Dust Collection Pipe

[jackellis]

Are there any good reasons NOT to use flexible aluminum dryer vent ducting for dust collection? About the only one I can think of is that the stuff may not be durable enough to withstand the impact of small chunks of wood as they pass through.

I have a fair bit of galvanized steel and flexible hose but there are places where some of that aluminum ducting may be easier to work with.

[smorris]

I just went out to take a look at our dryer duct which is that material. I'm thinking the aluminum material would implode and you would have a nice spiral wire left.

[JR]

Every time I've looked at that stuff I couldn't figure out how to get it to connect to the rest of the system. The devil's in the details.

JR

[crokett]

I can think of a couple reasons. It will probably crush if there ever is a blockage or a gate is closed when it shouldn't be. As you noted, it probably would not withstand the chunks of wood going through it. Also I would think dust would get caught in the folds. Lastly, smooth pipe is slightly more efficient - less drag on the air going through.

[atgcpaul]

I used it before I got the sturdier plastic flex DC pipe. The
Al pipe is too soft. It kinks and dents very easily. If it's going
to be in an out of the way location you'll probably be ok, but
if you're going to move it around a lot, find something sturdier.
It's also one big accordian so it's not very smooth inside. I found
myself shaking out the trapped sawdust a lot.

[gerti]

For my lathe I use a couple of feet at the end of the run, that allows me to move it to whatever position collection is most effective for a given cut. For that it works well.

[Tom Slick]

If it's the thicker/semi-rigid stuff then it works okay. If it's the wire spiral with foil on it then it isn't too great.

[Garasaki]

I think the performance hit due to the rough interior of the pipe would be enough to keep me from using it.

[Uncle Cracker]

I think the performance hit due to the rough interior of the pipe would be enough to keep me from using it.

My thoughts as well, unless it's for a very short distance. I think a dust build-up problem would develop on the inside walls, even if your DC has enough grunt to pull the load.