Dust Collector.

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great12b4ever

great12b4ever

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Houston, Texas, USA.
Well I finally did it. I went out today and bought a 1500 CFM shop Dust collector. Been using the little shop vacs, when I remembered to, but decided it was time to do it right. I plan on running 2 - 4" PVC headers, then dropping down to my various machines. My biggest users joiner, planer, table saw, router table, and radial arm saw are close to the dust collector so my 30' and 20' runs won't be excessive. My question is whether it is necessary to wrap the PVC headers with the braided copper wire to eliminate static electricity and the fine dust build up on the pipes or not. What do you think??
 
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http://www.woodcraft.com/articles.aspx?articleid=281

and from some guy, who lists a lot of references...

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/rodec/woodworking/articles/DC_myths.html#myths
 
Thanks for the links Robert. It was interesting reading and now I am even more confused. Earlier this year I went into the Houston Woodcrafters store and talked to them about dust collection. They took me to their class room and showed me their set-up, which was a 700 CFM dust collector, and they also ran PVC Pipe for the ducts. What I first noticed was that the Ducts all had a very fine coating of red saw-dust on the pipes, which I was told was due to them not wrapping the PVC pipe. I agree that metal is probably better, but I need to watch my $, after spenidng over $800 today. So I think I will wrap the outside with wire and foil, and run wires thru the inside and screws through the walls of the ducts to minimize the dust build up

Rob
 
If you can get the metal pipe from Home Depot and use metal step-downs to fit your hoses, then that is the easiest way to eliminate any static. Just be sure that you keep a constant ground from point to point when mounting to the wall. Also, it is definitely worth the trouble to seal ALL the joints with the mastic (Like caulking) to eliminate the leaks at all the joints, and along all the seams of the piping.

PVC makes the joint sealing a breeze, but the downside is that static increases with the use of plastics.

I have the cyclone lids on galvanized metal trash cans at every major source of dust and shavings. So far I have yet to empty my JET canister vacuum more than one time in three years of having installed it. The trash cans are far easier to empty as they do not require any disassembly to reach the bags. The cyclone lids fit onto a 30 gallon metal can and have a danged good seal. A plastic can will be collapsed by the vacuum so don't even waste your time with trying to use them. Woodcraft has two sizes of cyclone lids and the bigger one is what I have been using with success.

Be sure to check the info at the site George posted and the one that Robert posted also. There seems to be a vast amount of information on dust collection and static dangers and the reading will develop many new questions. Read all you can prior to making any decisions. [:D]
 
When I first set up my 2300 cfm collector, I hadn't ground the system. After a few uses and some chip and dust traveling through the tubes, it was like an electric chair at the penitentiary. That thing jolted me so hard my hair curled. The first time I leaned against a section of collector tubing and touched the table of the saw,,,"POW". It happened a few times through my jeans and even once through the toe of my tennies. Needless to say, I had it grounded quickly. My 46 year old heart can't take too much of that stuff.
Hope this helps.
 
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