TheOnlyDave Posted February 15, 2017 Report Share Posted February 15, 2017 I would like to get started in hard ducting the tools my new shop. My basement shop is in a section of my basement and is about the size of a 3 car garage. I have the new Jet 3hp Cyclone, which i love but have just been pulling a hose from tool to tool for now. I have settled on a layout so far that has worked for me that has had most of my tools down the back wall and wrapping the short side wall, and the table saw and planer in the middle. My basement has 9ft ceilings but being a basement I have some pipes, steal beams, and heating ducts to deal with. So the million dollar question. The Jet 3hp DC has an 8" output with a 3x4" splitter. What is best 2 4" mains one down the back wall and one to the middle of the shop or 6" in main or an 8" main? The 6" and 8" would require more bends to get around the obstructions and is significantly more expensive than the 4" pipe. Thanks, Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted February 15, 2017 Report Share Posted February 15, 2017 I have no science to back it up, but my gut tells me that you'd get better performance with one 6" main with 4" drops. 8" seems WAY too big for a 3HP unit. That's a pretty small DC, really. You should call Oneida or some other company that specializes in this kind of thing, because any answer you get on this forum, including mine, will be nothing better than a guess. AKA useless information. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted February 15, 2017 Report Share Posted February 15, 2017 Oneida designed mine syetem (26' x 36' shop) and it does have about 6' of 8" out of the dust collector then splits to two 6" runs with 4" & 5" drops to tools off those two runs. My collector is a 5 HP dust gorilla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfitz Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 My first question would be - would both 4" mains be open and in use at the same time? If yes, you need to figure that the air being moved (CFM) would be split between the 2 runs. You'd need to see if the linear speed of the air was sufficient, or if the collector was being restricted. If only one gate/tool was being used at any one point, then having 2 runs is meaningless. One would be in use, and the other would just be there with no air moving through uit. When in use, it would be the same as just a single 4" main which is too small for that unit. You'd probably want to go 6" everywhere in this case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOnlyDave Posted February 16, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 14 hours ago, Jfitz said: My first question would be - would both 4" mains be open and in use at the same time? No, I would never have more than one tool going at a time. The idea with 4" would have been to minimize any bends. I'll have to give Oneida a call. I might be able to do 6" without any more bends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marmotjr Posted February 17, 2017 Report Share Posted February 17, 2017 On 2/15/2017 at 3:21 PM, Eric. said: I have no science to back it up, but my gut tells me that you'd get better performance with one 6" main with 4" drops. 8" seems WAY too big for a 3HP unit. That's a pretty small DC, really. You should call Oneida or some other company that specializes in this kind of thing, because any answer you get on this forum, including mine, will be nothing better than a guess. AKA useless information. Intuition is the voice of experience. Your logic sounds about right to me. I know there's quite a few HVAC tutorials on the net for airflow through various diameter pipes, if you're really interested in doing a little math work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted February 17, 2017 Report Share Posted February 17, 2017 Google Air handling systems I found good info one there site. On 2/15/2017 at 9:03 PM, Jfitz said: If only one gate/tool was being used at any one point, then having 2 runs is meaningless. One would be in use, and the other would just be there with no air moving through uit. When in use, it would be the same as just a single 4" main which is too small for that unit. You'd probably want to go 6" everywhere in this case. What Jfitz says is correct. If you only have one pathway open at a time there is not real need for a system that has different sized ducts for mains and branches because you only have one path. Do some research to verify whether you want 6" all the way (reducing to 4" to fit each machine) or if you can go 4" all the way to save $$$. I suspect that JFitz my be correct. Also be aware of how long your longest run is (taking into account the elbows and any flex duct) Make sure its not too long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freedhardwoods Posted February 17, 2017 Report Share Posted February 17, 2017 You could run two (or three) 4" mains and be sure to leave them both/all open all the time to let the dc get the proper airflow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted February 17, 2017 Report Share Posted February 17, 2017 On 2/16/2017 at 0:02 PM, TheOnlyDave said: No, I would never have more than one tool going at a time. Not on purpose maybe...but I find myself, while engrossed in my work, forgetting to close a gate on a pretty regular basis LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew-in-austin Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 Your duct design is as important, if not more important, than the dust collector. Long runs of 4" pipe will add significant static pressure. IMO, no 3HP dust collector should have 4" mains. You need minimum 5", but since you can't get that in PVC, go to 6". Get the "DWV" pipe and fittings which should be much cheaper than the schedule 40 stuff. When you add drops, I would continue to use 6" if you can, and connect 5" blast gates and 5" hose to most machines, even if they are 4" ports. I would spend a lot of time coming up with a layout that has as few bends as possible. If that means the pipe needs to be 1 foot off the wall and 2 feet off the ceiling, but gives you nice, straight layout and does not hit your head, then go for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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