Opinions on modifying dust collector

[Cliff]

I'm not a dust collector expert. Is this set up in the screencap legit? Because that sort of thing would really save me some space. I feel like it may not be, but I don't know enough about dust collectors to know that for sure.

[Tpt life]

What's the question? The angle brace?

[..Kev]

Also, I think he has an entire video on that which may answer some of the questions.  He claims it does well but, I don't know that he's ever had anything better to compare it to?

[drzaius]

I can't see why that wouldn't work, but it's kind of a stubby little cyclone that probably wouldn't separate out the fines very well.

[Cliff]

What I find confusing is the bag attached under the filter with the other side of the (excuse my lack of terminology) circle thing completely sealed off. 

I just feel like if this type of space saving was recommended or helpful, the guys that make the filter would recommend it. Keep in mind I'm not expecting my HF DC to act like a high priced collector. Just looking to take what I have and make it take up less space. I've already mounted the motor thing to the wall (nearly killing myself in the process, as I climbed a ladder with it and thrust it up above my head and bolted it with no help.)

[shaneymack]

Cliff, there is always a collector under the filter. Mine had a bin under it. It collects the fines that arent seperated.

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

[..Kev]

So, the black part is a small cyclone where the chips fall out into the barrel.  Then, it goes thru the filter and anything not collected by the filter (dust) drops in the bag.

He also created a filter suction meter on it to tell him when the filter needs to be cleaned.

For those that don't know, that's DIY Tyler and he has a YouTube channel.

[bleedinblue]

I'm literally actively planning the same thing, down to the Super Dust Deputy, the Wynn, and trying to figure a way to mount it to the wall to save space.  I've watched this video and I still don't understand why he mounted the filter and the bag under the round piece instead of how it was intended.  I don't see the benefit.  Other than that, I'm very close to doing a very similar thing.

The stubby cyclone isn't a Clearvue, but it's a Oneida that is purpose built to retrofit cheap 1-3 HP units and it is very well reviewed.  All said and done, this setup will be in the $500 range, not counting any fixed piping.  That's a bit daunting considering you are still left with a harbor freight dust collector, but it's still cheaper than comparable off the shelf units.

Apparently there is a Rikon impeller that fits the HF unit perfectly, too, that noticeably increases suction. 

Another option Cliff....  check out this one with a freestanding frame, his original idea was just attached to the wall and I like it better, but he thought the motor was too heavy.

[Cliff]

12 minutes ago, bleedinblue said:

 I've watched this video and I still don't understand why he mounted the filter and the bag under the round piece instead of how it was intended.  

This is exactly the question I have. I don't understand if it's supposed to work better, worse or the same. I have all of these things already, and I guess it just looks like it's wrong to have it set up this way. You can't trust every youtuber to know what they are talking about. The guy made a nice jewelry box.. Doesn't mean his way of doing the dust collector is a good idea. Hence my post.

[bleedinblue]

So I guess mounting the filter on top would have simply been too tall for his shop.  I'm not a huge fan of his, but I tend to believe him when he says the setup works well.  I think I'll still do what I can to mount the filter and bag on opposite sides of the chamber, as intended.

[Just Bob]

8 hours ago, Cliff said:

Just looking to take what I have and make it take up less space. I've already mounted the motor thing to the wall (nearly killing myself in the process, as I climbed a ladder with it and thrust it up above my head and bolted it with no help.)

Cliff it sounds like this is too late for you, but this is how I mounted my DC to the wall without help.  I pulled the impeller and housing off of the motor and built a temp shelf to support the motor.  This really helped, and it was easy to reinstall the housing and impeller from below.

My system is very similar to the one in your post, but I eliminated to filter by exhausting outside.  I have no complaints and it works really well.

[Jfitz]

Overall, that layout should work fine.  The cyclone should catch most of the chips and dust.  Very little of anything except air should (in theory) be the only thing moving to the filter - so whether it's mounted up or down is irrelevant.  The small bag at the bottom is helpful for several reasons - it keeps any larger dust or debris that might make it through the cyclone off the filter; and it's a good way to catch the dust you can loosen from the filter by banging on it a little.

6 hours ago, bleedinblue said:

I think I'll still do what I can to mount the filter and bag on opposite sides of the chamber, as intended.

That will work too if you have the headroom - it's how I have mine installed as well.  The reason they are on "opposite sides" is that as designed, the bag is where all the dust and debris will accumulate and you want to keep all that out of the filter media.  Gravity dictates the setup - collection bag on the bottom, air filter on the top.  With the cyclone added though, the issue of collecting chips and dust almost disappears so the only thing that should get through to the filter is a little bit of very fine dust - which is the situation even with the filter on top. So the orientation of the filter really should not matter a whole lot.

[gee-dub]

I watched the video and when the unit was running I notice that the bag below the filter was not over-inflating.  This is a good thing and implies that the amount of filter media he has is passing enough air and not back-pressuring the system.

I actually watch this bag on my Grizzly G0440 as a sort of performance indicator.  When I see the bag starting to blow up like a balloon (maybe once or twice a year) I know I have been slacking off on running the internal brush up an down on the filter.

You will NEVER hear me recommend that anyone should not improve their current dust collection. That being said, it seems that by the time I bought the HF DC, the Oneida SDD and the filter I would be well on my way to buying a system that is optimized for a cyclone. 

Bag units are not designed for the impedance that a cyclone puts on the airflow ahead of the blower and will not perform like a system designed from the ground up.  We can't all run out and buy our dream dust collection system.  Even if we could, few of us could install such a system and still have room left to work . 

I always recommend that we all do the best we can with DC and adding a separator and a filter is certainly a good next step of the journey.  I have made a silk purse out of a sow's ear more than once but, in the end I generally move to a more formal version of what I am after. 

To those that can afford to skip the in between costs in time and money I say; go big or go home.  For the rest of us, incremental steps are better than doing nothing any day.  Ever onward .

[Chestnut]

The only thing that i can think of Clif is that inside the HF DC ring there is a baffle. This baffle kind of directs air down to put chips in the bag instead of sending them up into the filter bag, in it's stock operation. Mounting the filter blow might decrease some pressure loss from trying to force large amounts of air through a smaller opening.

If you half the area of a circle the velocity increases by 4x. Resistance usually increases by the square of the velocity so for every diameter half resistance increases 16x. 16 times a small number can add up to a big number. All of this is a guess, i work with water systems not air. Air compresses so it reacts differently then water but the above is a reason i could think of.

[Cliff]

Interesting thoughts guys. I think I will try it if I can figure out a space to mount the filter. I sorta planned the space just for the motor and blower, so I may have to do some re-configuring!

2 hours ago, Just Bob said:

Cliff it sounds like this is too late for you, but this is how I mounted my DC to the wall without help.  I pulled the impeller and housing off of the motor and built a temp shelf to support the motor.  This really helped, and it was easy to reinstall the housing and impeller from below.

My system is very similar to the one in your post, but I eliminated to filter by exhausting outside.  I have no complaints and it works really well.

I would prefer to exhaust outside, but I don't want to cut a hole in the garage then have to patch it if we move. 

Meanwhile, your method for getting it up seems easier by far  I mounted the entire thing to my backer material, which is 4' long, walked up the ladder carefully with the collector sorta balanced on my shoulder. I ended up having to sink two screws partially to set the thing in the right position so I could do the actual screws in the top. Once those screws were in, I used 4" lag bolts into the stud. It was a really dumb plan. That thing is way too heavy.

[bleedinblue]

Hey Cliff...I don't have my DC yet to look at the configuration, but does the motor and filter assembly have to be 90* to each other?  The only logical corner I have to mount them at 90 is where my sump pump is.  I'd prefer to put them side by side on the same wall, but I'm not sure that'll be possible while avoiding flex pipe between the two.

[RichardA]

On 10/22/2016 at 6:12 AM, Just Bob said:

Cliff it sounds like this is too late for you, but this is how I mounted my DC to the wall without help.  I pulled the impeller and housing off of the motor and built a temp shelf to support the motor.  This really helped, and it was easy to reinstall the housing and impeller from below.

My system is very similar to the one in your post, but I eliminated to filter by exhausting outside.  I have no complaints and it works really well.

I send my fines outside as well...