makes the system easily changeable. Over the time I have had this setup, I have made two changes. These were to accommodate a radial arm saw and better ducting to my lathe.

The payoff for this type of ducting will come in a couple of years when I relocate my shop from Seattle to California. All will easily come apart for transport.

[Bill LaPointe]

What have folks done for blast gates -

I have just installed a bunch of these. Well made and worth the little bit of extra cost.

http://www.blastgateco.com/Blast-Gates.htm

[Gordon Eyre]

I prefer the metal pipes and have joined all of mine with rivets. This way you do not have screws sticking up inside your pipes to catch things. It worked well and was quite easy. My installation can be seen here.

Congratulations on your new Oneida DC and on your understanding wife.

[Greg Roberts]

I have just installed a bunch of these. Well made and worth the little bit of extra cost.

http://www.blastgateco.com/Blast-Gates.htm

The prices for those blastgates are very reasonable. I like the cast housings.

Greg

[glenn bradley]

ASTM-2729 here. Light and easy to work with. Slip fit into PVC scedule 40 fittings generally with no additional tape or sealant required. I have one spot where I went from PVC to black plastic that required a bit of sealant. I also put a bead of silicone where the metal blast gates seated as the diameter of the neck was a bit smaller than the plastic ones. I used to say this was so much cheaper than metal but a few years ago the price on plastics (made with oil so, go figure) jumped to where I am not sure the difference is that great any more; you would have to check. I just picked up 6" PVC 45* fittings for about $8.50 each, 6x6x4 wyes were about $14 or there abouts.

[Jim O'Dell]

All my incoming pipe is S&D 2729. There are special fittings for it. They work also with the 3034 green pipe. I do have one metal 8-6-6 wye on my exhaust to split to work with 6" louvers for the exterior wall. (No filters on mine, exhaust outside) Most of my seams are friction fit. I did caulk early on after fit together, so caulk on just the outside, but I don't think it matters. Just remembered, I do have one metal 3 X 10 to 6" adaptor on my router table that then joins to the PVC. Only way to make an updraft system work with my table that was already 1/2 built when I decided to change to the up draft version.
Either type should work fine. The thin wall PVC may be harder to find, just depends on where you live. McMaster-Carr online carries 45 els and 6-6-6 wyes at a great price and reasonable shipping. 22.5 els and 6-6-4 wyes I got at Lowes. Jim.

[Bartee Lamar]

I used screws on some of my fittings and then realized I had a bunch of connections that had NO screws in them. Hmmmmm does not seem to matter and I have other things to do.

Also I put lot of silicon bathroom "caulk" in my home-made 6-4" Y's. These seem to have some air gaps so it seemed like they needed it.

BTW, I got the Y's from Peachtree Woodworking Supply