My old Central Machinery 2HP dust collector has been quite heavily modified, and I am considering what, and how to upsize the ducting.
At present, the configuration is thus.
2009 ish Central Machinery 2HP dust collector + Wynn .5 micron cartridge filter + Wen impeller + Thien baffle in the DC separator ring.
I am using the stock 5x4x4 wye fitting on the DC to 2 separate 4" S&D runs, one high, one low.
I am considering upsizing to a single 5" or 6" main and branching to 4" at the tools.
Unfortunately 5" is not a common suze for duct fittings at least as I can find online, there is no shortage of stupid expensive dust collector spiral pipe specific stuff, but if I had funds for that, I would be buying a big Clear Vue cyclone. Also 6" S&D fittings are stupid expensive by comparison to 4", at least from what I see online, I need to get my tail to Lowes as that is where I got my 4" as it was cheapest there, and sheet metal fittings are configured for flow backwards to how a dust collector would work.
Let's say I need the following drops off of the main.
#1. Table saw blade guard.
#2. Table saw blade shroud under cabinet (2.5"
#3. Shared 4" for workbench / benchtop tools / router table fence.
#4. Router under table enclosure.
#5. 4" split to dual 2.5" for bandsaw.
#6. Miter saw cabinet / blade guard.
#7. Lathe.
#8. Drill Press / Mortising machine bench. I can move hose tool to tool...
I am seeing LOTS of conflicting information on if a cyclone separator conversion, like a Super Dust Deputy, or Super Dust Deputy XL compared to a Thien separator, the cyclones allegedly flow better, BUT that shows in separate units, not in the separator ring units. What little info I have on the separator ring units like mine, they say it flows slightly better than say a SDD at least until the filter starts getting dirty, say after 100 gallons of dust. I clean my filter after every dump of the collector, so not sure why that would be an issue. If you have ideas, links, data etc... I would LOVE to see them.
Anyway, I was hoping to see what ducting options there are that will work well, that may come in at a more affordable cost... But I also want the best performance I can eke out of this little HF DC. And mind you, I can easily swap the inlet flange to a 6" should that be the way to go...
So ideas on ducting this for max efficiency would be very helpful. As it sits I am thinking I should go with 5" to the existing splitter and stay with dual 4" runs, so I can capture upper and lower. I am just wondering if this is the best I can do...
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