Adding a cyclone to dust collector

[John Henry Newman]

All,

I was wondering what all of you thought about this possible dust collection setup:

I currently have a Grizzly 1029 (2 hp rated at 1550 cfm) single-stage dust collector. I was thinking about adding a pre-cyclonic separator like this "cheap" one off ebay:

[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/dmuggli/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.png[/IMG]http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...251#vi-content

Finally, to maximize airflow I was thinking about just running the effluent from the dust collector to vent around the outside of my garage. That is, my setup would be:

Dust source --> Cyclone ---> Dust collector fan ---> 6" hose vented to outside air

My idea here is that this set up would reduce the fine particles in my shop by capturing more of them at the source and eliminating the fines that are not captured by my current bag filter, which re-emits them into my shop. The cyclone will capture most of the dust so there should be little accumulation of dust at the end of my vent hose. The small amount of fines that exit into the air will be dissipated by the wind. My neighbors do not have any windows on the side of their house that faces my garage.

[Joseph Tarantino]

you can build a thein separator for much less than $200, usually out of scrap around the shop:

http://www.cgallery.com/jpthien/cy.htm

[Erik France]

I don't have much on adding a cyclone, but you might want to reconsider venting it outside based on where your makeup air is coming from. You might end up creating a negative pressure in the HVAC envelope of your house depending on how well it is sealed from the garage, and most certainly in the garage. You'll end up bringing in a lot of cold air in the winter. Depending on where the makeup air is coming from you can bring in other particulates from outside.

In my shop/shed I put an old high CFM fan from a rackmount computer cabinet in the opening of a turbine vent I installed in the roof. It does a great job getting the heat out during the summer. Most of my power tools get used out front of the shed. I was doing a lot of dadoes in MDF one day and the dust was shooting out the slots right into my shed. I closed the doors figuring it would stop the mess. After I got done with the cuts I opened the doors over the 1/2" deep layer of dust thinking it was good that I that I closed them. The entire inside of the shop was covered in MDF dust. A lot of the makeup air for the fan comes under the loose fitting door...

[John Henry Newman]

Thanks for the input! I usually work in my garage-shop in the summer with the door open, so makeup air shouldn't be a problem.

[Dan Friedrichs]

I second the Thien separator. Since you are exhausting outside, you don't need the very fine separation that a cyclone gives -you just need to keep the visible chunks from landing outside!

I have a 2HP DC that uses a Thien baffle to keep all the visible dust in a collection bag, and dumps the exhaust air outside. I have absolutely no visible dust outside. If you can vent outside, this is really *THE WAY* to do it.

[Jim Beachler]

I have 3 of those cyclones at my shop and do not see ANY dust out in the yard. In fact, I can't see any dust ever coming out of them no matter what is happening in the shop.

I set up the airflow a little different. Since space inside is an issue, I mounted the cyclones outside to the wall. Then ran the ducting from tools to dust collector to the cyclone. Doing it thins way also allows me to have a plastic bag underneath. When bag is close to full, just seal it up and put a new one on. Also makes it handy for the horse guy to pick up the sawdust.

[John Henry Newman]

Thanks for the message. Just to clarify, you purchased 3 cyclones from that ebay seller I mentioned in the original post?

[Tom Cullom JR.]

I bought one of theses and really like it. I first used it as a pull through system then switched it over to a push through system.
Both had there advantages. I have the same dc as you but with a fine filter bag on the bottom and a pleated filter for the top bag.

http://lumberjocks.com/assets/pictur...jpg?1303741369

[Jim Beachler]

I purchased 3 from The Heavy Duty Store. They look very similar to the one you showed. I found Heavy Duty Store on Ebay.

[Howard Acheson]

One thing to keep in mind is that adding a cyclone separator will reduce the CFM of your current system. You may end up with dust collecting ability.

[John Henry Newman]

Tom,

Could you provide some more details on the cyclone that you purchased and where you got it?

Thanks!

[Tom Cullom JR.]

I got it from the guy on ebay from NY i think it has the 6" inlet. it dosent have the neutral vane like the pentz does but it still does a good job. on the orginal dc i just ran 4" pipe with the cyclone I went with 6" and it made a huge difference in the amount of air flow.