# Thein baffle



## jg2259 (Oct 28, 2011)

I have a couple of ongoing projects, but one I really need to get done is hooking up my Harbor Freight dust collector. I want to build a thein baffle mounted on a 32 gallon metal trash can.
I am planning on using 5" metal duct and need to have 2 runs of ductwork going in opposite directions. 
My question is" do I come out of the thein baffle with a T or wye, or do I just run a piece of 5" duct out of the baffle and then T or wye my runs." Also, what do you guys use to support the ductwork as it goes into the thein?


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## rrich (Jun 24, 2009)

If you are in a 1 man shop (i.e. Running one machine at a time) I would move the hose between the specific run and the Thein system.

PRO
Cheaper
Better Performance

CON
PITA to move the hose


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## Marv (Nov 30, 2008)

I have a Delta 50-850A which has the same basic design as the HF and had a similar dilemma as far as hooking up duct work in 2 different directions (I also wanted to save space). My solution was adding an "internal" Thein baffle and making my own "manifold" to connect to the duct work in opposite directions. My canister filter stays very clean (I have not had to remove it for cleaning since I installed the baffle) and a side benefit was the suction loss is quite a bit less than the external Thein I originally had. One thing some may consider a drawback is that the material still passes through the impeller which could get interesting if you have any rodents around....... :blink:
http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f32/dust-collection-tip-day-40249/


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## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

. My system has a 6" wye then one of those lines goes to another wye.mboth of those go to yet other wyes. Just make sure all gates are closed if not in use



There is no problem with wye's but Tee's are not a good idea unless you really have no choice.


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## cburdick1 (Jan 22, 2010)

Hah, I've got the exact system you are looking to build. HF Dust collector, modified to pull through a Thein baffle on a trash can, fed by 5" pipe. I have a thread detailing my design and baffle construction photos here: http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f32/hf-dust-collector-6-duct-41671/

Here's some pictures:









You can see the pipe feeding into the top of a Wye, with the other half of the wye being fed by a length of 5" flex hose, which I use to connect to the table saw, router, mortiser and downdraft table (to be built). The Wye then goes into a 9" piece of flex tube, then into the Thein. A piece of flex tube then exits the top of the Thein and goes into the HF blower. Eventually I'll mount the Filter/Bag support ring on the wall, but I'm too busy building cribs and such to do that right now. NOTE: I had to rotate the impeller housing on the HF blower so that I could mount it this way. IN it's original configuration, air exited the blower UP, which would have made the exit blow straight out into the room once wall mounted. I took the impeller housing and impeller off, removed some screws, rotated the housing and put it all back together, without any problems. 









Here's a better look at the intake side of the Thein. I don't have a gate on the top part of the Wye because each tool has a gate on that run of pipe. The Wye is held up by two bungee hangars that I made (see the next picture) and by a brace which holds up the blast gate.









I made these hangars from 7" wide strips of 3/4" ply about 8" long. I routed a 5-1/8" hole in the middle and cut the strip in half. I then drilled pocket screw holes to anchor the hangar to ceiling joists. The bungee is attached to the hangar by driving a 1-1/2" drywall screw into the hangar and tying the bungee to the screw. The bungee wraps around the cleat on this side as shown. I got the bungee pieces from a pickup truck hold-down thing that I bought at Home Depot for about $15.00. These hangars work like a charm and are awesome for putting the system together as it's easy to test fit pieces.

If you have any other questions, send me a message.


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## jg2259 (Oct 28, 2011)

Wow, thanks alot cburdick one. This really helps me out. I can't wait to get started


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

5" in and out of the baffle, then to a wye, and on to your ducting. FWIW, I placed my DC, and separator in the corner of the shop, (only place it wasn't in the way) and ducted it with 1 upper, and 1 lower 4" run using a 5x4x4 wye. Each run has multiple blast gates that service the machines.


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