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Dust collection design for new shop.

1K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  baldfatguy 
#1 ·
I am setting up my garage to be a new and improved dedicated woodshop, with some storage for non shop stuff.

I am going to be purchasing new tools (mostly Grizzly) table saw, drill press, jointer, thickness planer and dust collection. I have small table saw and compound miter saw.

The work space is 16'X22' with ten foot ceiling. I was just authorized to be able to mount the dust collection outside the garage inside a vented cabinet.

My questions are 1) any available information on having a dust collection unit outside but inside a small shed/cabinet like housing keeping it out of weather? B) is there a cyclone separator unit that has six inch inlet/outlet ports? III) would a large sealed box 2'x2'x5' work similar, or is the rotating air movement required for particle separation?
 
#2 ·
Why outside? Any conditioning of the air you do, heating, or cooling will get sucked and dumped outside at whatever CFM the collector is, and you will need makeup air for that loss, which will likely be either hot or cold.

If noise is a concern, build a filtered / vented enclosure IN the shop for your DC.

Most cyclones have larger than 6" in / out ports, but come with reducers. Aftermarket cyclone separators typically have 4" ports. If you want 6" for a separator to go inline with a single stage collector, then you will need to build one yourself. I recommend using a Thien separator design. VERY effective, and not that hard to build..
 
#3 ·
I've not seen anything specifically about locating the unit in a shed, I suspect that's because technically it doesn't matter. The air flow, length of runs , size of ducts, etc will all have the same criteria regardless of the location of the DC. the parts that would be different are unrelated to the collecting of dust....things like heat loss (or cooling loss). The one thing I could see would be a very tight room with a DC outside could actually starve the DC if the air isn't returned; that kind of stuff. Have you visited the Bill Pentz site yet? There's a wealth of info there, too much maybe. Start with the FAQ section to see if there's anything of interest.
 
#4 ·
.... My questions are 1) any available information on having a dust collection unit outside but inside a small shed/cabinet like housing keeping it out of weather? B) is there a cyclone separator unit that has six inch inlet/outlet ports? III) would a large sealed box 2'x2'x5' work similar, or is the rotating air movement required for particle separation?
Some folks here have done either what you are saying OR direct vent the exhaust outside. Regardless, the air exhausted from the shop space should be replaced by a vent in your shed back into the garage wall, if you heat or cool your shop/garage. Some folks also say there is no heat loss from having a direct vent to the outside ....Go figure.

If the unit is located in an attached shed I would just vent it back into the garage to be safe. Any natural gas fueled appliances like a water heater or clothes dryer located in the garage will be air starved and have the poisonous exhaust gases drawn back into the garage, not good. :thumbdown:

Avoid long lengths of ribbed hose and sharp bends in your piping system. :yes:
 
#5 ·
Thank you for the input, the reason for wanting to have the unit outside is floor space and sound.

Right now the garage is not heated or cooled except the main door goes up and down and man door opens. However when the floor was poured I had pex tubing weaved throughout, but I mistakenly left some water in the first winter and it developed a leak. But that is another issue.

I will check out Bill Pentz site.

Thank you again for the input.
 
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