# Dust separator question



## JayNy (Apr 8, 2019)

Hi, I'm new to the whole"forum" thing so bear with me here. I'm not sure if this is how I approach this question or if it had been answered before, but I'm wondering if there is a good place to put your separator. I mean closer to the collector, closer to the tool, in the middle, or if it doesn't matter at all. If there is an answer already if someone can point me in that direction or give me a good starting point I would appreciate it. Thanks in advance
-jay


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## johnep (Apr 12, 2007)

Have a look at some cyclone vacuum cleaners.
johnep


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## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

Welcome to the forum, Jay! Add your location to your profile so it shows in the side panel. That often helps us to help you.

Are you using a dust collector or a shop vac? How long are the runs, which tools do they service, etc.?

David


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## JayNy (Apr 8, 2019)

I'm using a 1hp dust collector, I don't have it hooked up to dedicated runs with blast Gates or anything. I have a small garage that I work out of by myself so for now I am just manually moving the hose to which ever machine I'm using. Also I have a generic dust deputy on a 5 gallon bucket. I'm just not sure how I should set it up
DC - 2' hose - separator - 10' hose - tool
Or if it would be better to have 
DC - 10' hose - separator - 2' hose - tool.


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## JayNy (Apr 8, 2019)

Sorry I have 10" jointer/planer, 10" table saw, 9"band saw, router table. Those are the main dust producers


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## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

I would place the separator close to the DC and then do the 10' run to your tools. We have a two-car garage shop and with our HF dust collector I just move a 20' hose to each tool, no separator yet.

Photos always help explain what you're doing and let's face it, we like to see shop photos! :grin:

David


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## JayNy (Apr 8, 2019)

Ok thanks I was just wondering if there was any "rule of thumb" to where the separator should go. I will take some pictures and post them when I get everything sorted out... Thanks again for the time and help


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## ORBlackFZ1 (Dec 25, 2013)

JayNy said:


> I'm using a 1hp dust collector, I don't have it hooked up to dedicated runs with blast Gates or anything. I have a small garage that I work out of by myself so for now I am just manually moving the hose to which ever machine I'm using. Also I have a generic dust deputy on a 5 gallon bucket. I'm just not sure how I should set it up
> DC - 2' hose - separator - 10' hose - tool
> Or if it would be better to have
> DC - 10' hose - separator - 2' hose - tool.


For the distance you are talking about, you probably won't see too much difference with either of your scenarios. The suction closest to the DC will produce the most CFM. The more hose you have the less CFM at the end of the hose, due to the friction inside your hose. 

I would suggest that your separator will work better with planer/jointer (assuming they are knife blades not spiral heads) with the shorter hose between the DC and separator. The bandsaw, tablesaw, etc, (which have smaller dust particles) probably won't make any difference with either scenario that you have suggested.

Why don't you try both ways with each machine and see if you can tell the difference? Then post back here your results. You will want to look for the amount of particles that make it through to your DC bag vs particles in your separator bucket for each combination of hose and tool. The scenario with the highest percentage of particles in the separator bucket is the best scenario for your shop.

Eric


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## regesullivan (Jan 26, 2007)

I'd bet for a small shop with short runs it doesn't make a measurable difference if the seperator is closer to the tool or closer to the collector. I've tried my seperator on the intake side and the exhaust side of the blower and there was no noticable difference. Just a little more racket from the bigger chips and the occasional chunk of wood hitting the impeller when it was on the exhaust side.


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## ORBlackFZ1 (Dec 25, 2013)

regesullivan said:


> I'd bet for a small shop with short runs it doesn't make a measurable difference if the seperator is closer to the tool or closer to the collector. I've tried my seperator on the intake side and the exhaust side of the blower and there was no noticable difference. Just a little more racket from the bigger chips and the occasional chunk of wood hitting the impeller when it was on the exhaust side.


Now, that is an interesting observation...thanks for posting. What tools did you use during your evaluation? Was there a difference when you used equipment that creates saw dust (i.e. table saw, bandsaw, router, planer with spiralhead, jointer with spiralhead, etc) vs equipment that creates larger debris (i.e. planer with knife blades, jointer with knife blades, hand planes, etc.)

Eric


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## Mark Jones Ozark (Feb 26, 2019)

If your plaining or jointing boards put the separator close to the tool. If it's light dust it makes little difference. The 4" dust deputy is great for the 1hp dust collector. A 2" dust deputy is good for a shop vac. I have both working and they work great. I am going to get a separator 35 gallon trash can with 2 elbows on it to put next to the Jointer and planer. I had that setup before and it worked great. 25 foot of 2" Pool hose on a Fast Cap reel allows the shop vac to cover the whole garage with out moving it. Rolls up fast and out of the way in seconds.


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