New Clear Vue Cyclone mini CV06 (pics)

[rlah]

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

I think this setup would be perfect for your selection of power tools if 1) you use them enough and 2) the price doesn't put you off. For small usage needs, it's OK to just use a HEPA filter and clean it occasionally. It's just such a pain to do this chore and I don't alway put my dust mask on when I'm cleaning the shop-vac out.
I think I would have bought this unit sooner had I known how well it works. Good luck to those who are looking to build their own. I would like to see pics of working home-built units.
I'm looking into plumbing my shop with 4" DC type piping with 4"->2-1/2" adapters at each station... seems you can get piping, fittings and adapters fairly economically off Amazon... I'll check our the Rockler / Woodcraft stores this week when I'm in Indy.

In fact this thing works so well that I might consider moving my workshop from the garage to the basement some day... less heating and cooling needed. I'll have to see how it works out this year.

rlah

[rlah]

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.

Funny thing, I work in sales for a print shop - but not a big web press... I'll have to ask the boss about some kind of containers he might know about... but large drums take up so much floor space... as mentioned before, my shop ain't big.

Thx for the suggestion! rlah

[rlah]

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.

I'll keep an eye out for some alternate drums like you suggested... Thanks.

How did you like your homemade cyclone? Did it catch most of the dust? the fine dust?

rlah

[thestinker]

I think this setup would be perfect for your selection of power tools if 1) you use them enough and 2) the price doesn't put you off. For small usage needs, it's OK to just use a HEPA filter and clean it occasionally. It's just such a pain to do this chore and I don't alway put my dust mask on when I'm cleaning the shop-vac out.

Hey thanks rlah...I am bad about cleaning the shop vac filter and thats kind of what I was thinking. I really don't have the space for a dedicated cyclone dust collector set up, or the several hundred dollars it would take to get one that will filter out the real bad stuff.

Riley

[Slik Geek]

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.

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.

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.

A possible source for free barrels, both fiber and metal, are local manufacturers which build laminate-based products, such as countertops, or adhesive distributors. They generally buy adhesives by the barrel, and usually have a surplus of barrels that they would gladly give away rather than pay for disposal. No cleanup is necessary.

The unused adhesive that clings to the inside of the fiber barrel tends to form a hard, plastic coating, resulting in a stronger enclosure than most plastic or fiber-alone barrels would provide.

[Martin]

some manufacturers recommend drilling a relief hole in the cyclone lid.

When using the cyclone lid from Woodcraft and Lee Valley with a shop vacuum, the set-up instructions recommend a 3/4 inch relief hole be drilled in the lid to avoid collasping the galvanized trash can. I severly bent my trash can before drilling the relief hole.

[Brian G]

I'll keep an eye out for some alternate drums like you suggested... Thanks.

How did you like your homemade cyclone? Did it catch most of the dust? the fine dust?

rlah

I should clarify; it was more like a chip collector with cyclonic action. I used to have a thread about it, but it was purged with the forum changeover. I can dig up some pics if you'd like. It wasn't anything overly special.

It worked very well, and caught most of the dust. I used a 35-gal fiber drum. When it got to about 2/3 full, I had to empty it because it would start to fill the Shop Vac. I also used 4" hose, and short runs. You're looking at the bottom of it.

[aluminumfury]

Hey Rlah,
I finished up my cyclone.I was really inspired by the video on the clearvue site,but I am pretty strapped for cash so I knew the only way I'd own one is to build it.
I originally wanted to make it out of metal,but I had a bunch of clear pipe and blast gates from a Craftsman shop vac dust collection setup.
I also liked the idea of seeing the stuff moving around inside

The only thing I bought was a clear storage container from HobbyLobby it was $5.The taper part of the funnel is a cut down Blitz Super Funnel that I had lying around.

I built the air ramp spiral out of a scrap piece of plexi and all of the pieces that make up the body are acryliced together with a powder/liquid combo that is used to make orthodontic retainers.

At one point I threw all of the pieces in the garbage,and decided to just buy one.
But,on my wife's advice,i fished everything out the next morning and put it together.

Anyway,here it is.Rube Goldberg would be proud.





I can't believe how great it works.I can only imagine how much better a properly designed setup like the clearvue must work.Mine doesn't have the square intake,and I eyeballed alot of the measurements. But I have been vacuming up everything for a couple of days now,and I can say that I would never want to use my vac without something like this again.

It really keeps almost everything out of the filter.I figured that it would pass the fine dust,but somehow it really seems to keep the fine dust in the bucket.
If there are any paper pieces in the debris,that seems to make it through to the vac.I guess the larger surface area might account for that.

[rlah]

Hey Rlah,
I finished up my cyclone.I was really inspired by the video on the clearvue site,but I am pretty strapped for cash so I knew the only way I'd own one is to build it. ........ It really keeps almost everything out of the filter.I figured that it would pass the fine dust,but somehow it really seems to keep the fine dust in the bucket.
If there are any paper pieces in the debris,that seems to make it through to the vac.I guess the larger surface area might account for that.

Wow! What ingenuity! Sounds like your unit is picking up fine dust like my Clear-Vue cyclone. I am just amazed at how well this thing is working. And like you...

I can say that I would never want to use my vac without something like this again.

I am still using the same clear bucket shown in my pics... seems to work well enough for now until I can make something better like your bucket.
rlah

[aluminumfury]

Here's a picture I took tonight after using my cyclone hooked to the dust port on my BT3100 off and on throughout the day.I have a Shark Guard,but I didn't use any collection on it,just the port on the back of the saw.
I was cutting a bunch of small pieces of 3/4 oak ply for a project I'm working on.The vac has a cleanstream filter that had only been used by my brother to vac out a used car he bought the other day.Other than a little dirt the filter was pretty clean.

After all of the cuts,this is what I ended up with:



The picture is deceiving,because the sawdust is almost 4" at its deepest point in the bucket.The filter really dosen't have any noticeable sawdust on it.

One thing that is sort of strange is the buildup of really fine dust on the underside of the lid and on the outside of the cone.It seems fairly packed on there,and it is super fine dust.
With the clear bucket you have,are you able to see what is happening in the collection bucket?Do you get the same kind of buildup under the lid?


I think I'm going to have to look around for a large clear container because I am really curious as to how things are moving around inside.

[rlah]

One thing that is sort of strange is the buildup of really fine dust on the underside of the lid and on the outside of the cone.It seems fairly packed on there,and it is super fine dust.
With the clear bucket you have,are you able to see what is happening in the collection bucket?Do you get the same kind of buildup under the lid?
I think I'm going to have to look around for a large clear container because I am really curious as to how things are moving around inside.

I get some buildup of fine dust on the underside of my lid ... I figure it's electrostatic charge causing it to cling... there seems to be a lot of charge around the plastic components... my hair gets pulled towards them when I work around the cyclone.

I have been using my drum sander the last 2 days with 220 grit paper - a lot of *very* fine dust. The cyclone picks up nearly all of this dust... there is only a very fine layer of dust on my Gore Cleanstream filter so far. I'll probably knock off this dust in the next week or so just to see how fine it is.

I'm not sure where you could get a larger clear container that's strong enough to hold up under the vacuum... although my container and bag are somewhat clear, I can't see much because the dust clings to all surfaces of the bag. I tried finding a free source for a larger drum but no luck so far. But I'm satisfied with my setup for now... until I can figure out how to plumb my shop efficiently.

rlah