J. Phil Thien's Projects

Messing around with my blast gates and limit switches to turn my DC on and off as they open last night. Made a mistake and turned on the DC with all the gates closed. Should have been no big deal because I have a vac relief setup. Well it stuck closed, need to redesign that a bit, and my tophat imploded. I was kind of shocked that it broke before the thinwall hvac ducting deformed or before the trashbin collapsed. I did use cheaper laminate, but I do not think I will be replacing it with a thicker brand. I know lots of people have used laminate successfully, but I wanted to share my experience with it as well.

Now to decide if I rebuild with sheetmetal or plastic.

Not sure if this is a problem or even a sign of something else that could be wrong, but trying my top hat out hooked up to a real tool and I noticed that the bulk of the dust stayed spinning at the top of the chamber for a long time. When the DC was turned off everything fell and mostly went past the slot into the bin and I am not noticing anything significant in the filter. Something I should worry about?

I think I know the answer to this but maybe someone has a brilliant idea I have not found. Is it possible to un-crimp a metal fitting? I got some 6" wye fittings that have the crimped end on the wrong end for smooth airflow. I could adapt it but then I will have the crimps going against the airflow collecting dust and creating more turbulence.

Has anyone on here used this clear 32 gal bin with a top hat? Does it work well? Seen any other businesses that carry it?

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/continental-3200cl-huskee-32-gallon-clear-ingredient-bin-trash-can/6902632CL.html?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=GoogleShopping&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhIXeg7ja2QIVFo3ICh2kgwVdEAQYASABEgJiLvD_BwE

So I am probably %80 through my build and finding some things I would do very different were I to start over again, the biggest being not use MDF while lacking a dust collector. One of my design features/flaws have made it so my tophat and impeller are rigidly fixed to each other and suspended from a steel rack. This has given me a new problem, the weight of the tophat cant be used to seal it to the collection drum. I have thought about some sort of clips that would hold the drum tight to it and suspended off the ground, but I am worried about the weight of a full 55 gallon drum being unsupported. I also have considered some sort of lift, but all my ideas for a lift mechanism are overly complicated. My latest idea is to make some sort of rubber chute that could permanently attach to the tophat and be slid over the drum and clamped tight with a band clamp.

Anyone tried this before or have any better ideas for me?

So I am trying to iron out the last few details on a tophat for a 55gal drum.

Inlet is the 10"x 4" to 6" round HVAC fitting going into a chamber that is 18" tall and 20" in diameter. The base has an oversized slot and 4 large holes in the middle for light to go into the bin below. On top of that base will be an acrylic disk to cover the slot and holes. My thinking is I can start with a narrow dust slot and tune it. Outlet to the blower is 6" and will have a bellmouth and straightener mimicking Retired's design.

Am I wrong in putting the inlet fitting as close to the top of the baffle as possible?

How far down should I start the bellmouth with a chamber this large?


Going to attempt to upload a drawing of where I am so far.

I am canabalizing a G1029Z dust colelctor for my setup and had a question about the benefit of an impeller upgrade. The stock impeller is just a hair shy of 12" by my measurements and I can't fit much larger in the housing without some significant modifications to it. The blades are not curved in either direction, radial I think it the correct term for this style. I see a lot of information on the benefits forward vs reverse curved blades. Are straight blades a significant downgrade to either of the curved options?

Thanks all.