Cyclone oops

Tervueren · 3 Dec 2018

Finally got around to adding a cyclone enabling me to leave my Clarke CDE7B to sort out the bandsaw and table saw and use the cyclone as a mobile unit for other tools BUT I think I may have made a mistake lol, the first time I tried it I was amazed by the suction, which didn't last long unfortunately, there was a loud bang and I turned around to see my drum had been crushed !! I bought what I believe what was the best vacuum suck for buck a vacmaster 30 and mounted the cyclone on to one of those blue drums with a metal sealing ring but now it resembles a beer can that's been stepped on, should I have put a vent in it somewhere to relieve the pressure ?
John

Steve Maskery · 3 Dec 2018

LOL!
Been there, done that!
A vent is a good idea. Mine is simply a hole in the lid with a square piece of wood screwed to the underside. A flat piece of steel has a hole drilled in the center to take a piece of string, which dangles over the side. A number of nuts are threaded on the string, so I can adjust the weight. The more weight, the more suck before the valve kicks in. The less weight the more sensitive it is.

sunnybob · 3 Dec 2018

sounds like a mismatch between suction and cyclone size.
Just checking, you did have one pipe open?
Closing all blast gates will cause your problem, but if the cyclone is undersized, only a larger one will solve the problem

Tervueren · 3 Dec 2018

Thanks both, I think it is a miss match, it's one of those smaller cyclones with approx 55mm piping but the vacmaster sure does have some suck lol. I'll have to rig up some kind of bleed nipple that I can adjust. I was absolutely gobsmacked when I saw the state of the drum lol