Would an electric yard blower vac work on a thicknesser?

[davestanton]

I was helping my wife empty polystyrene beads out of an old beanbag that the dogs have slept on for the past few years. The intention was to fill some old couch cushion covers with the beads to make a new bed for the dogs, all was well until we had a spillage. I remembered that when I purchased a heap of GMC cordless tools when the company went bust that I had also grabbed an electric yard blower vac. It had been sitting in the back of a shed for years. I put it to work with the beads and it made short work of it.

It was then that the thought struck me that maybe I could use this thing in conjunction with a home made cyclone and dedicate it to one machine such as my DeWalt 12 inch thicknesser? The thicknesser is noisy, so the fact that the blower is also a decibel demon wouldn't really matter.

As you can probably tell by now, I love a challenge. And if it is cheap- recycling stuff that otherwise would rust to death and gives me a better than average result I feel a sense of achievement.

Any thoughts?

[Jesse]

There's a time to rust and a time to fight dust. It's up to you to end up on the right side of history.

[Beechwood Chip]

If the blower and cyclone is right next to the thickness planer then I'd go for it. The blower might not be able to send the chips down a length of duct, though.

[jHop]

I asked a similar question once a long time ago. I never heard a response of how to do it, let alone whether I should or not.

Personally, I'd think it would be ok, but you will need to face a few hurdles.

First off, the flow of air that the motor puts out may not be sufficient for a planer. It might be sufficient for other tools, however. You need to check not only the horsepower ratings, but also the actual air measurements. Not easy to do without the proper tools.

Secondly, the impeller might not be up to the task of moving that much air, and taking any damage from chips or dust that might slip through the cyclone.

Third, take into consideration the ducting you will be using, and the size difference between the planer out port and the cyclone in ports.

I'm all for trying this option, especially if you go through a two stage set up. I'm suspecting that the blower will work best on 2 inch line, but it might work on 4 inch. I doubt, although I'm just going on supposition and no facts, that it will work on anything larger than 4 inch. Stay away from ridged flex ducting on this experiment, keep the runs short, and I'd suggest putting this on a separate surge protector while you work on it. If it doesn't blow the surge strip or the fuse, I'd consider getting one of those automatic switches and making it a dedicated combination.

If it doesn't work, I didn't suggest anything.

[davestanton]

Thanks for the thoughts Jhop.

I was thinking of a run from dust making machine to cyclone would be approx 3 feet of flexible 4 inch hose with the yard vac coupled directly to the top air exit of the cyclone. The exit from the vac would be through a hose to the outside of my shop, no filters.

The whole thing would be on a trolley.

Regarding the suitability of the vac for handling wood chips, this one is also classified as a mulcher , so a few small sticks and leaves would have been thought of in its design stage. If the whole thing turns to mud, I can always use the cyclone in line with a dedicated single machine DC.

Power is not a problem. I have 2 x 10 amp circuits in the shop with 20 amp circuit breakers fitted. Remember in Australia we are 240 volt.