bobwax Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 Hi All, I am finally trying to get the dust collection together in my basement shop and I'm stressing about some of the details. Ita a small shop about 16 X 20. I just bought the HF 2HP collector until I have a few extra $$$ for a cyclone. There will be two runs. Both short, not more than15'. One run will be to support a 6" Jointer and a 13" Planer. The other will collect from a Ridgid sander, Drill Press and a Miter Saw. I may add my table saw when I figure out how to make dc work. I'm hoping to keep the costs down. I'd like to use PVC (Schedule 40???), but there seem to be some static electricity issues and I'm not sure how to deal with it. I've looked at some snap together galvanized duct tubing, but am not sure how to work with it. Any suggestions would be welcomed. Thanks. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 Pvc is fine with a little dust collector. Static is not much of an issue until you step up to a larger unit and it shocks you every time you turn it on. Nothing a ground wire wont cure. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobwax Posted February 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 Thanks Don. How is a ground wire deployed? I read somewhere that screwing the parts together would be better in case of changes to the structure. i could tie them all together by the screws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I have heard you should run the ground wire inside the pvc for long runs. I only have 8ft of pvc between my table saw and dust collector , no static zaps in the last 15 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 The wire goes inside the pipe. With small dust collectors its not really an issue. I ran my ground from all the blast gates to the dc motor ground. I still get shocked by the short flex tubes going from gate to machine. With a 2 hp i doubt you will get the speed to have any issue even with no ground. 2 hp is really a single machine dc. When you plumb the little units with a bunch of pvc you really cut its efficiency so static never becomes an issue. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jjmedure Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I was going to start a new topic but this one is right in line with my issue. I have a 1 1/2 hp dest dc and last night i working in the shop and every time i touched the metal on my planer or the ring clamp on my hose i got a little shock. Im assuming i need to ground it but whats the best way. All my larg tools are mobile so i only use a 20' flex hose with dust ports on each tool, one hose one tool at a time. Any sugestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I was going to start a new topic but this one is right in line with my issue. I have a 1 1/2 hp dest dc and last night i working in the shop and every time i touched the metal on my planer or the ring clamp on my hose i got a little shock. Im assuming i need to ground it but whats the best way. All my larg tools are mobile so i only use a 20' flex hose with dust ports on each tool, one hose one tool at a time. Any sugestions? Are you using that rockler flexible hose with the copper wire? If so I have the same thing and cheated. I connected it to my ground wire, You can add one going from your DC motor ground. I stripped back the hose wire and soldered it to my ground. Then went in from the inside with a razor blade and cut back the vinyl about an inch in about ten different spots. Havent been shocked since. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jjmedure Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I am using the rockler hose and ring. I have no ground wire to my dc other than how it cam in the box. let tme see if i get what you are saying. Open up the motor housing, find the ground wire and solder a wire from the gound inside the motor to the clamp on the hose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 I am using the rockler hose and ring. I have no ground wire to my dc other than how it cam in the box. let tme see if i get what you are saying. Open up the motor housing, find the ground wire and solder a wire from the gound inside the motor to the clamp on the hose? On the side of your motor should be a squarish cover with one screw, This is where the power cord goes into the motor. Open it up and you will see a green ground screw attach a bare stranded copper wire to that screw and put it back together. Run the other end to your hose where it connects to the collector. Strip back the hose to expose about an inch of coil. Attach your new copper wire either with solder or a wire nut to the coil. Now grab a razor blade and stick your arm in the hose. Use the razor to expose the copper coil in a few spots inside the hose. Be careful not to cut the cose just remove enough vinyl to expose the coil about an inch. Give it a shot worked for me, should cost more than a buck. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimV Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 Hi Bob, there was a thread a year ago regarding grounding a system: http://woodtalkonline.com/topic/3057-grounding-a-pvc-dust-collection-system/page__view__findpost__p__24265__hl__%2Bdust+%2Bcollector+%2Bpipe__fromsearch__1 There were lots of good stuff in there, my post included Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jjmedure Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 On the side of your motor should be a squarish cover with one screw, This is where the power cord goes into the motor. Open it up and you will see a green ground screw attach a bare stranded copper wire to that screw and put it back together. Run the other end to your hose where it connects to the collector. Strip back the hose to expose about an inch of coil. Attach your new copper wire either with solder or a wire nut to the coil. Now grab a razor blade and stick your arm in the hose. Use the razor to expose the copper coil in a few spots inside the hose. Be careful not to cut the cose just remove enough vinyl to expose the coil about an inch. Give it a shot worked for me, should cost more than a buck. Don Thanks, That Clarifies things much better, ill try it tonight. Some 14 g wire ok, its what i know i have Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobwax Posted February 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Hey Tim, Thanks for the pointer. Good info and lots of rotten puns . Thanks to everyone. I'm more confused than when I started with the divergence of answers. I think that I'll error on the side of safety and run ground wire to the ground on the dc. At least that way no one is wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jweisgram Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Here are some points gleaned from Bill Pentz' web site on dust collection: http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/index.cfm Re: grounding PVC. You can use aluminum tape rather than a wire, putting it inside is tricky but can be done with a long stick. Re: PVC schedule 40. You can use cheaper PVC. There is a "sewer & drain" type that has thinner walls and therefore costs less, but is perhaps harder to find. I have a local plumbing supply that uses it as a valve box extender in 6" diameter. You may find it at an irrigation supplier. With dust collection, for 90 degree (or other) bends, you want large radius bends, not the typical short bend fitting. Re: pipe size. 6" is far better than 4" for dust collection. With 4" the airflow is dramatically reduced, even with short runs. Re: Filter bags. These don't capture the really fine dust that is a health hazard, even the best bags. Your dust collector becomes in effect a fine dust distributor, albeit an effective chip collector. Wynn Environmental (http://www.wynnenv.com/35A_series_cartridge_kit.htm) sells an aftermarket canister filter that is very effective. The problem with a normal dust collector is the filter gets quickly clogged by chips, so find an effective separator. The best option (besides a cyclone) may be to construct a Thein separator, if you want to invest the time in making one. It is more money for all this, yes, but it may preclude the need to go with a true cyclone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 been thinking of adding some better dust collection to the school. i dont know if i want to push the school to buy a big unit that would involve duct work ect.... or if i want to just get several smaller 1hp dust collectors. 1hp unit unit for router,jointer and planer. 1hp unit for 2 large belt sanders and palm sanding station 1hp unit for 2 band saws radial arm saw 1 hp unit for sliding miter saw and drill press i priced some local porter cable dust collectors that was 150 dollers each or i can buy a 4-5hp dust collector for all my machines...... the shop length is 95 feet with 10 average machines and we can aften have 3-4 machines going at once. what we have now is a 1hp unit that is spread out over too large a space with a couple shop vacs to help out as we need them. would it be just as usefull to have several dust collectors spread out to different sections of the shop or should we invest in a unit that can suck dust from the entire shop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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