Central Dust Collection Systems

[Dave Anderson]

Hi All,

Quick question....does anyone have any experience with small shop central dust collection systems? If so, do you have any recommendations with respect to brand, set up, configuration, & etc? You see them a lot in wood working shops, but are they, or could they be, effective in a framebuilding shop, especially considering the difference in material being used (ie..metal debris vs wood dust, etc)?

I'm always, sawing, filing, sanding, grinding, & etc and, though I sweep and clean up regularly, dust builds up on on pretty much everything. (Not to mention in my lungs, probably). I am therefore wondering if a dust collection system would help keep my shop cleaner.

Also, do ceiling mounted air filtration systems like this make a difference:

JET Tools - AFS-1000B, 1000 CFM Air Filtration System, 3-Speed, with Remote Control

Thank you very much for any advise!

Dave

[EnginCycles]

Dave,
My take on this situation.

One thing I did that made HUGE improvements was remove all abrasives from my main shop. The only thing that remains is the dynafile and basic shop roll. Grinders, belt sanders, disc sander, polishing equipment, cut off saw and especially the angle grinder have been placed in a dedicated "dirt room". I get that this is not something that everyone can do. At a minimum I would have a little 10x10 space blocked off with a plastic curtain as an entrance to keep those abrasives in one place. The shop became much much cleaner without those abrasives. I still clean up once a week and get crazy amounts of dirt but it is probably half what it was before the dirt room. The Acetylene dust is the worst on the planet. That stuff is like the plaque and if I ever find the time I will install my overhead hood with filters. When I clean the dirt room it is a heck of a chore.

My buddy that is a cabinet maker is amazed how willing metal workers are to get their hands dirty (which makes sense since a hand print on wood is WAY worse). It is so much easier to control wood dust compared to metal chips.

-Drew

[hmbatrail]

Dave,
I mounted a 2HP Jet dust vac in the attic of the shop and ran it directly to the fuse panel with a dedicated circuit. I mounted 4" duct ports through the ceiling and installed blast gates at various places. I have a 10" X 24" box that I installed and run the duct to the back of it if I am brazing or anything that produces particles that float. I can move the box around the room and it seems to work well. I also use it if I am doing any sort of woodworking as each of the major tools has a dust port that I can hook up.

What I plan to add very soon is a ceiling mounted air filter. Like the smoke eaters you see in bars. They collect particles and move air nicely.

[Craig Ryan]

I have a ceiling mounted one like you linked to Dave. I don't use it all the time, but if I have the doors and windows closed for environmental reasons I turn it on. I can create fine dust, wear a mask, and not worry. By the time I'm done grinding I can take the mask off and it has pretty much done it's job. It makes a white noise that I don't like, so I don't generally have it on unless I'm grinding. If you're in a confined space it may help get the little stuff you can't see which may be dangerous. My shop is small so it works pretty fast. I don't have room for a point of use collection system, so can't speak for that.

[Dave Anderson]

Thanks guys!! I really appreciate the advice.

Drew...curtains are a good idea. I do not have the space for a separate room, but I bet clear paint shop type curtains around my grinding and polishing station area would help for sure. Yeah...Acetylene soot is the worst...it actually sticks to stuff and then smears when you try to wipe it off :-(

Tim...I assume that you go into the attic to change the bags every so often then?....or do you vent outside somehow...more like an exhaust set up? I was thinking that perhaps a downdraft table, of sorts, could be integrated into my bench below where I do all of my filing and sanding and under or around my grinders and etc...and then plumbed into a vac system like you have or something.

Craig..Thanks! I thought that those filters looked like they might help, but did not know how good they are...I'm not too worried about noise. My exhaust fan is crazy loud and I'm more that a little hard of hearing anyway :-) ...I wonder how long the filters will last.

Dave

[datas_brother]

I don't work with metal much but carbon dust is a problem in my shop. It gets everywhere and is electrically conductive. To reduce that I use a high powered Shopvac with a micro-particle filter. I keep the intake nozzle close to where I'm sanding and manage to collect about 98 % of what I produce. Since I'm moving shop soon I'll have the opportunity to make some changes. I'll being enclosing it in a sound box and adding an additional exhaust filter to that (maybe with the exhaust outside). I will also use a load activated switch so it only runs when my tools are on.

I've tried tooling with a vacuum attachment but they surprisingly don't catch as much dust as having the nozzle on the side. I might add a splitter so both can be done at the same time.

A question for the painters along the same lines: what volume do you need to move to collect paint fog when spraying a frame?

[hmbatrail]

Thanks guys!! I really appreciate the advice.

Tim...I assume that you go into the attic to change the bags every so often then?....or do you vent outside somehow...more like an exhaust set up? I was thinking that perhaps a downdraft table, of sorts, could be integrated into my bench below where I do all of my filing and sanding and under or around my grinders and etc...and then plumbed into a vac system like you have or something.
Dave

Bingo. It exhausts out to the alley with a duct stubbed through the wall. I am not drawing out much solid material just dust, fumes, etc so no bag is really necessary. If I am doing woodworking then yes, I have a two stage bag system that I use. When I paint I run the duct through a plenum I built in the attic and I have primary stage filters in the booth to pull paint and fumes out as well.

[JuanGrande]

Dave, where I learned to braze at UC Davis, they had a central air collection system that was amazing. Basically each welding station and abrasive station had a separate duct - for example, when I would light my torch, I would aim towards the moveable vent and it would suck the acetylene soot away. A friend gave me a squirrel cage fan system that he used for wood working - uses standard central air filters. My plan is to mount it in a window to exhaust outside and to setup two or three movable hoses to collect dust/soot.

JC