yet another cyclone post

[Kenneth Walton]

OK, my HF homebuilt solution is getting leaky and long in the tooth. I'm also getting 220v installed (finally). So I'm looking for a new cyclone dust collector.

I've got low basement ceilings, with 86" at the peak between joists. I can't cut up or down to make that bigger. I've got some 6" and 5" pipe already run that I'd like to reuse. My main is about 10 feet, with four drops off. Three drops are 5 feet long and one drop is another 10 feet. Small shop!

I was looking at various 2 and 3hp units. So far the tops are the JDS 2 and 3hp units, laguna 2 and 3hp units, or the 3hp oneida dust gorilla portable. Any others I should look at? Which one's the best? I like oneida, but is the cfms listed relatively low for a 3hp model? Maybe it's just testing methodology or something.

Thanks for the help!

Ken

[Jamie Buxton]

There's a relationship between cone length and dust-extraction efficiency. Properly-engineered longer cones extract a higher percentage of the dust than shorter cones. Or, to put it another way, in a shorter cyclone cone, more of the dust gets to the filter. That's why short-cone cyclones like the JDS and the Laguna have beaters on the filters.

These short-cone cyclones are more like the usual bag-type DC equipped with a pre-separator. Okay, a bag-type plus separator with a cartridge filter instead of the bag. The big advantage of a cyclone is that the cyclone part protects the filter. These short-cone machines don't quite do that.

If you can't fit a longer-cone cyclone under your ceiling, you might just be better off with a good bag-type, or a cartridge version of it. Or add a pre-separator for fewer filter cleanings. The Thien approach has lots of fans on this forum.

[Mike Chalmers]

If you can't fit a longer-cone cyclone under your ceiling, you might just be better off with a good bag-type, or a cartridge version of it. Or add a pre-separator for fewer filter cleanings. The Thien approach has lots of fans on this forum.

As someone who has actually moved from a Thien separator to a Super Dust Deputy feeding into a one stage DC with a cartridge, no comparison. The Cyclone is far superior to the plain separator. Actual experience and not just speculation.

[Jamie Buxton]

Check out the Oneida V systems. 84" tall.