What do you use for DC plumbing?

[3thumbs]

I have been using a 4" flexible hose , and moving the DC around the garage, but I'd like to do some plumbing, wire for 220, and make the DC stationary.
I've seen furnace tubing used, but I don't know how it is terminated. I find lots of schedule 40 PVC, and drain tubing, but that stuff is too heavy, as far as I'm concerned. Schedule 20 would work better, but it is hard to find. What do you seasoned guys use?

[jonmulzer]

S&D pipe. Sewer and drain. I have not plumbed a system where I live at now but since I work in the industry I have squirreled away enough S&D pipe to plumb a small factory for when I do!

[Relative]

How about using the 4" thick cardboard center from rugs? Free at HD or Lowes when empty. They vary in thickness so pick a good one. I use them for short runs.

Mike

[dbhost]

I dunno about your part of the country, but around these parts, but S&D PVC is plentiful at everywhere that sells plumbing supplies in both 4" and 6" sizes...

I don't have the DC itself yet, but I do have the plumbing I want planned. I am wanting to get a Delta 50-760 ASAP.... The plumbing I am planning on using is...

S&D solid 4" in 20' joints, no bell end. (Local Ace Hardware stocks this, chances are you will be stuck with 10' bell end joints unless you have a good plumbing supply near you...). Make sure you have an extra 10' joint after your runs to cut up for nipples, you will most likely need them...

LONG radius 90s for anywhere a 90 is needed.

SANITARY TEE anywhere a tee is needed to help smooth airflow, such as branches to blast gates.

Branch Wyes anywhere a wye is needed.

Strap hangers and lag bolts.

Rockler 4" S&D to 4" DC adapters.

4" blast gates. Not certain about which ones. I am thinking, probably incorrectly, that I can use the HF blast gates and get good service from them as long as I keep them reasonably clean...

As short as is possible for sections of hose to run from blast gates to the tool in use.

The fewer the bends, and the less the ribbed hose you have in your system, the better your flow. And remember to CLOSE the blast gates you finished using. On my shop vac based system I left the blast gate for the table saw open and went to use the band saw, took me a while, and a cloud of dust to figure out why my DC wasn't working quite right....

[JR]

+1 on S&D.

JR

[John Hunter]

I used S&D when I put in my DC. It is a lot lighter weight than the PVC and easy to work with. Picked it up at my local Lowes.

[OldChipper]

Been following this post with interest, I notice no one mentioned static electricity, local Fire Marshall warned me not to use anything but metal without a ground wire! Thats why I haven't used my PVC yet!
Wire must be inside pipe to do any good, which can cause clogs. How you fellows getting around that?

[John Hunter]

Been following this post with interest, I notice no one mentioned static electricity, local Fire Marshall warned me not to use anything but metal without a ground wire! Thats why I haven't used my PVC yet!
Wire must be inside pipe to do any good, which can cause clogs. How you fellows getting around that?

Saw that episode of the Myth Busters where they tried to get enough of a charge to cause a fire. They couldn't build up hardly any charge even using a sand blaster. JMO but I don't think that in the amount used in a shop with a 2 HP DC it is any real problem.

[Tom Slick]

I've wondered about the static electricity myself. The issue I noticed with the mythbusters is they didn't take humidity into account. a nice cold dry winter day allows for more static electricity than a warm humid spring day.
In a home shop it is probably not an issue. i wouldn't use plastic in an industrial setting.

[twistsol]

I've never done it with sawdust, but many years ago I was cleaning toner out of a laser printer that had a leaky cartridge and blew up a perfectly good shop vac. It split the canister down the side and other than being really loud, the only other issue was black toner in every nook and cranny of the office. It could be debated whether it was a static spark or intermittent sparks from the motor that caused the explosion.

Soapbox on
On a side note, Myth busters really annoys me. It requires an astonishing amount of arrogance for them to believe that if they can't do it, it must be impossible.
Soapbox off

[twistsol]

I forgot to answer the original question.

I use the heavy gauge steel 4" or 5" heating pipes. I have a $20 crimper and DC fittings fit over the crimped ends easily. The metal pipe is permanently installed and grounded. I use plastic flex pipe to run to the individual tools.

[lebomike]

I have a friend that almost burned his house down using PVC for his dust collection system in basement. He built a new system and has everythig very well grounded. The fire chief said it was defiantely from the static in the DC pipe. So I do not have my DC piped as of now,however when I do it will be very well grounded also.

[cgallery]

I have a friend that almost burned his house down using PVC for his dust collection system in basement. He built a new system and has everythig very well grounded. The fire chief said it was defiantely from the static in the DC pipe. So I do not have my DC piped as of now,however when I do it will be very well grounded also.

This PVC/static thing has been debated to death on numerous woodworking forums and I've never heard of any actual evidence of anyone having had a problem w/ PVC.

If the PVC/static problem were to occur, it would likely manifest itself as a very loud explosion, not just a fire.

And it is entirely possible that if the debris within the pipes had hit the critical mass to cause this, that picking up a screw or other piece of metal that, in turn, hit the impeller, could have triggered an explosion. I don't know how the fire chief could say with certainty that it was static.

I'm not doubting you or your friend's account. Just making a couple of observations.

It would be interesting to see if there was an official report written about the fire. It may change the thinking of many people that think PVC is harmless (including my own).

[LarryG]

I also use the green S&D piping -- ASTM 3034, to be specific -- and the matching white styrene fittings. The latter are not only the correct ID size to fit the green pipe but are a ton cheaper than PVC, at least in my neck 'o the woods.

My system currently has the cheapo black plastic blast gates installed. I have a box full of Lee Valley's nice metal gates, awaiting the complete re-do of the system I will do soon. The plastic gates work so-so if you keep them clean, but in most shops that ends up being a big "if." Further, the sliding gate doesn't clear the opening completely, which only makes things in a marginal 4" system worse.

As has been mentioned, position the blast gates as close to the main trunk as possible. You can extend from the gate to the machine with smooth-walled hose if the run is very short (I'd shoot for four feet or less), or you can add more hard pipe beyond the gate to reduce the length of flex required.

I generally agree with Dave (dbhost) about closing unused gates, however this will depend on the size of the port on the tool. My cabinet saw, CMS, and OS/B sander all have 2-1/4" ports, and when using any of those I have to open a second, same-sized gate in order to let the DC breathe adequately. (The cabinet saw actually has a 4" port, but the internal hose that connects it to the blade shroud is only 2-1/4", and that controls how much air can flow.)

Mating up the various kinds and brands of fittings to each other is always a bit of a nightmare. There are combinations that LOOK like they ought to work ("Hey, four inches is four inches, right?" Uh, no ...), but don't. Someone or another here has at one time or another sussed out most of the possibilities. Perhaps the best overall approach is to decide what kind of pipe you will use and then seek advice on the specifics on getting everything to mate up.

[messmaker]

How about using the 4" thick cardboard center from rugs? Free at HD or Lowes when empty. They vary in thickness so pick a good one. I use them for short runs.

Mike

I use both the cardboard tubes as well as S&D. Never had a problem with either.