Just a report that another of Bill's Cyclones up and running.
http://cnets.net/~eclectic/woodworking/cyclone/BudCyclone.cfm
This falls into the "If I can do it, any body can." category so if
you've been wondering, go for it.
FWIW, some notes:
I used a 2HP motor with 12" impeller off of a 'no name' taiwan 2bag DC
that I found in a tool store in Honolulu several years ago. I now
have about 30 feet of piping on the cyclone and airflow is noticably
down from what it is at the cyclone input with no piple. I wouldnt
recommend using a smaller motor/blower, and in fact larger would be
better.
Remote control is a small commercial unit similar to those now found
at Home Depot ($15, +/-) and sold as lighting controls.. This is
powered by 120V and used to control an industrial strength DPST relay
which applies 240V to the motor.
24GA galvenized sheet metal (32$ for 4x8 sheet) was used for the bent
parts. I used a combination of home made jigs and brakes and all came
out well except the cone for the cyclone. The 24GA was simply too
tough to be bent without a roller. Fortunately I found a way to have
it done for me and all came out well. Pop rivets were used to fasten
things together, and joints were sealed with some kind of thick,
putty-like commercial "duct sealer" that I was given. Silicon or
aluminum tape would work just as well.
The 4-1/2" X 9" inlet to the cyclone is a little strange, but I found
an adapter at home depot that was 6" round to 6X9 rectangular. I was
able to cut the rectangular side, rebend it, rivet it back together,
seal the cuts, and it made an excellent starting point for the 6"
piping.
I'm using a fibre (cardboard?) drum that used to hold powder paint.
It's about 35 gallons, and connected to the bottom of the cone thru a
12" piece of clear 6-in flex hose. It's neat to see the crap swirling
down that piece of hose and into the container. A plus is that this
should give me a clue when the container is full.
Adequate filtration on the exhaust side is a must. The cyclone will
get 99% of everything, but that remaining one percent will be a major
headache if you dont corral it.
This cyclone thing is not a small piece of machinery. Mine stands
just at ten feet high from the floor to the top of the motor. Overall
it weighs about 100 lbs, with the bulk of that being in the
motor/impeller. Whatever method you use to mount the motor, make sure
its adequate. Also provide adequate mounting support for the cyclone.
Dont just hang it off the impeller. And above all, dont mount the
cyclone and then rest the weight of the motor/impeller on it. Sure
recipe for disaster down the road as the particle board supports for
the cyclone simply wont hold up.
-------------------
Remove the spamtrap to email me.