New to this cyclone stuff, please help.

[Joe Shinall]

Ok, I am redoing my shop and was thinking about putting my dust collector in the attic but have decided against that now that I think I will have a clear spot to put it in the shop. I have a 2HP Harbor Freight DC. I will be putting a Wynn filter on it before long. I want to put in a trash can seperator. I see I can get one of the lids for about $30 and I have one of the 30 gallon trash cans. But the lid has 4" inlets. I do not see one with 6" inlets. I want to run 6" duct. Would it hurt the CFM to run 6" to 4" adapters to the lid and back out to the DC?

Eventually I would like to go with the Super Dust Deputy but can't afford that right now so just looking for something to help with the system I am putting in.

[Jerome Stanek]

You could build your own separator. There are plans for the Thien unit.

[Bob Riefer]

+1 on building one yourself. If you want to do 6" duct, my understanding is that it's best to use 6" duct everywhere in your system (within reason... if there's a tool that's impossible to modify to 6", you'll have to make exceptions) including the separator.

edit: also, assuming you're collecting the majority of chips with a pre-separator (such as the thien baffle or a cyclone), venting outside (rather than filtering inside), is an effective option to consider. As with anything, there are pros and cons to that approach (pros: 100% of the stuff you suck up is either in your separator or expelled outdoors away from where you're breathing... cons: you suck heating/cooling out of your shop, may need makeup air [e.g. crack open a window] to ensure you have adequate oxygen in the space.. there are other pros and cons too)

[Joe Shinall]

I have looked into building my own and that may be the way I go but was just hoping to do it the simple way but I also agree that it should be 6" all the way through. I would vent outside if I was planning on staying at this house for a long time but I don't want to go putting a big hole in my siding to have to repair later. That is what I would really love to do, but I hope to be selling this place once the market turns (if that ever happens).

I was trying to get on the thien site last night and it was down. Will have to see if I can figure this thing out and just make one. Can't believe no company has gotten smart and made a lid with 6" ports yet.