J. Phil Thien's Projects

I've got a Fox F50-843 dust extractor: impeller based, 3hp, claimed around 3900 cubic meters per hour (2295 CFM).

I've been using just the impeller/motor unit and expelling air and dust into a trash can inside a small enclosure outside my workshop. It works pretty well, but occasionally "puffs" some dust out of a vent that's near the top of enclosure.

I'm wondering about adding a Thien separator to try to reduce the amount of dust expelled in the exit air. The restrictions/limitations I'm working around are:

• A rectangular inlet to the separator (as the exhaust on the extractor is rectangular, with a cross sectional area similar to a 6" diameter pipe)
• The inlet would probably have to come in from the top, rather than the side
• A tight space into which to fit a can/drum/bin - probably only 40cm (16") diameter

I'm assuming that having a rectangular inlet (with a suitable elbow) wouldn't be a major problem, and that I should go with an appropriately wide circular pipe for the exhaust. Would having such a small diameter separator for a relatively large inlet cripple the air flow?

I may be able to work out a design with the rectangular inlet coming in from the side if that'd make a significant difference to the efficiency. I've seen some good top hat designs, and that looks ideal for a rectangular side inlet - though it would be a push rather than pull system (i.e. the extractor would push air and dust into the separator). Would such a design (top hat + push + 6" rectangular inlet + 16" diameter separator) be realistic?

Hi all - just joined.

I was hoping to get input on a potentially unusual/constrained design for a separator but it appears I can't post new topics. I assume I need a certain length of time/number of posts before I can start a new topic?