Leaking Steel Cyclone Drum

[Patrick Harper]

I recently installed a 3HP Oneida Super Dust Gorilla in my shop. The cyclone is great and very well made. However, I'm using the steel drum and think it might be leaking a bit and am not sure how to tackle it.

The biggest reason I believe this is because I can see dust circling in the hose between the cone and collection drum. While most of the dust travels downward, some of the finer dust seems to travel slightly upward in the groves of the house. I'm also getting some fine dust in the filter. It's not a ton, but more than I'd expect. I have caulked the bottom of the drum and that helped, but I think I'm getting some infiltration around the lid or hose connections. Is there an easy way to determine where it's coming from?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Smoke or burning incense?

[Andy Giddings]

As Ken states, try a Smudge Stick or similar

[Patrick Harper]

Thanks guys! I had to look up smudge stick

[James Gunning]

It's not unusual to see some dust circling in the hose from the bottom of a cyclone when it's running. I have noticed that occur while running my metal SDD and the smaller Dust Deputy. As a matter of fact some stuff seems to get caught in the airflow in the Dust Deputy and only drops into the bin if I shut it off or briefly put my hand over the hose to reduce the air intake. Otherwise, it works perfectly. The separation of the fines is not perfect for every case, and some will either "hover" or be drawn upward into the cyclone. Also, for the same reason, you will always have a little dust in the filter or blown outside. The amount of dust I get in the filters varies with the material being handled and how long I run it. You have to track it for a while to see how yours performs. Both of those symptoms are normal operation and don't necessarily indicate you have a leak in your collection bin. However, it is important to make sure your collection barrel is airtight, and caulk, welding, whatever you need to do can insure that.

[Patrick Harper]

Thanks James. It's significantly better than my old dust collector. My old cartridge filter would be fully clogged while the SDG only has a few table spoons worth of fines.