New Clear Vue Cyclone mini CV06 (pics)

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  • rlah
    Forum Newbie
    • Dec 2006
    • 73
    • Indiana
    • Craftsman 21829

    #1

    New Clear Vue Cyclone mini CV06 (pics)

    I took the plunge to get one of these 2 days ago. It looked like it operated quite well in their video... I think it's been discussed here with not all agreeing on it's price/performance benefits ($165 shipped). But the price wasn't out of my range and I liked the clear view it gives.

    I carried the "clear view" idea an extra step and hooked it up to a cheap Wal-Mart clear trash bucket (Sterilite 24 qt) with clear trash bag liner. Below are some pics of early experience. I cut some MDF on the bandsaw and swept the floor for a test run. I was pleased with the early results - glad I spent the money.

    The amount of vacuum with this Rigid 6.5 HP vac is enough to partially collapse the bucket walls. See last pic where I added a stiffening ring (10-3/4" dia) to help this. I'll have to stiffen the lid also since it too collapses a bit when the vac pulls hard... but it works even without stiffening so far.

    I like this setup for a small shop ... I don't have room for DC. A DC may only take up about the same floor space as this setup, but a DC takes up too much wall space for me. Also, it seemed to me that this unit's efficiency for capturing the small dust was important to keep the shop vac filter (Gore CleanStream Pro HEPA) from clogging and causing strain on the vac motor - I figured much better than other trash can lids work. (Maybe I believed Bill Pentz too much...)
    I'm still learning what others have done to plumb their shops with piping, wye's, drop-down connections, blast gates, etc. I'll try to figure out some way with regular plumbing parts until I can't get any further and then spend money ($$) on real DC plumbing.
    [I just realized I spent the money I was going to use to buy the Shark! O well, I just did it anyway... bought a Shark too - couldn't face Lee without doing this... :-) ]

    Comments / suggestions welcome.
    rlah
    Attached Files
  • LinuxRandal
    Veteran Member
    • Feb 2005
    • 4890
    • Independence, MO, USA.
    • bt3100

    #2
    Maybe you can answer the questions I had a while back.

    After going to Bill's site, and reading the blueprints for this, he set his up for a CENTRAL vac. (ie different size tube).

    What is the diameter of the outside circle? The inside circle? and the tube the vac hose hooks to?

    Since I am looking at getting some scrap metal from a friends company, I want to try to build and size one correctly. From what I have read, this one would be undersized, technically.
    She couldn't tell the difference between the escape pod, and the bathroom. We had to go back for her.........................Twice.

    Comment

    • rlah
      Forum Newbie
      • Dec 2006
      • 73
      • Indiana
      • Craftsman 21829

      #3
      Not sure exactly which diameters your asking about but here's some dimensions:

      Max OD of large vertical tube: 6"
      OD of round section of tube vac hose hooked to: 2-3/4"
      ID of inner tube: 2-3/4"

      Hope that helps... I suppose that's why I bought this thing... even though I have some sheet metal experience and some engineering background, there was too much science and building expertise for me to tackle it... so I bought it.

      Somebody showed an ebay deal on a metal cyclone... I wasn't sure of it's science and efficiency. I like this unit - so far anyway.

      rlah

      Comment

      • cgallery
        Veteran Member
        • Sep 2004
        • 4503
        • Milwaukee, WI
        • BT3K

        #4
        Neat!

        How clean was the shop vac and its filter before you used the cylone?

        Comment

        • siliconbauhaus
          Senior Member
          • Dec 2006
          • 925
          • hagerstown, md

          #5
          I've been very tempted to go this route....but by the time I add the cost of the cyclone and a new vac I'm in the HF DC league. why are those things so pricey ?
          パトリック
          daiku woodworking
          ^deshi^
          neoshed

          Comment

          • SARGE..g-47

            #6
            Interesting set-up, Riah. I do believe I will go over to the Pentz site and check it out. I just ordered a Penn State 2 1/2 HP cyclone two days ago as the final piece of the puzzle for my shop as I near retirement. I have been on the Pentz site and knew he had some type of home-spun cyclone, but was not aware that it ran off a 6.5 HP Shop Vac! Very interesting indeed...

            If you are having trouble with the can collapsing, you might want to look at the 35 gal. fiber drum PS.. Highland WW or several other sources sell. Not much more than what a metal can goes for these days.

            Regards...

            Comment

            • rlah
              Forum Newbie
              • Dec 2006
              • 73
              • Indiana
              • Craftsman 21829

              #7
              Originally posted by cgallery
              Neat!

              How clean was the shop vac and its filter before you used the cylone?
              I just cleaned the filter and the vac canister fairly well before this test so I could see how much dust was reaching it after the cyclone. Not much is getting through - although tapping the filter did raise some fine dust, probably the sub-5 micron stuff the cyclone doesn't catch.

              I wonder if this is how the Dyson home vacuum works to keep from clogging - maybe a bunch of little cyclones? :-) If Dyson can do it, why not Shop-Vacs?

              BTW, I did more testing last evening - planed several rough sawn boards smooth to make a lot of sawdust... the cyclone really works - what a pleasure to take off the lids of both devices and see virtually no dust in the vac. Good-bye to cleaning the filter so often! Can't wait to plumb the shop so I don't have to drag this rig around.

              Thx for lookin.
              rlah

              Comment

              • rlah
                Forum Newbie
                • Dec 2006
                • 73
                • Indiana
                • Craftsman 21829

                #8
                Originally posted by siliconbauhaus
                I've been very tempted to go this route....but by the time I add the cost of the cyclone and a new vac I'm in the HF DC league. why are those things so pricey ?
                Yes, the cyclone isn't cheap - more than many shop vacs... I guess the time was right for me. But like my BT3Craftsman, it wasn't only the cost factor but the space factor... I just don't have the space (floor space, wall space, shop space) for either a large table saw or a DC. I'll just have to live with the noise of a shop vac for now.

                I got the 6.5HP Ridgid vac for $30. Last Memorial Day, they were out of the sale priced unit, so they gave me the next bigger unit no extra charge... this price was after a $40 rebate. Look for Black Friday type sales...

                rlah

                Comment

                • rlah
                  Forum Newbie
                  • Dec 2006
                  • 73
                  • Indiana
                  • Craftsman 21829

                  #9
                  Originally posted by SARGE..g-47
                  Interesting set-up, Riah. I do believe I will go over to the Pentz site and check it out. I just ordered a Penn State 2 1/2 HP cyclone two days ago as the final piece of the puzzle for my shop as I near retirement. I have been on the Pentz site and knew he had some type of home-spun cyclone, but was not aware that it ran off a 6.5 HP Shop Vac! Very interesting indeed...

                  If you are having trouble with the can collapsing, you might want to look at the 35 gal. fiber drum PS.. Highland WW or several other sources sell. Not much more than what a metal can goes for these days.

                  Regards...
                  Thx for the comments Sarge. Yes, the Mini CV06 works with any 2-1/2" (actually 2-1/4") shop vac hose. I suppose it should have 4 HP or more to get good enough air flow. Ed Morgano's Clear Vue website has a very helpful photo gallery of user's setups for cyclones, most are of the larger units which were too big and expensive for me ($$ hundreds). But this mini unit seems the perfect fit for my small shop. Some of his photos show mini setups with a shop vac. There were no instructions that came with the unit but the photo gallery gives a good idea of how to install the unit.

                  I would like to have a larger cyclone setup like what you are getting but, since I don't have the space, this mini unit gives me the next best thing.

                  I'll check out the suggestion on the fiber drum... Thanks! rlah

                  Comment

                  • Brian G
                    Senior Member
                    • Jun 2003
                    • 993
                    • Bloomington, Minnesota.
                    • G0899

                    #10
                    I used a fiber drum for my homemade cyclone, which I powered by a 6.5 HP Shop Vac; now I have a HF DC. Within a year, the fiber drum suffered the same fate as what you're experiencing with the trash can. I think the on/off cycles eventually compromised the strength of the walls.

                    Consider finding a 55-gallon (or smaller) plastic barrel, like the type that carwash cleaners (hint ) come in. Sometimes you can find them for $20 or less.
                    Brian

                    Comment

                    • thestinker
                      Senior Member
                      • Oct 2005
                      • 613
                      • Fort Worth, TX, USA.

                      #11
                      Plumbing the shop?

                      So lets say you ran a line to the tale saw, one to the router, to the CMS ect...pluged your shop vac / cyclone into the appropriate pipe. Would this set up handle dust collecting of a hobby shop with the cyclone and a drum. I have access to all sorts of drums with easy on off lids, so that wont be a problem at all. Just before I shuck out 150+ bucks I want to know if my idea will work at all. I don't have a joier or planer so I'm not to worried about trying to keep up with those.

                      Riley
                      Awww forget trying to fix it!!!! Lets just drink beer

                      Comment

                      • aluminumfury
                        Forum Newbie
                        • Sep 2006
                        • 24

                        #12
                        Here's a plan from Bill Pentz's website.The dimesions look really close to the Clearvue unit.
                        http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyc...VacuumPlan.cfm

                        I had never given one of these a thought until I saw a video demo of a guy vacuming up a big pile of sawdust with one.Almost none of the sawdust made it to the filter.

                        Now I think I'm gonna try my hand at building one out of sheet metal.

                        Comment

                        • cgallery
                          Veteran Member
                          • Sep 2004
                          • 4503
                          • Milwaukee, WI
                          • BT3K

                          #13
                          Originally posted by aluminumfury
                          Here's a plan from Bill Pentz's website.The dimesions look really close to the Clearvue unit.
                          http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyc...VacuumPlan.cfm

                          I had never given one of these a thought until I saw a video demo of a guy vacuming up a big pile of sawdust with one.Almost none of the sawdust made it to the filter.

                          Now I think I'm gonna try my hand at building one out of sheet metal.
                          That video was interesting. But I never could find any information about what they were vacuuming. If it was MDF dust, it was pretty impressive. If it was oak/pine from a table saw, not quite as impressive.

                          Video located here:
                          http://clearvuecyclones.com/ShopVacVideoSmall.wmv

                          Comment

                          • dlminehart
                            Veteran Member
                            • Jul 2003
                            • 1829
                            • San Jose, CA, USA.

                            #14
                            For 55 gallon heavy duty plastic drums, visit a local printer that has a big web press (used for newspapers and such). Often they'll use a product essentially the same as Armorall (ours used ZEP or something) for some purpose like coating plates or rollers, and they buy it in barrels which they'll go through every month or so. It's water soluble so, unlike barrels that have contained inks or other products, it's easy to clean out for your separator use. I bet you could pick it up for nothing or next to nothing.
                            - David

                            “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” -- Oscar Wilde

                            Comment

                            • rlah
                              Forum Newbie
                              • Dec 2006
                              • 73
                              • Indiana
                              • Craftsman 21829

                              #15
                              Originally posted by cgallery
                              That video was interesting. But I never could find any information about what they were vacuuming. If it was MDF dust, it was pretty impressive. If it was oak/pine from a table saw, not quite as impressive.
                              The first test I did was bandsawing some MDF - not a lot, but what you see in my picture is mostly the MDF dust from this. I was impressed. I'll want to try running this off my orbital sander ... that should be an "acid test". I'll to to get to this in the next few days and post.

                              rlah

                              Comment

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