dust collector setup

[Tom7227]

I bought a Delta dust collector and I am thinking about setting up a manifold system. I have a three car attached garage at the basement level. The collector has to stay in the garage because of the noise.

I will be using it in the garage with a table saw, a miter saw, a band saw and a router. Inside the house it will be used only for whatever mess I can create while carving decoys.

I would like to have a drop in the middle of the third stall and another inside the basement work room. There would be about a 30-35 foot manifold needed with at least 3 90 degree fittings and probably a T to get around the garage doors. There is a basement window between the garage and the basement and I can easily take out a window pane and get the manifold into the basement using a piece of plywood. Should I put some sort of clean out on the ends at the 90's or isn’t that needed? I plan on mounting the pipe securely to the garage ceiling which is only 7 feet high. Cradle it with pipe strap to I can take it apart or something more substantial?

Can I use the lighter white 4 inch pipe or do I have to go with the heavy white or black? Can I dry fit it or should I glue it. Do I use 4 inch, 3 inch or 2 inch flex lines for the drops? Rockler wants $26 for a 10 foot piece of the 4 inch and that seems high to me but I don’t know of any alternatives.

A concern is that I am creating a fire breach when I go into the house. The glass window isn’t much but it has to be better than a 4 inch hole. Is this a concern or am I looking for a problem to solve?

This is a lot of questions and so please know that I will appreciate the time it takes to answer.

Thanks.

Tom

[jmd1]

so not really knowing how your set up is, the manifold would be ok i think but one question that hits is what do you do with the static electricity that is built up? We have huge collector systems in our plant and you can get one heck of a kick if it is running and you ground yourself out. You could put ground straps on it, the plastic pipe will create a huge static problem i think.

If you go with the metal, you could tie a ground wire to each piece at the sections, and then find a sufficient ground to earth.

One way we cut down on static is to use downey or other anti static laundry liquid. I wonder depending on how much dust you are going to make if you could us a bounce bar in the system someplace?

Good luck i will be interested in your final fix.

[CAMAN]

Yes you can use the light-weight pvc since it isn't under pressure. Straps should be fine just fasten ever 3-4 feet. I would glue just because pvc doesn't fully seat itself unless it has been cleaned and glued, and those lips and grooves can cause a lot of friction and clogs.

You don't really need clean outs but they are always a good idea ahead of locations that look like they may cause a jam. Also use the largest sweep on the 90s you can find to prevent most issues with clogging and you will also have better airflow.

Jmd has a good point with the static, most people wrap the pvc in a bare copper wire the length if the run and ground it at each end. I believe you can also place the wire inside the length of the run but the sounds like a place that can cause clogs/hangups.

I'm not sure what laws are regarding holes from garage to living space but remember each hole you create is another place CO can get in. And also if you are running a dust collector the house will need to make up the air it is losing from the vacuum and that will be from water heater and furnace flues allowing CO to be vented directly into your home. I personally would not do it and would just have a small shop vac near your carving station.

I probably missed a bunch of your questions but I need to run.

[my4x4yj]

I agree with Caman on not putting the run into the house, you can rough cut the pieces to size in the garage by power tool then use the shop vac to clean up the smaller shavings in the house. The pipe at Rockler is high priced because it is designed just for what you are going to use it for with a ground wire molded in, I used 4" steal duct work with the flex hose at the collector and each tool in my shop so have the continuous ground and I also recommend a gate shut off to each run to increase suction in one used as those not being used are shut down. The only thing that should hang up in the system is longer pieces that cant get around a bend or are too heavy to be lifted in the system. That is the beauty of the duct work I can take each joint apart and clean or move it if I want to change the location of a tool as it is only screwed together and duct taped.

[hydro]

I'll second a couple of things here. First do not pull air out of the house to the dust collector in the garage Bite the bullet and put the collector in the house. When you pull air from the heated house, you will waste heating $$, and you will back draft your furnace which can be dangerous. Second, where you use PVC pipe for dust collection you must use a bare metal drain wile along the pipe to remove the static that will build up. You do not need to wrap it around the pipe, just tape it down so that the wire contacts the entire length of the system, then ground it to an outlet ground wire at the dust collector.

Check out Grizzly dot Com for system components and flex hoses. They have a nice selection.

[Tom7227]

Thanks for the input. Based on what I have read I don't think the juice is worth the squeeze. I can do the carving that causes the big mess in the heated garage and avoid the hassles you guys have brought up.

Thanks again.