Another dust extraction question...

[bogmonster]

Hi,

Having just got a new lathe and having got fed up with the mess of my garage I have decided to get it sorted. I use the garage for lots of stuff including brewing so need a clean environment. I am going to partition off a section of the garage for the lathe, insulate it, heat it (electric oil radiator) and sort out the dust. I use a powered resparator at the moment but it is uncomfortable so tend to only wear it sanding.

First step will be an air cleaner. Being mean I am going to make one. I have a centrifugal fan arriving tomorrow off ebay and will couple it with a Microclene MC760 filter. The Microclene units look good but the price is a bit steep for me.

Next step is to try and catch some dust at source. I have a limited budget of about £300. Vacuums are noisey and low air volumes and / or very expensive so not convinced they are right. Most high volume extractors distribute fine dust everywhere unless you spend an arm and a leg. I could put the extractor on the other side of the partition but that will make a mess of the rest of the garage and I will lose heat. I can't really site it in an ajoining outbuilding either. So that leaves me with an extractor inside the partition. Possible units I have looked at are the Record Power CX2600 with fine filter 0.5 micron and the Metabo SPA1101 with either a 0.5 micron bag or a 0.2 micron filter. The airflow of the Metabo is much less but the filtration is better. I know neither unit will catch many / any shavings and that is ok, just want to catch as much dust as I can. I suspect that both units might be marginal for my needs with some folks recommending 3hp units.

Any advise? Anybody got the Metabo? Is 0.5 microns enough? Any other options - I have considered a DIY cyclone. I do turn some exotic hardwoods and spalted woods.

Cheers, BM.

 

[paultnl]

I would recommend one of Chems cyclones

 

[Chems]

Thanks Paul.


I bought a SIP 3hp single bag extractor last year, its got a huge amount of suck and having only the 1 bag doesn't take up a load of room. Coupled with one of my own Cyclones does the job of catching all the fine dust. Could get both for the £334 mark if thats not going too over budget.

I got my SIP from here for £244: http://www.kendaltools.co.uk/cgi-bin/tr ... d_SIP01954

 

[The Bear]

Is that dust extractor definitely 3hp Chems? What does the motor plate say as I've seen the same extractor advertised as 2 hp? Could be interested in one if it is.

Mark

 

[Chems]

Yeah defo 3hp, its the same as their twin bag machine but with the twin bags split to one bag. The box even has the other extractor name and number on it.

 

[The Bear]

Um, think Kendals have their figures wrong cause 1500 w isn't 3 hp, just to make it more confusing

Mark

 

[theartfulbodger]

The extractor in the link looks like a mirror image of the old Axi one I got from eblag some time ago..

That was marked as
Model 310451
1,500m3/hr air flow, 1,500W, 230v 1ph motor

 

[Chems]

Um, think Kendals have their figures wrong cause 1500 w isn't 3 hp, just to make it more confusing

Mark

Yes I know that worried me out too, but the SIP site has it right. When I bought it I rang them up to check with them. Very nice guy I got to speak to there.

http://sip-group.com/acatalog/01954.html

 

[bogmonster]

Hi,

Thanks for all the advice. I have been very busy at work so slow to reply.

I wonder, if I use a cyclone presumably it will still not catch all the very fine dust (<2 micron) and therefore a fine filter on the extractor would still be needed?

BM.

 

[Chems]

Yeah you'll want a fine filter cartridge as well to act as your final stage of fine filtration.

 

[bogmonster]

I know this thread is now a bit old but I thought I would update it with my final decision and how it is working out for me.

I ended up buying a new Record Power CX2600 with fine filter for £200 of eBay, a good saving on the store price. The unit is very compact and that is good given the amount of space I have and not too loud - don't want to upset the neighbours more than usual. In use the unit collects a good amout of sanding dust. When sanding I also wear a Trend Airshield Pro. A more powerful unit would collect more dust but with diminishing returns. Just banging the filter with your hand releases plumes of fine dust into the collection bag so the unit is certainly removing copious amounts of dust. Power sanding is better carried out at lower speeds, helps keep the dust more contained and achieves better results anyway.

The bag is very small but this is not too bad as I only use it on a lathe and it collects next to no shavings anyway. To clean up the floor I use a pan and trug to shift the bulk and the CX2600 makes short work of the rest. If you try to suck up masses of tangled shavings then it does clog. There is a strange comb just as the waste gets ejected into the bag / filter that can catch large clumps of shavings. Not really sure why this comb is there - maybe to break up the shavings a bit???

Anyway, given the size of the area I work in and the 0.5 microm filter if I leave the extractor on for 5 mins after sanding it does a fair job of cleaning the air for escaped particles as well. I am in the process of making an air cleaner as well to help with this. I would not want to rely just on this without using the respirator as well.

So, in summary, I am very pleased with the CX2600. The price was right and it does a fair job.

Tanks for all your help, BM.