Thien baffle on a Rockler Dust Right separator?

[Prashun Patel]

Rockler's price on the Dust Right separator is very good. I have a CVmini and would opt for a Dust Deputy, but you still have to fit it with a bucket, casters, and a hose. The DustRight has double the capacity and comes ready to go. I'm wondering if anyone has used this. Would it be possible to fit it with a Thien baffle to improve performance???

[David Hostetler]

The dust right separator is set up wrong for a Thien separator. The port going to the dust collector needs to be centered in the lid for a Thien baffle to work correctly.

Building a Thien separator lid is actually quite easy, google "Thien Cyclone" and follow the links to Phil's separator forum, there is a sticky thread on how to build one that I wrote a few years ago. If you have any questions, feel free to ask..

[Prashun Patel]

I've made a couple Thien separators. I like them. The tough part isn't the baffle, it's tracking down a good container and lid. The Rockler comes ready to go. I'm curious how it performs relative to a cyclone or a Thien.

[Victor Robinson]

The Wood Whisperer did a shootout of the DD, CV mini, and DR Vortex a few weeks back. I believe the DD won.

I have a Dust Right and it performs pretty well. I'm going to be needing another separator so I don't have to move the vac AND separator through my cramped shop, and will probably get the DD.

Can't comment on a baffle for the DR...never felt like I needed to improve performance since I use bags in the vac and they fill pretty darn slowly.

[Rich Engelhardt]

The tough part isn't the baffle, it's tracking down a good container and lid.

Yeah - I agree. I made the mistake of thinking a metal trash can would work well....

[David Hostetler]

Plastic 55 gallon drums with the removable top work great. They are cheap, and the plastic lids can have the PVC fittings solvent welded to them very easily...

Most trash cans will suck in pretty quickly...

Again, the dust right has side inlet, side outlet on the top. The way a Thien baffle works is pulling through the center so the air with the dust and debris is blocked by the baffle, the clean air gets sucked in...

Not sure how making a lid is any harder than a baffle. Measure your diameter, cut it out about 3/8" proud with a circle cutting jig, and then cut a 3/8" rabbet in it so you get a good seal against the vessel... Drill your holes (hole saws work best) for your fittings, and then drill for the standoffs. Bolt, screw, and glue together... Very easy...

[Gary Pennington]

Rich
What issue did you have with a metal trash can?

Thanks, Gary

Yeah - I agree. I made the mistake of thinking a metal trash can would work well....

[Rich Engelhardt]

Gary,
It collapsed - big time.
The suction from a shop vac is too much for the thin metal they are made out of & it just crumpled the sides in.
They don't make em like they used to back in the good old days of galvanized steel trash cans...

[Phil Thien]

One of the purposes of the baffle is to act as a sort of goalie for the outlet. For the Rockler unit, you need to reverse the proportions of the baffle. So you need a 120-degree drop slot, instead of 240-degrees. The area under and after the inlet, around to the outlet, should be under the larger D of the baffle. The drop slot should start halfway between the outlet and the inlet.

Does that make sense?

[Prashun Patel]

The man. Thanks.

[Phil Thien]

Just want to be clear that the drop slot gets centered between the inlet/outlet on the side of the unit where the air is moving at the lowest velocity. That is, the incoming air comes into the unit and travels over the baffle where there is no drop slot. It (the air stream) goes halfway around the perimeter of the Dust Right, all on the baffle (no drop slot) when it comes to the outlet. Not the air exists the outlet (sort of) and the debris continues around the perimeter of the Dust Right where it NOW hits the drop slot.

[Thom Porterfield]

Yeah, the shop vac will collapse a standard 33 gallon metal garbage can. All it takes is to provide a minor obstruction in the vacuum hose before the separator, such as a sandwich baggie (or putting your hand over the end of the hose to check things--guess how I know this?). Not wishing to search for and purchase another container, I made some rings out of 3/4 BB plywood and screwed them to the metal, on the outside, at third points vertically. It's funny looking but it keeps the can open, and the ribs make convenient handles when emptying the can.

I am 100% convinced about the efficacy of the Thien separator. I made mine, a "top hat" configuration (See Phil's site), out of scrap or left-over materials, and it cost less than buying any other separator on the market, then or since.

[Joseph Tarantino]

Gary,
It collapsed - big time.
The suction from a shop vac is too much for the thin metal they are made out of & it just crumpled the sides in.
They don't make em like they used to back in the good old days of galvanized steel trash cans...

i'm pretty sure phil's site has a thread from a poster that built a "shock absorber" for the separators powered by shop vacs that's designed to eliminate that trash can collapsing when air flow is blocked.

[Joseph Tarantino]

One of the purposes of the baffle is to act as a sort of goalie for the outlet. For the Rockler unit, you need to reverse the proportions of the baffle. So you need a 120-degree drop slot, instead of 240-degrees. The area under and after the inlet, around to the outlet, should be under the larger D of the baffle. The drop slot should start halfway between the outlet and the inlet.

Does that make sense?

any chance for a drawing of how the baffle should be positioned in a DR? with the described baffle, does the DR perform acceptably as a separator?

[Phil Thien]

any chance for a drawing of how the baffle should be positioned in a DR? with the described baffle, does the DR perform acceptably as a separator?

Only if someone else has a SketchUp file of a Rockler unit that I can start with.