I'm planning to build a top-hat separator, and I'm wondering what effect the shape of the lower cabinet - the space below the baffle - has on efficiency. What I'm considering is building a standard, side-inlet, cylindrical top hat, and putting it on top of a simple plywood box - roughly a cube, maybe 2' on a side.
Most separators seem to be built on barrels or drums or other cylindrical shapes with the same diameter as the separator. Is this important? I read about "decoupling" the air flow between the separator and the lower portion and wonder why wouldn't a larger, rectangular box be better at that than a cylinder? It seems to me that in a same-sized cylinder, you end up with a complementary vortex (albeit, at a slower speed) in the lower portion. What happens if the chips fall below the baffle into a larger, flat-sided container? It seems to my clueless, newbie way of thinking, that this would be desirable.
Has anyone tried this? I admit I'm totally new to this whole concept and probably missing something. Thanks for any input! (And thanks to Phil for sharing such a great concept!)
Most separators seem to be built on barrels or drums or other cylindrical shapes with the same diameter as the separator. Is this important? I read about "decoupling" the air flow between the separator and the lower portion and wonder why wouldn't a larger, rectangular box be better at that than a cylinder? It seems to me that in a same-sized cylinder, you end up with a complementary vortex (albeit, at a slower speed) in the lower portion. What happens if the chips fall below the baffle into a larger, flat-sided container? It seems to my clueless, newbie way of thinking, that this would be desirable.
Has anyone tried this? I admit I'm totally new to this whole concept and probably missing something. Thanks for any input! (And thanks to Phil for sharing such a great concept!)