My HF/Thien/Wynn conversion

[skillington]

The impetus for this project came when I moved to an older home with a long, narrow, low-ceilinged basement.  My Delta 50-760 dust collector was now too tall, and I could no longer use it as the octopus at the center of a cluster of power tools.  After reading a good bit about central dust collection systems with fixed metal ductwork, I decided instead upon the following priorities for my situation: use the existing 120 volt electrical circuits in my new basement work space; retain the stock 4? dust ports on all of  my stationary power tools; achieve adequate efficiency by connecting the shortest possible run of flexible 4? hose to one machine at a time; use high quality filtering; use two stage collection, separated by Thien baffles; have a collector at each end of my work space.  As you can see in the photos, I got a pair 2hp collectors on sale at Harbor Freight.  I purchased .5 micron Nanofiber cartridge filters from Winn Environmental.  I replaced the cheap, flimsy HF collector chassis with my own design, which permits me to position the motor above the collector can and connect it directly to the impellor.    I am very pleased with the result: no trace of dust in the air from connected tools, changeover to a different tool in about five seconds, quick, efficient dumping of the collector can, and never any need to tend the clear plastic bags, except after occasionally back-flushing the canisters with compressed air to restore their high efficiency.  I don?t think there is any system on the market for less than about double the investment I?ve made in these rigs that can equal their performance.  If anyone would like to make their own, let me know and I?ll be glad to answer any questions you may have.
Thanks, Phil!
Howard Skillington

[Bulldog8]

Howard, that looks like a pretty nice setup. Have you considered a second baffle in the canister section? I may try one in my piped system, but am somewhat concerned with a loss of CFM. I changed from a 4" plastic piped system to a 6" metal pipe and added a Wynn filter at the same time. I have a significant increase in airflow, but I do not want to lose any of my gains by adding a second baffle.

With the small amount of ducting in your system, I would think that you would have CFM to spare due to the lack of loss of elbows and fittings.

Steve

[skillington]

Hi Steve

I have no way of measuring the efficiency of the Thien baffle I built for each unit, but they seem to be completely effective.  No detectable fine dust is getting past the cannisters and, by volume, virtually all the material is dropping nicely past the single baffle into the cans.  I can mill all day without depositing a handful of dust into the plastic bags.  What would be the advantage of adding a second baffle?

[Bulldog8]

My biggest concern was fine dust from drum sanding operations. I have a "tophat" style pre-separator with a Wynn filter and a plastic bag on the outlet. I also do not get a measurable amount of dust in the final bag. Therefore, I assume that I will get fines in the filter. I haven't used the drum sander since building my separator so this is just an assumption on my part. If I am getting an amount of fines in the filter, I will consider adding a baffle between the filter and the plastic bag in addition to the pre-separator.

Steve

[skillington]

If you do, I'll be glad to hear your report.  I have avoided what seems to me to be unnecessary complexity.  Dick Wynn assures me that the nano cartridge can be kept in good working order by occasionally back-flushing with @80 psi of compressed air.  In the meantime, the system is working just as I'd hoped, and I don't see any need to tweak it.

[pitbull]

nice rolling setup.

Bulldog, I have run a good bit of material since making the top hat style and have a little dust in the bag now. Maybe an ounce or so. I have dumped the 32gallon drum 3 times. This includes sanding dust and MDF dust....so you should be in good shape.

[toolguy1000]

skillington.....what type of fitting(s) did you use to go through the separator lid?

[skillington]

I used the 4" dust separator fittings that Rockler recently developed, item #34367.  I like them because they present a smooth pathway for airflow when threaded together from either side of a mounting panel. The kit includes two pairs of fittings, but that worked for me, since I was building two complete DC's.

[dbhost]

That's a nice build. What I don't understand is why you went to all the trouble of moving the impeller up, and yet you stayed with a top inlet on the separator. This one is aching for a side inlet....