J. Phil Thien's Projects

Hi all I'm working on modifying my Jet DC1200 with the 230v 2 Hp motor.  I've attached a drawing of the proposed flow diagram and have started cutting wood and accumulating parts.

I'd appreciate any feed back as I go.

Thanks

JohnH

Using the ring as what we now call a top-hat is a great, easy way to get a side-inlet.

But it looks like you're going to push from the blower into the inlet, instead of pull through the top of the ring and then exhaust in the filter?

So pressurizing the cyclone you need to make sure you have zero leaks.  Because while a leaky system on a pull results in less optimum separation, a leaky system on a push results in fine dust escaping.

And your filter looks like it will be a box with furnace filters?  Not that there is anything wrong with that but you need adequate surface area for the system, so you need good-sized filters and you need to make sure there are no leaks between the boxes and the filters where dust can escape.

Hi Phil,

Yes I'm using the Jet ring as a top hat section.  I'll be pulling through the ring and into the outside of the round cartridge filter very similar to commercial DCs. I'm attaching a few mock-up pics

One of the problems w/ the Jet design is that bottom bag-retaining method.  The lip that holds the retaining ring can interfere with proper separation.  Anything you can do there?

My current thought is to mount the baffle at the top of the C channel.  The 45 degree lip would then be on the reduced velocity side.

The lip is also giving me grief transitioning to the trash can.  I can extend the lip's 45 degree angle and fit a 20 gallon Rubbermaid can or I can mount a larger can that would make a surface behind the lip due to the larger diameter.

I've got a few drawings I can post later

JohnH - I modified my Grizzly somewhat like you are doing with your Jet and it works Great!! Hopefully I attached the picture correctly.

My original thought was to have a portable unit and just connect it as necessary. This is a pain and I plan to redesign and build a unit that will sit in some corner and have ducts running to each machine.

As you can see the Grizzly unit is on top of the Thien and pulls the air through it. I put Plexiglas between the top and bottom of the Thien, e.g. the sides. I wanted to see it in action. As it turns out this was a great move. Currently I don't have a sensor to shut off the unit when the can is full. However I can tell when the can is full because I see a LOT of dust in the Thien. Normally there is almost nothing in the bag unless I over fill the can. I used a 20 gal Brute partly because I goofed on the spacing and did not allow enough room for the 32 gal Brute but this goof was good for me. As I get older lifting 32 gal of dust is a bit difficult for me. I have a lazy-susan to lift and lower the can.

My Grizzly came with the two bags as you see in my image and I just left it that way. I goofed on the spacing to hold the bags in place and it is a pain to remove the lower bag which I've only done once and this was because I over filled the can.

My intake is a 4" pipe.

Future plans

• Convert to stationary unit
• Install sensor to shut unit off when the can is full
• Possibly change from 4" intake to 5"

Very nice.  Your picture looks great.  My Thien separator will reuse the Jet separator and move the fan after the filter.

Like you I will attempt to make this portable as my shop is tiny.

I need to up load a few more drawings and pics, but like everyone else it's a bit busy around the holidays so not a lot is getting done on the DC

JohnH

With the holidays not much progress. 

As mentioned earlier it seems the lip for the Jet bag retaining channel can cause some grief, so I made a transition piece to bridge the channel.  This was made from galvanized flashing.  I had to template it to get the curve right. I pieced it with epoxy glue.  The final glue up was done after marking the joint in place. 

The transition piece snaps in place just like the bag retaining hoop.

More mock-up pics.  You can start to get a feel for the setup.  I want to paint this so I've pulled the Jet stickers.  I need see if they sell replacements.

I could be way out on a limb but I don't think you will get the separation you are looking for, e.g. most of the dust will be stopped by your filter and not the Jet intake ring. I suggest that you replace the Jet intake ring with the Thien baffle.

The Jet ring gets a Thien baffle added to it.  I tried to show that in the first drawing.  I'll add some more pics.

Finishing up this build with a bunch of pics.  I need to add a discharge evase, but right now I'm pulling 1150 CFM at the inlet with a neutral vane addition.

One of my early attempts was to add the baffle to the bottom of my Grizzly intake as you are doing. I did not like the results and went with the external thien baffle. Perhaps I just did something wrong but I found a lot of dust on top of the Thien when it was part of the Grizzly intake.

BTW I've given up on the portable idea. After using it a bit it has turned out to be a royal pain (for me) shifting from one tool to another and tools and other stuff get in the way as I attempt to move it around in my shop. Part of the problem is that I'm a slob and very slow to clean up.

One of the issues you will encounter is when the Brute can gets full. I plan to install an automatic cutoff when the can gets full. I try to watch it and empty often but sometimes things creep up on me and the next thing I notice is that the can is full. With my unit I can see the overflow in my Thien (I have a clear plastic wall.)

If the seal between the Brute and the baffle is leaking this will result in another issue. I added some weather stripping in this area and now I have a very tight seal.

Thanks for the tips.  I'll be opening it up this weekend to install a pressure gauge across the filter.  I'll see what's getting by. The can seems to be getting a lot of fines, most of which are stuck to the sides with static electricity. 

The only problem I've had is crushing the can.  I need more that a 4 inch hose open or the can is crushed. 

I'm also looking at making a fill indicator, that's down the road.

Quote from: JohnH on February 06, 2015, 07:13:48 PM
Thanks for the tips.  I'll be opening it up this weekend to install a pressure gauge across the filter.  I'll see what's getting by. The can seems to be getting a lot of fines, most of which are stuck to the sides with static electricity. 

The only problem I've had is crushing the can.  I need more that a 4 inch hose open or the can is crushed. 

I'm also looking at making a fill indicator, that's down the road.

What size is your Brute drum?  I think mine is 32 gal, and I've never collapsed it.  Of course, the collar of my drum sits in a snug fitting circular dado. That privides additional support for the drum.