# Let's see some Dust Collector Separator Pictures



## ryan50hrl

Ok guys....after years of dealing with my filter being plugged every few months, and just having figured out last week that the grizzly cyclone I was eying up won't fit in my shop as the ceiling is too low, I've decided to build a separator. Here's my requirements....it fits a standard 32 gallon trash can (Plan to use Rubbermaid Brute Can). It's going to need to use bags, as I refuse to shovel out sawdust (I've got some ideas to do so). 

Anyone who's built a similar separator, I'd love to see some pictures for ideas. Also, what would you have done differently if you were to do it again. 

Thanks in advance guys!!


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## Marv

How about adding a Super Dust Deputy to the dust collector you already have? This guy incorporated one into his 50-850 and mounted it on the wall however you could use it inline on top of the garbage can.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awmWxu5v7MI

Here's what I did with my 50-760 and the second filter helped the airflow quite a bit...


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## ryan50hrl

I looked at those, as well as a sheet metal cyclone at woodworkers depot in Green Bay, but both are 150 or more, and with all the great reviews of Thein baffles I thought why not give that a try first.


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## Marv

I tried the Thein and it did a good job separating but I had a huge loss in suction so I ended up going this route.


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## ryan50hrl

Anyone else had that experience?


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## Marv

There was a guy on the Thien forum that did some actual measurements and had about a 300 CFM loss after the separator was installed.

edit: his actual numbers are about half way down this page...

http://www.jpthien.com/smf/index.php?topic=563.90


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## epicfail48

Ive got a then seperator hooked up to my shop vac. I can offer any numbers, but I will say that through the seperator I lose a small but noticeable bit of suction. Admittedly, that could be because its homemade and held together mainly with caulking and prayers, but still. I'd imagine that cyclone vs baffle, as long as both are well made, both will have nearly equal suction loss


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## Marv

epicfail48 said:


> Ive got a then seperator hooked up to my shop vac. I can offer any numbers, but I will say that through the seperator I lose a small but noticeable bit of suction. Admittedly, that could be because its homemade and held together mainly with caulking and prayers, but still. I'd imagine that cyclone vs baffle, as long as both are well made, both will have nearly equal suction loss


May be very different with a shop vac (I've never built one for that) however my dust collector cyclone has nowhere near the amount of loss the baffle did.


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## ORBlackFZ1

ryan50hrl said:


> Ok guys....after years of dealing with my filter being plugged every few months, and just having figured out last week that the grizzly cyclone I was eying up won't fit in my shop as the ceiling is too low, I've decided to build a separator. Here's my requirements....it fits a standard 32 gallon trash can (Plan to use Rubbermaid Brute Can). It's going to need to use bags, as I refuse to shovel out sawdust (I've got some ideas to do so).
> 
> Anyone who's built a similar separator, I'd love to see some pictures for ideas. Also, what would you have done differently if you were to do it again.
> 
> Thanks in advance guys!!


You can find my Thein Pre-Separator at this thread: http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f32/pipe-diameter-vs-performance-59625/ The pictures are on post #17.

This was my third iteration of the pre-separator, so I pretty much knew what I wanted to do. This thread http://www.jpthien.com/smf/index.php?topic=563.msg3024#msg3024 helped me with the original design and some improvements along the way.

Yes, the pre-separator does have some CFM and Static Pressure loss associated with it. It does work very well at separating the saw dust before it gets into the filter. Here is a quote from my post above:

"If my calculations are correct, then after creating about 1800 gallons of saw dust (45 gallons per barrel X 40 barrel empties). * The saw dust bag plus the amount of saw dust in the canister amounted to less than 2 gallons of saw dust that got past the Top Hat (roughly 0.1 percent of the total saw dust). *(Your "gallon-age" may vary depending on the dimensions of your Top Hat and the unique specifications of your dust collection hoses, pipes, impeller, motor, etc.)"

I have no experience with a cyclone, so I can't really compare the Thein Top Hat Pre-Separator to a cyclone. Although I have noticed, that on the Grizzly web site when I compare a 2hp DC (G0548ZP) and a 2hp DC with a cyclone (G0440) that the CFM is considerably less for the G0440 than the G0548ZP. If I compare other models with similar HP ratings, the results are pretty much the same. I would conclude that models with a cyclone in them will have more CFM and static pressure loss then models that do not have a cyclone. BUT, the numbers are just a starting point and your situation will probably not reflect those numbers (just like mpg on cars).

If you want a fun shop project and would like to save some money and keep your shop cleaner, then the Thein Top Hat Pre-Separator is a good project to tackle.

Let me know if you have any questions that I can help with.


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## gmcooter

*dust collector*

Here's my homemade dust collector. It works pretty well.


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## gmcooter

*dc for lathe*

Here's the one of my lathe. It picks up almost all the chips as well as the dust.


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## gmcooter

*dust collector*

It appears no one is interested in my home made one. I described it an someone said they would like pictures so I posted them. I didn't get any response ( may be a laugh or two or more). Oh well that's hoe the ball bounces.


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## gmcooter

*dust collector*

It appears no one is interested in my home made one. I described it an someone said they would like pictures so I posted them. I didn't get any response ( may be a laugh or two or more). Oh well that's how the ball bounces.


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## gmcooter

*mistake*

I posted it twice. Sorry


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## ryan50hrl

Not ignoring it at all....just looking for options.


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## gmcooter

*options*

What options are you looking for?


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## ryan50hrl

Separator ideas....I already have a collector, but have been thinking more and more about a pre-separator. Trying to decide between ordering an Oneida super dust deputy and building a thein baffle.


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## gmcooter

*dust collector*

I just have mine going into a 55 gallon drum an vented to the outside.


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## ORBlackFZ1

ryan50hrl said:


> Separator ideas....I already have a collector, but have been thinking more and more about a pre-separator. Trying to decide between ordering an Oneida super dust deputy and building a thein baffle.


Hey Ryan:

If I had the cash and was short on time, I would go with the SDD! 

I chose to build my pre-separator, because I have fun designing and building stuff. 

Eric


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## ryan50hrl

I'm thinking of heading that way....

It's not that I have oodles of cash I want to blow, but I'd rather build other stuff than a separator


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## TMA Woodworks

Hi guys

It you want to put a little time into it there is no reason why you can't build a cyclone. I built my cyclone. I primarily used Bill Pentz design and specs but stole some ideas from wood magazine. There are some pictures of it on in my albums. Then if you have height restrictions you can customize the height to whatever fits. Another option if you have a height restriction is to mount the impeller off to the side and pipe to it from the cyclone. I did that at first. It worked well. I would still have it that way but I wanted to make the footprint smaller. I would suggest something if you were going to bag. I would suggest something to hold the bag in place. I made a tube just slightly smaller than the barrel. The bag tends to get sucked up a bit. But I'm in total agreement that it's no fun to shovel out the barrel. Even worse to dump it and make a huge cloud of sawdust. 

Bob


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## ryan50hrl

Anyone used a black plastic super dust deputy themselves? Seems odd to me that hardly anyone carries this one. It looks like everything I need.


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## Marv

ryan50hrl said:


> Anyone used a black plastic super dust deputy themselves? Seems odd to me that hardly anyone carries this one. It looks like everything I need.


 I use one every day and IMO it was well worth the cost.


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## hokeyplyr48

Same here. I have it mounted in my setup with no issues


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## jg2259

I built a top hat separator. I have pics but I'm not sure if the finished project is included. It was great fun to build and works great. I get no noticeable loss of suction, but that might be because I vent directly to the outside.






























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## jg2259




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## ryan50hrl

Alright....so I stopped by woodcraft this afternoon planning on just looking around, but they had a super dust deputy in stock, which is now in the back seat of my truck. 

Swung by Home Depot next and picked up a brute trash can....complete with their new suction break molding. 

I'll have to order some fittings to make it all fit, but in a few weeks I'll have a better setup!!


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## hokeyplyr48

Congrats, make sure too post pics of your assembly/setup


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## ORBlackFZ1

*Way to Go!*

Soon, you will be saying, "Why didn't I do this a long time ago?":laughing:

Just think, you will be able to breathe in your shop without a mask!:thumbsup:


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## ryan50hrl

Dust collections really never been my problem, it's the clogging of the filter I'm looking to avoid and easier switching of the bags. I am looking forward to the upgrade though, that's for sure


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## Tim Campbell

Here's my DIY system based on a fiberglass cyclone which is around 18” dia by 50” tall with built in inlet ramp and neutral vane for maximum efficiency. The whole setup including fan and ply waste bin just fits under my 8’ ceiling.
The key element in the system design is that it does not have any filters which I believe in most workshop situations are unnecessary.

For reasons of cost and available power supply I used a generic 2 HP fan but built a new 8” inlet cover and modified the case to provide a 6” outlet in order to get as much airflow as possible. The exhaust from the fan is unfiltered and runs directly outside through an aluminum louver about 18” wide x 24” tall which is cut into the shed wall.

I carried out some airflow testing using a hot wire anemometer. With the fan, cyclone and louver outlet I was getting about 820 cfm at 1” static pressure which reduced to about 600cfm at 3” when this is connected to PVC ducting and flex to my machines with their upsized inlets. Our power supply is 240V 50 Hz so the same fan running at 60Hz in the US would theoretically produce about 20% higher air flow figures than these.
























 Fiberglass Cyclone Mark 2

There are three main differences to the prototype shown above. The first is the level of finish. The original was produced in a number of pieces around a male former and stitched together which gave it an unsightly external finish and the glued seams are a possible point of weakness. The new version is produced in a female mold without seams, making it more robust and giving it a much better finish. The other main difference are that is produced in two pieces to allow the parts to be nested, considerably reducing the shipping volume. Finally, it has a right hand entry to suit the rotation of the majority of fans around.


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## ryan50hrl

Impressive!!


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