Remotely-Operated Blast Gates -- How?

[Uncle Cracker]

So far I'm liking UC's choke cable idea best (which is not to say I don't appreciate the input from Eric, Art, JR, toolguy, and the other Erik ... thanks, guys).

McMaster-Carr -- which is not known for being the cheapest source, many times -- has push/pull cable assemblies with a 15'-8" long cable and a 5" maximum stroke for $32 each. Not dirt cheap, but less than a third of the ~$100 cost of a motorized gate (and I'd still need some way to control one of those). The 15'-8" should be a sufficiently long cable, and I'd probably spend a significant percentage of that $32 on any kind of shop-built mechanism. Hmm.

toolguy, Pentz is one of those who says to put the blast gates right off the main trunk.

If you can get by with a 6-footer on some of your drops, those are available for like 15 bucks on Ebay or in auto parts stores. You might check dealers who sell parts for construction equipment to see if you could get a better deal on longer ones...

[chopnhack]

"They" also mention that there should be a straight, unbranched length leading to the vac. source. Putting a t too close to the source causes too much turbulence and slow down of materials.

[Uncle Cracker]

"They" also mention that there should be a straight, unbranched length leading to the vac. source. Putting a t too close to the source causes too much turbulence and slow down of materials.

Which makes one wonder why so many DC manufacturers design their units with 2, or even 3 branches on the intake fitting...