Phil Thien's Baffle (on a DC) Seems to Work

[David Giles]

The entire canister is gone leaving only the metal body. It's a real short distance from the inlet to the discharge port! Basically, it just spins out the larger particles. I expect that the smaller particles float away into the yard where they are washed to a drain by our frequent rains.

Like I said, acceptable performance for a shop that has rollup doors on both ends and a cross breeze. Not great, but acceptable.

[jim oakes]

If you duct the fine dust outside,is it loud? The neighbors might hate me. Would the sound be muffled if I blew the air/dust down say 6'' off the ground?

I don't have DC now but this sounds simple and easy.

I have radiant infrared heat( it heats the objects under it not the air) so this might be fairly energy efficient. I wouldn't want to blow a lot of air
outside if I had conventional heat that warmed the air.

Thanks in advance for any help or ideas.

[Edward Warren]

Mike/David,

Do you have an upper baffle with a 7 "or 8" hole in the center, or just a single lower one with a 240 degree cutout around the edge?

Also, Mike - I PM'd you.

Thanks-

[Mike Goetzke]

So you still have the canister in place, but it's open on top?

Interesting, I live in the Chicago area so I heat and air condition my shop at times, but, most of the time they aren't necessary. If I could vent outside from the top of my canister w/gate that would be a perfect setup.

Mike

[David Giles]

Edward, I just have the PT baffle below the inlet. The 7-8" top opening free vents into the plastic shed which has a spring opening door and various holes in the side. It hasn't seen much use since it was installed. Been busy putting French cleats on the walls and installing air conditioner #9. When I use it for a while, I'll post some pictures on the low cost setup.

[Edward Warren]

Thanks for all the input so far from everyone.

I am going to install a DC system in my limited space garage and am trying to be as efficient with my space, time, and money as possible. I believe what I'll end up doing is a PT baffle in my 2hp DC, but then removing the top filter and putting a big "can" up there with an 8" or 10" chimney to exit high on my roof, almost 30 feet up and on the backside of my house. The 8" duct is twice the area of the 6" duct while the 10" is 3x the area of the 6". I just can't imagine any significant debris making it that high up in an oversized duct with a PT baffle provided the PT baffle is as good as people are experiencing.

If this all works out, my DC can be out of the way with the only accessible part being the collection bin on the bottom.

BTW, are you guys still using a 1.25"gap for the 240 degree cut-out?

[Alan Schwabacher]

Dave MacArthur:

If you are confused about what the setup is, start by looking at the first of Phil Thein's links provided above:

For those wishing to modify existing single-stage DC's:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=74713

In that thread are two photos. The first shows you what the DC looks like from on top, if you take off the filter. You see the metal ring with a hole in the center that is a part of the original DC. Through the hole, you can see the baffle.

The second photo is a shot looking up from underneath, with the bag removed. You see mostly the Thein baffle. Note where the inlet comes in, and that the baffle covers the bottom with a 1 1/4" gap, except for a region near the inlet. The orientation of the baffle opening to the inlet is probably very important.

So all you need to do to modify the DC is to make and install the Thein baffle. Where do you put it? It is placed (as stated by Phil) 1" below the bottom of the inlet. Note that the metal ring is parallel, but above the inlet.

I hope this helped.

Alan

Edited to correct 1 1/2" to 1 1/4".

[David Giles]

Edward,
I used the 1.25" gap, 270 degree angle. My only change was to attach a garbage bag to the outside of the DC which let me lower the PT baffle another 3/4".

Let us know how your elevated air discharge works out. I've wondered about the impact, but never messed with doing anything. Sounds like a good idea.

[Edward Warren]

Another detail question for Mike et al:

It looks like in your photo that you have a 6" duct going down from the impeller/blower, and then you reduce it to 5" just before the 90 degree going into the separator. Am I correct?

And - do most 1.5hp and 2hp DCs have a 5" inlet to the separator?

I was surprised when I actually took a look at mine and measured it (a grizzly 2hp). I expected it to be 6" and it is closer to 5". I am wondering if I should modify it to 6".