Bill Pentz cyclone build.

[Alan Schaffter]

As I said earlier, I'm not exactly sure of the CFM, but on your request I did come up with some numbers on the filter there are 321 pleats
OD =>12 1/2"
ID => 8 "1/2
length => 25"
Maybe you can do a quick calculation for me?

Thanks for the info.

The filter area should be 12.5" (OD) - 8.5" (ID) = 4" x 25"(length) = 100 sq. in. x 2 (sides*) = 200 sq. in. x 321 (pleats) = 64,200 sq. in. / 144 = 445 sq. ft.- pretty amazing! (*unless you already accounted for both sides in your 321 #). A great price too! There could be an issue with the pleat spacing being too close, I suppose.

Those filter dimensions are close to the 10 year old (Camfil) Farr 9L300BL equivalents that I run on my 3.5 hp/14" impeller DC and 3D Pentz cyclone: 12.75" OD, 8.375" ID, 34" long. I don't know the number of pleats but the area for one is just under 300 sq. ft.- I run two in parallel. I don't know my CFM either, but I suppose I could measure it with the hot wire anemometer I got for another project.

[Matt Mattingley]

Thanks for the info.

The filter area should be 12.5" (OD) - 8.5" (ID) = 4" x 25"(length) = 100 sq. in. x 2 (sides*) = 200 sq. in. x 321 (pleats) = 64,200 sq. in. / 144 = 445 sq. ft.- pretty amazing! (*unless you already accounted for both sides in your 321 #). A great price too! There could be an issue with the pleat spacing being too close, I suppose.

Those filter dimensions are close to the 10 year old (Camfil) Farr 9L300BL equivalents that I run on my 3.5 hp/14" impeller DC and 3D Pentz cyclone: 12.75" OD, 8.375" ID, 34" long. I don't know the number of pleats but the area for one is just under 300 sq. ft.- I run two in parallel. I don't know my CFM either, but I suppose I could measure it with the hot wire anemometer I got for another project.

I thought I would try to figure it out without using dia. . By Just # Pleats X 2(sides) X 2"deep X 25"tall (divided by12) (divided by 12)= 223 sq. feet. Am I wrong?
edit: I only counted outer pleats and calculated filtration area.

[Alan Schaffter]

My bad. OD - ID / 2 = depth of pleats! 225 is right.

[Craig Hoehn]

Wow that's going to be one nice cyclone when youre done!

[Ole Anderson]

Amazing build there Matt! Multi talented with both wood and metal experience. Cool. Are you ok with the noise of the blower? Hard to tell from the video, but it sounds quite harsh, likely due to the blade design and possibly the smaller second set of blades? Have you done any noise measurements from a distance of say, ten feet? Most phones have a dB app you can download for free. Any plans for an enclosure? Any plans for a larger duct system or does that work fine for your shop? Looks like your main is 6".

[Matt Mattingley]

Amazing build there Matt! Multi talented with both wood and metal experience. Cool. Are you ok with the noise of the blower? Hard to tell from the video, but it sounds quite harsh, likely due to the blade design and possibly the smaller second set of blades? Have you done any noise measurements from a distance of say, ten feet? Most phones have a dB app you can download for free. Any plans for an enclosure? Any plans for a larger duct system or does that work fine for your shop? Looks like your main is 6".

What is the app and phone? Maybe I'll DL and try it.
Enclosure will have to wait till after pk is installed to check for spacing.
Yes, 6" is the main and max I can go is 7" before over amping the moter. In the video the blast gate is 5" and 5" flex reduced down to 4" PVC for my JP. I actually have to close the 5" blast gate to 40% open as it is too powerful for my JP. Fully open, It sucks the gravity pivoting baffle to a neutral position resulting in a 50% chip collection.

[Alan Schaffter]

I did some research and downloaded sound measuring app for the iPhone and used it on my latest project. It wasn't free but it was one of the best according to a couple of reviews. Most will work better with a quality external mic, but mine does just fine without it. If you are interested I can give you the name.

[Matt Mattingley]

I did some research and downloaded sound measuring app for the iPhone and used it on my latest project. It wasn't free but it was one of the best according to a couple of reviews. Most will work better with a quality external mic, but mine does just fine without it. If you are interested I can give you the name.

Alan, sure plug the app. But honestly I think if there is a free app out there more people would be app to download and try. I'd be interested in the decibel and the frequency. My cyclone does not seem to be overly loud but it does seem to have a higher pitch. I think this might be due to a 17 1/4 inch fan being in a 16 inch designed housing.

[Matt Mattingley]

So after some of the more recent posts I decided to download an app for the iPhone . With in 3 feet of the cyclone or the exhaust filtration box the decibel reading read between 90 and 92. From about 8 feet in there on, it read between 84 and 82 at the furthest point in the shop. The app was SPLnFFT.

[Curt Harms]

What is the app and phone? Maybe I'll DL and try it.
Enclosure will have to wait till after pk is installed to check for spacing.
Yes, 6" is the main and max I can go is 7" before over amping the moter. In the video the blast gate is 5" and 5" flex reduced down to 4" PVC for my JP. I actually have to close the 5" blast gate to 40% open as it is too powerful for my JP. Fully open, It sucks the gravity pivoting baffle to a neutral position resulting in a 50% chip collection.

Great job! I noticed the same diverter thing with my Jet JJP-12 J P. It sorta 'flies' in the air stream. I found a couple things. The first was that if I switched from jointer to planer without shutting of the vacuum ( turn off or close the blast gate) the diverter wouldn't switch, it'd stay in jointer position when planing and chip collection was bad. The second thing was that there was a set of holes in either side of the dust collection hood. Turns out I could insert a 1/4" dowel through the holes and hold the diverter in the planer position no matter how much air was flowing over it.

[Paul Murphy]

Aside from your metal-working tools and skills which I envy and enjoyed seeing, the truck air filter idea was excellent. Well done! That wire edm sounds wonderful, I know it saved me a bunch of money when I had a shop cut bulk knife stock for me, I had no idea it was precise enough to machine your keyway.

I still use a 9' tall felt filter-bag for one main reason: about once a year I overfill my chip-bin, and get to clean out my filter-bag. The felt bag is forgiving of my inattention, which is one of the reasons I stay with it.

A question I have about the "paper" filters, is how tolerant are they to an overfilled bin? Is there any filter-box design that makes clean-out easier after overfilling the bin?

I also like your filter-box for a secondary reason; it offers protection to the filter elements from external damage, such as being struck by a board. After years of use and thousands of board-feet, it's surprising what can and does happen.

Anyway, well done, and thanks for sharing. Very interesting!

[Alan Schaffter]

Paul,

It doesn't matter what type of filter you have, you need a high dust alarm- either alarm type or alarm with DC shut-down. At the cost of cartridge filters today, a high dust alarm is an absolute necessity. There are a few commercial versions out there, but you can make a DIY (alarm only) for under $20. By adding a relay and contactor, you can modify it to automatically shut down your DC. Both can be easily retrofit to almost any DC- you just need a length of clear flex leading to your dust bin or add small windows to it.

Here is a link to an old SMC post for the simple system I designed almost ten years ago. If you Google "Schaffter high dust alarm" you'll likely find more info including a wiring diagram, etc.

[Paul Murphy]

Alan, thanks for letting me know about your dust alarm solution! I like the price and simplicity, much better than having to clean out the filter.

[Matt Mattingley]

Paul,

It doesn't matter what type of filter you have, you need a high dust alarm- either alarm type or alarm with DC shut-down. At the cost of cartridge filters today, a high dust alarm is an absolute necessity. There are a few commercial versions out there, but you can make a DIY (alarm only) for under $20. By adding a relay and contactor, you can modify it to automatically shut down your DC. Both can be easily retrofit to almost any DC- you just need a length of clear flex leading to your dust bin or add small windows to it.

Here is a link to an old SMC post for the simple system I designed almost ten years ago. If you Google "Schaffter high dust alarm" you'll likely find more info including a wiring diagram, etc.

Alan, that's too funny. You are getting ahead of me in my thread. LOL this past weekend I picked up off of eBay number one contactor with five contacts. I already have the relay two different time delay timers and low amp contactor. I've been watching this contactor on eBay for a little while. I finally pulled the trigger after the seller lowered the price of a few times. At almost $12 I had to close the deal.

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[Alan Schaffter]

One thing mentioned in my old posts that is easy to miss- To avoid false alarms one type of day/night sensor has a built-in time delay that can be over a minute long. If you are generating a lot of dust hogging off wood from a wide board with a planer, that might not be a good thing. I used a Summit Lighting CP688 day/night (dawn-to-dusk) sensor that did not have a delay, but I don't know if it is still available. There are tons of similar devices on Amazon, unfortunately only a few mention the time delay. It is best to go to the big box stores first and look carefully at the packaging to see if the product description has that info. Save your receipt it case you buy one that has a delay and need to take it back.