Help designing/integrating dust separation

[Jona]

Hi all,

Attached is a picture of my island extraction setup. It's a 2kw Camvac attached to a ducted system servicing my table saw, router table and an extra hose for power tools etc. It's a convenient setup, but with the major flaw that the filters clog up really quickly; I suspect this is particularly bad with a Camvac as there is no convoluted filter in there, just cloth and paper bags. The drum is usually <20% full before the bags need cleaning.

I'd like to integrate a cyclone type separator but I've painted myself into a corner somewhat with the extractor being fitted to the unit! Anyone have a bright idea how I can rig one up? Or am I doomed to keep emptying the bloody thing twice a week?

Thanks

PS. Sorry for the tiny image, I had to resize it to get under 256KB

 

[sunnybob]

Cyclones still need emptying.
They just allow you to hold a bit more because theres no bag in the container and you have two containers instead of one.
But theres nothing to stop you re routing your ducting with flexible, mounting the new container where the pipe work is now, and fitting the cyclone on top.

 

[MattRoberts]

The main purpose of a cyclone is not to reduce the number of times you need to empty, but to reduce the number of times you need to clean the filter.

The issue with your current design is that cyclones need suction coming in from the top, whereas your cam vac is sucking in from the side. A cyclone also comes in two parts, a container underneath, and the cyclone on top. As such, they're tall - too tall to fit in your cabinet.

I think you'd be better off with a different design

 

[Jona]

I appreciate that cyclones still need to be emptied, the issue is indeed with the filter getting clogged, I should have made that clearer. Looking at it now, I think I may be able to squeeze something in behind the ducting. The height is not optimal but rebuilding the whole unit is not really an option.

 

[Ttrees]

Not that I'm any help as I am aiming to have a Pentz cyclone, but possibly you might find some more info if you try looking into Thien baffles for some more ideas or reaserch?

 

[sunnybob]

a small cyclone is a waste of time and money. That looks like 62 mm piping you have. to make a cyclone work successfully on that size pipe it would need to be the height of a 3/4 sized motorway traffic cone (somewhere around 30" tall and about 15" diameter).

less will not work, i have found that the hard way.

 

[MrTeroo]

Here you go:

 

[beech1948]

Jona,
You obviously want to keep the structure for T/S and router as it is.
A small cyclone would be too high to fit.

There are a couple of alternatives. First, go to Mattias Wandels site (woodgears.ca) and have a look at his approach to small DC gadgets. Small enough to have one per machine.?? The initial benefit being they can be attached to the end of your T/S router structure.

Second, place your current DC in the ceiling with a drop line to the T/S cabinet and place the small cyclone where the DC used to sit. You may have to make a custom fit drop box under it as height will be your issues.

Third, change your DC for a 100mm diameter input and place the DC outside your workshop in a lean to shed attached to it. The extra suction will be welcome, the cyclone and drop box could be in there as well.

 

[Jona]

It's 100mm pipe.

Wouldn't even a sealed bucket with 2 holes in it be better than nothing?? I don't mean to be contrary, I'm just hoping for a solution which doesn't involve completely changing the setup, as I said it's really tidy and convenient, until the filter clogs up. It's even wired up to switches at each station.

 

[MattRoberts]

Yes something like that will help, but you're still delaying the inevitable: dust & particles will still clog the filter.

A good separator should filter out 95% or more, meaning it should be a very long time before you need to clean the filter.

The suggestion about making a thien baffle is a good one - they're a much smaller footprint in terms of vertical height

 

[Jona]

Thanks for the advice, I've watched a few vids on youtube and it seems that a Thien baffle is the most viable option. Drawing up plans today.