% of dust I should expect to be collected from my extractor

[Robinthree]

Hi
Iv just bought and installed a fox 2hp system in my workshop, never having had a dust system before I was interested to know how much dust/chips an extractor working to it's full potential should be clearing.
When I run my chop saw and planer a small amount of dust and chips are escaping the system

Is this normal or should I be expecting to have 100% cleared and iv got it set up wrong?
Thanks and sorry for the newbie question

 

[Jamie Copeland]

Hi

When I was looking into this last year when I took up the hobby, I discovered that whilst these machines are marketed as "dust extractors" they are more suited to clearing up wood chips/shavings, etc. I have the hose end of my extractor on a magnet so I can secure it close to a piece of wood, but I only have it on in that capacity when I'm sanding. I then unhook it to hoover up the surrounding area when I'm finished for the day.

These machines don't extract a great deal of dust and what dust they do collect is so small that it often leaks through the dust bag! A good dust bag (in my opinion) is 3 micron filtration or below.

I discovered that a better way to keep the dust at bay is to have an air filter in the workshop. I bought mine from Record Power. I have it on when I'm in the workshop and I leave it on for about an hour afterwards to clear the air. This is it: http://www.recordpower.co.uk/product/tw ... ZRSDkbSHpI

In combination with the dust extractor and air filter I also use a Trend airshield mask, but only when I'm sanding. My concern when I started was that as an asthmatic I didn't want dust making my breathing difficult which is why I invested money into this area. It's expensive, but I figure I've only one set of lungs so I best protect them!

Hope that's of some use.

Jamie

 

[Claymore]

That looks a good bit of kit Jamie and something i will be adding to my workshop in the future
Cheers
Brian

 

[wallace]

I have given up trying to capture dust enough to make it a safe environment in my workshop. I have some big machines 18" sawbench, spindle moulder, RAS, 18" PT and so on. I use a couple of 2hp axminster to capture the thick of it and rely on masks whenever I'm in there. I think to capture the dust properly you would need to move a lot more air than any extractors off the shelf can do.

 

[PAC1]

It is very difficult to get 100% extraction on a chop saw so it should not be a surprise. There are lots of factors that make for good extraction. If you are interested have a read at Bill Penz website. One of the main things is that generally we undersize ducts for the airflow of the extractor. I upgraded my system and installed 150mm ducts rather than 100mm it worked.

 

[Austinisgreat]

It is very difficult to get 100% extraction on a chop saw so it should not be a surprise. There are lots of factors that make for good extraction. If you are interested have a read at Bill Penz website. One of the main things is that generally we undersize ducts for the airflow of the extractor. I upgraded my system and installed 150mm ducts rather than 100mm it worked.

Thanks for the Bill Penz reference. Fascinating.

Cheers

Andrew