First of many ClearVue questions

[Dick Sylvan]

Since I plan to put my new ClearVue in to a cabinet to reduce the noise, I don't need to do any color co-ordination. So I just need to seal the MDF. Would Zinnser's ClearCoat be right, or do you have another suggsetion?

[Noah Katz]

Are you going to vent it outside?

Because most of the noise comes out the exhaust, and if that's coming back into the shop, you need to stop the noise w/o stopping the air.

[Doug Shepard]

I painted mine but used Zinsers SealCoat first. It worked out but the edges of the MDF really were a pain. Had to keep recoating them. Never did get as good a coat buildup as on the top/bottom and the paint buildup was about the same. But who cares? Mine's in a closet so wont be seen much by Better Homes and Gardens.

[Dick Sylvan]

Are you going to vent it outside?

Because most of the noise comes out the exhaust, and if that's coming back into the shop, you need to stop the noise w/o stopping the air.

No, I am going to use the Wynn filters and vent the air back into the shop.

[Cecil Arnold]

Dick,

Like Doug I sealed mine, but used WB enamel. I vented back to the shop using a plenum box and 8" A/C ducting which works well and does an excellent job of noise suppression.

[John Schreiber]

. . . I vented back to the shop using a plenum box and 8" A/C ducting which works well and does an excellent job of noise suppression.

Cecil, Could you give us a bit more detail on that setup? I don't know what a plenum box is and is that insulated A/C ducting with the filters at the far end?

[glenn bradley]

Since I plan to put my new ClearVue in to a cabinet to reduce the noise, I don't need to do any color co-ordination. So I just need to seal the MDF. Would Zinnser's ClearCoat be right, or do you have another suggsetion?

Seal Coat will work fine but MDF can be thirsty. I use Seal Coat quite a bit but generally (unless there is a lot of detail nooks and crannys) switch to poly for MDF. Just my .02

[Walt Blanding]

I am very new at this but why would you need to seal the MDF in the first place? Why would a cyclone need the MDF sealed. I ask these questions because I have been thinking about getting one of these and would like to understand what might be needed to complete the assembly of it.

[Jim O'Dell]

Walt, Ed at Clear Vue tells us it is not necessary. He has had no problems with the raw MDF he made his first ones out of that he and his son use. The rest of us are just a little anal. When MDF soaks up moisture, it swells and loses it's strength. For me, it was just an extra precaution since my shop is neither heated nor cooled and is subject to the swings in humidity that we get. I have been told that humidity really doesn't affect MDF, but like I said, at least for me, I'm just a little ....Jim.

[Cecil Arnold]

John,

In Houston, where the current temp is 95* (noon) and the humidity matches the temp, I have found it necessary to run the A/C in the shop if there is any hope of even being out there in the summer. Since the CV can pull all the conditioned air out in something under 2 minutes, and I needed to locate the unit remotely from the shop proper, I thought it necessary to return the air to the shop after the mass of chips and fine dust were removed at the cyclone. To get the air back to the shop I used the pictured, insulated A/C duct, along with some elbows to get the air back. Since I don't have enough floor space to stack the filters I chose to mount them side by side on the wall, using a plenum box to intake the return air on the side and hanging the filters off the bottom. I used closed end filters and mounted them with thumb screws so they can be removed to clean out. The picture attached was taken after the initial use of the CV when I was having some minor problems that were worked out with Ed. It shows the intake and one filter outlet of the plenum. Hope that helps.