Dust Collection Hose

[Deb Malloy]

I have a Delta 50-760".
Will i get better airflow/suction running.......
4" hose directly to the machine or
5" hose with a reducer at machine end ?

I will be moving dust collector from tool to tool.

Also, is wire reinforced hose a necessity ?


Thanks

[Sonny Edmonds]

Fairly universally machines are sold with 4" ports for the hose size. So for starters, I'd recommend you stay with 4" for now.
Especially since you are moving from machine to machine.
The hose does not have to be wire reinforced, but it should be dust collection hose. (IE: NOT dryer hose.)
Here is a page at Delta's site.
I use these Quick Disconnects for the machines I don't have a dedicated hook-up to. They thread into the hose, and friction fit the machines dust ports. Makes life so much simpler.

[Jim Becker]

You may get slightly better performance with the 5" hose reduced at the machine, depending on the particular machine. With some hoods you get a slight venturi effect with that setup. You probably will not notice much difference and since you're moving from machine to machine, go with what is easiest for you to source.

[Chris Damm]

I would go with whatever the port size on the collector is. I used a 1 HP PennState collector with a 4" hose. I bought a 5" hose because that was the port size. I could not believe the difference. After studying Bill Pentz' site I upgraded to a Jet 3HP twin bag (bargain priced) and now have a system with 6" pipe to every machine reducing it down to the inlet size at every machine. I have a buddy that installed a Oneida 3 HP cyclone and his system doesn't work any better than mine.

[Mark Carlson]

I just got a 50-760 and was wondering the same thing.

The FWW Portable Dust Collector article recommends getting rid of the y connector to reduce turbulance and using the same size hose as the main intake. In this case 5 inch. I'm currently using 4in hose to my machines, with the 5-4inch reducer at the intake.

I was thinking about getting 5in hose and reducing from 5-4 at the machines to see if that makes a big difference.

Some good articles on the subject:
http://www.deltaportercable.com/uplo...Collectors.pdf
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworki.../011183038.pdf

~mark

[Chris Padilla]

Generally, the largest-sized hose from the DC to the machine is the best way to go and keep it all the largest-sized as much as possible: uniformity is key.

If reductions are necessary, do them at the machine creating the dust.

[Deb Malloy]

Generally, the largest-sized hose from the DC to the machine is the best way to go and keep it all the largest-sized as much as possible: uniformity is key.

If reductions are necessary, do them at the machine creating the dust.

Thanks. Thats the exact issue I was wondering about. I'm definitely going to get rid of the y connector and use the 5" main with reducers at the machines.

[Chris Padilla]

If possible, consider enlarging the DC points at the machines. If you can't enlarge easily, then you'll want to taper the reduction over as long a distance as you can stand (at least 6", I'd say)...try not to do an "immediate step down" from big to small...that causes turbulence and will reduce efficiency.

On my table saw, it was fairly trivial to expand the 4" diameter opening to a 6" diameter. It really is like night and day in picking up dust at the TS now.

[george wilson]

I kept all my pipes and hoses at 6". Had to modify the planer's hood to have a 6" outlet,but I have had problems down at Williamsburg with the 20" thickness planer putting out wide chips so rapidly that they get jammed across the 8" hood opening. I had to get a n 8" square door put on the hood. You can turn off the planer,and open the door to manually clear the chips. That was with a 20 h.p. collector. No problems with my 15" planer with 6" pipe.

Are any of you aware that many insurance companys will not insure your house if they know that you have a dust collector? I was very careful to ground each flexible hose with a bare copper wire running inside each one. They might usually be placed outside the hoses,but I did not want to take any chances of turning the collector into a jet engine from a static spark.