This thread is for anyone setting up a shop, or setting up a new dust collector...or is unhappy with the current set up..
last week while planeing some boards for a "honey do" project, I clogged the pipe going from the thickness planer to the dust collector...
My present unit is a 850 cfm Delta that I bought when I set up my new shop( 4 years ago), it seemed to do a pretty good job on the smaller stuf.. or so I thought....after clogging the pipe for the umpteenth time, I decided to do something about it....
as an aside, I work as a miantenance mechanic in a machine shop and work with ductwork all the time, so I should ( and do) know better.. but when I installed my ductwork, i used 4" plastic pipe ( in the name of cheapness and ease of installation), ( drain pipe) so the correct( T-Y's) fittings are hard to come by, so I used "T"'s to branch off from the main line( which prior was an UNDERSIZED 4" line) and short radius 90's for the drops... never bothering to ground anything( it takes time to do it right)... after the clogging fiasco, I was ready for a new, more powerfull collector, but first the ductwork need to be "sized" for the new unit.... using 22 gauge snap fit galvy duct work, I fabricated a main 6" trunk, each branch was then split off using a 6" T-Y then sized accordingly( all joints were sealed with sealant and/or taped) most trunks were 4" plastic, with ground wires inside the duct and another spiral wrapped and joined at the main trunk to eliminate statric electricity ( an amazing amount of fine dust clings to the inside of those non grounded plastic pipes), which was eventualy grounded to the dust collector and each machine ( thickness planer called for 5" to maintain 400 cfm)... manifolds were made for the smaller table top tools( chops saw, band saw scroll saw and sanders) these were given their own drop...at the end of the main 6" trunk, it was terminated with a T-Y with a capped end for inspection and easy clean out...
At the dust collector end, I moved my pre collection drum from under the lathe bench where it served only the lathe and moved it to sevice the whole system, it was fitted with quick disconnects to aid in emptying the drum( prior I had to release hose clamps and remove hoses...
Just for "laughs" I fired up the old unit( which now I may be keeping) ,with the farthest blast gate open I was able to "stick" a piece of cardboard over the end of the main when I removed the cap and it pulled it tight tot he duct... I tosed a handfull of wood chips in the air cose to the last 4" drop and it all vanished instantly.. the static pressure ( suction) at that gate was eaisily double what it was prior to the upgrade...I progressed down the line all the way back to the first drop ( the first lathe) the static presure ( by hand feel and saw dust test) was pretty much the same as the last drop, telling me that the system is now running as efficeiantly as possible with the original dust collector.. tonight I fire up the planner....
Summary:.. all those twists and turns, T's and undersized pipe. severly restricted the air flow ( cfm) from my old unit... I knew that in air flow, smooth transistions and a larger main trunck are advised, .. I just never realized they made THAT much of a differance.
