Dust Collector Cyclone Lids

[Stagecraft]

Wondering if anybody here has tried installing one of these cyclonic lids inline between their SB and dust collector.
ZDo they really work? Link http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=30282&cat=1,42401&ap=1

[COBOB]

I have one. It is wonderful. It takes the big chunks out that breaks impellers and pokes holes in the bag. Of course I am using this dust collector for a lot more then CNC. I hope no chunks that big come off the machine. The cyclone is collecting the bigger chips off of the CNC. That must mean my feeds and speeds are good, huh?

[Brady Watson]

Yes - they really work...and reduces the number of times you have to empty the bag(s) on the collector.

-B

[dana_swift]

I used a cyclone lid on a trash can for quite a while when my SB was new. It works well as Brady says, however the amount of dust collected is still failrly low compared to a full size cyclone dust collector. I ended up upgrading and giving away the cyclone lid and trash can to a friend for his shop.

The problem I had was- a regular trash can cannot tolerate the vacuum pressure generated by the shop-vac. So the can would collapse. I ended up making some re-inforcement rings on the SB and solved the problem. I have tried metal, plastic, heavy duty cans, etc. By the time the trash can is full sized there is so much surface area for the vacuum to act on the thing just crumples without reinforcement.

Now on the positive side watching a shop vac collapse a trash can was kind of fun to watch! It makes a good show for visitors :)

When you have lemons.. make lemonade!

The reinforcement rings (2 of them in the trash can) stopped the problem.

D

[dana_swift]

I have attached the Aspire file for making the trash can hoops. Note you need both an 18" ring and a 19" ring because the trash can is tapered. My trash can was a 33gallon metal one. If yours is a different size you will need to adjust the hoop sizes.

The hoops are designed as two layers of semicircles, the upper layer is rotated 90 degrees from the lower layer so they support each others joints.

The bottom semi-circles have holes for 1/4" barbed TNuts. The upper semi-circles have 1/4" bolt clearance holes. That is how the thing gets assembled. Beyond that its just press fit into the trash can.

Good luck, and with the usual lack of warranty and support-

Offered as "Beerware"..

D

[Stagecraft]

Thanks fellas'...Dana, thank-you for the file.
Hadn't even thought about the trashcan collapsing!

[carl_vallance]

I built my own from this
http://www.woodcraft.com/Articles/Articles.aspx?articleid=408
I use two trash cans with this lid and collect 90% of dust and trash before it gets to my dust bag.

[br928]

You guys really need to check out this guy's site. http://www.cgallery.com/jpthien/cy.htm

The Thien Cyclone Separator Lid w/ the Thien Cyclone Separator Baffle

Jerry built one for his dust collector a said it worked great.

[fozzyber]

I built a thein and it does work great, it is almost too good to be true, best $30 and 2 hours I have spent.
I did a table surface of mdf, and got about 1/4 teaspoon of dust in the DC bag....

[jerry_stanek]

I built one and it does work very good. The only stuff that dets to my dust bag is very fine MDF dust and some pink foam dust

[br928]

I am sure all you guys that built one from his design sent him a donation for his R & D. Right? 30 bucks is a lot cheaper than the ones you can buy that only work marginally as well. At least send him what you saved in shipping cost.

[backyard_cnc]

For those using a cyclone lid with a shop vac you must drill a 3/4" "bleed" hole near the inlet to the lid to prevent a complete vacuum from occuring and collapsing the can. This is outlined in the LEE VALLEY instruction sheet it is not required with dust collectors only with shop vacuums.

I use my cyclone lid currently on a very stiff barrel and don't have the bleed hole but originally I tested on a plastic Rubbermaid garbage pail which it collapsed regularly. If you plug the hose and don't have a bleed hole you can actually "invert" the lid into the can as well! It occurs with a very startling bang :-) Scared the beejeezis out of me first time it happened!

gerald

[jTr]

Although on the higher end of price scale, this should be considered to convert your double bagger - my review and photo at this site explains:

http://www.amazon.com/Cyclone-CYCLONE-4-Separator/dp/B000V20BNI/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1336085903&sr=8-4

[knight_toolworks]

investing on the cardboard cans is worthwhile the lids seal better and they don't collapse. here is another way to go.
http://www.oneida-air.com/inventoryD.asp?item_no=AXD000010&CatId={428A1AFA-E859-459E-8BF9-47817428D9AF}

[Mike Windsor]

I've had the colapsing garbage cans as well . --I recently bought one of these : http://www.busybeetools.com/products/THE-DUST-DEPUTY-CYCLONE-ONEIDA.html --and it is far superior to the cyclone lid . -I have have on my bandsaw and no dust makes it to the vacuum now . I used to have to unplug the pleated filter on the shopvac once a day before I installed this .

[Ajcoholic]

I've had the colapsing garbage cans as well . --I recently bought one of these : http://www.busybeetools.com/products/THE-DUST-DEPUTY-CYCLONE-ONEIDA.html --and it is far superior to the cyclone lid . -I have have on my bandsaw and no dust makes it to the vacuum now . I used to have to unplug the pleated filter on the shopvac once a day before I installed this .

I have the "Ultimate Dust Deputy" for my Festool dust extractor. Wowsers! That Oneida unit REALLY does the trick.

I bought a General bucket & lid thing I tried first with my shop vac but it let a lot of dust through to the filter bag. The Oneida unit stops almost all fine dust before it gets to the vac.

I also have the 2nd largest Oneida cyclone hooked up to my central dust collector (a Belfab 7.5hp unit). It also made a HUGE difference in the performance. I am sold on the Oneida products.

Busy Bee also sells the exact same unit as the General one, with a blue lid instead of orange - for the $40 it costs I wouldnt waste my $$. The $100 you will spend on the Oneida unit will be worth it.

AJC

[knight_toolworks]

I've had the colapsing garbage cans as well . --I recently bought one of these : http://www.busybeetools.com/products/THE-DUST-DEPUTY-CYCLONE-ONEIDA.html --and it is far superior to the cyclone lid . -I have have on my bandsaw and no dust makes it to the vacuum now . I used to have to unplug the pleated filter on the shopvac once a day before I installed this .
I finally bought one once I had a fein for actual vacuuming. my only complaint is the height it is almost as tall as my cnc table.

[adrianm]

I use these - http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-axminster-extender-hood-prod21891/

Cheap and work perfectly. No dust at all in the chips and shavings.

[GlenP]

Here is another source for dust deputy in Canada. Great place to buy from. Free shipping in Canada for over $50....what tool store do we spend less than $50 in...:D
http://www.elitetools.ca/en/product/axd000004-oneida-dust-deputy-deluxe/

[mrdovey]

For those willing to build their own, I have photos of a DIY cyclone built entirely from recycled materials for use with a ShopVac at http://www.iedu.com/ww/MiniCyclone

At the same time that I ordered my PRT, I bought a bag-type dust collector from Harbor Freight and two lids from Lee Valley. I used two 55-gallon barrels to capture the dust, and ten years later the bags were still empty. You can see a small photo of that lash-up at http://www.iedu.com/ww (right below the photo of the ShopVac mini-cyclone).

Enjoy! :)

[dlcw]

Very nice. I like it and have been thinking about building a cyclone for a 55 gallon drum for my Shopbot which is connected to a Harbor Freight 2.5hp dust collector.

Lots of MDF cutting and am tired of dealing with bags of MDF chips and dust. Would rather be able to use my front loader to pick up the barrel and take it to the burn pile.

[mrdovey]

Don...

If you can afford the space, I suggest adding a second drum. I found that each separator would capture somewhat more than 90% of the dust it received - so that the first drum would catch all of the larger chips and most of the dust, and the second would capture nearly all of the very fine dust.

It's important to empty the drums when they're about half to 2/3 full for the cyclone action to work properly - but if you do that, the second drum will fill much more slowly and overall performance will be much better.

I bought the clear Lee Valley lids. They work well and make it easy to check the dust levels, but if I'd known then what I've learned since I would have made my own out of plywood (with clear plastic viewports) and saved half of what I spent.