Clear Vue Cyclone CV1800 Installation and Shop Setup

[Slik Geek]

I read with interest Capncarl’s experience in setting up his Clear Vue cyclone: http://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/dis...yclone-install

I too purchased a Clear Vue CV1800 cyclone. My objective was to significantly reduce the dust dispersed from my woodworking activities into my basement shop and into the rest of the house. Another objective was health improvement. Many years ago (before the internet revolutionized the dispersion of knowledge) I discovered the hard way that saw dust can cause a wicked allergy. I nearly had to sell my tools and give up on a hobby that I love.

I acquired my cyclone in September of 2016, and slowly assembled it over the next few weeks. My job and a home remodeling project was consuming most of my time, so the assembly process was a bit slow. It was actually fun to assemble the CV1800.

During assembly, I was poring over the Clear Vue forums and I discovered that this beast is rather loud. I modified my installation approach to make the cyclone free standing (to avoid direct coupling of noise into the walls of my home). I also adjusted my installation plan somewhat in an attempt to leave room for an eventual noise reduction isolation enclosure.

I should add that at the same time with the cyclone setup, I was actually setting up my entire shop in the basement of a home that I purchased earlier that year. For this reason, I had to assemble the cyclone, plan my shop layout, install the cyclone, run duct work, wire the shop and the basement, and improve the basement lighting (add more lights). I had no idea how big of a job this would become…

[Slik Geek]

Once I got the cyclone assembled, I designed and fabricated the standalone structure. Then I figured out my shop layout and started running conduit. By the time I was done with lighting improvements, adding shop outlets, adding more outlets to the large basement, plus wiring modifications for the remodeling project I mentioned earlier, months had passed. I ran over 300 feet of conduit, and added about 25 electrical boxes for junctions, lights, and outlets.

Then I started ducting for the dust collector in January of this year. That is when I discovered that this statement in the Clear Vue cyclone assembly manual was quite an understatement:

Installation Time
Installing your CV1800 cyclone takes approximately 4-6 hours to assemble with two people.
Ducting your shop tends to be more time consuming and varies based on the size of the shop, design and labor.

It ended up taking me four months to complete the duct installation process. Well, it's really not yet complete, but it is close and is functional now. Note that it took me that long in part because the installation also included pulling some machines out of the moving crates, getting them set up, finishing the home remodeling project, and doing a few small woodworking projects with my miter saw and BT-3000. And spring yard work...

The photo shows the cyclone installed in the free-standing support structure. My basement ceiling is a few inches lower than the top of the CV1800, so the top disappears into the trusses. The pipe and fittings below the cyclone were no where near enough to complete the project!

[atgcpaul]

Very nice, Slik. A basement shop with high ceilings and a walk-out door would be my ideal shop.

[Slik Geek]

Here is my setup for cutting the PVC pipe. I would position the pipe where I wanted to cut it, and if possible, clamp a block on the pipe support structure as a stop. Then I started the saw and raised the blade into the PVC with about 7 turns of the blade elevation crank. Then I rotated the pipe into the spinning table saw blade. This worked pretty good.

In case you are wondering why the PVC fittings and pipe are metallic in appearance... I was inspired by gstuartw on Clear Vue forums to paint all the PVC with an aluminum colored paint. I really liked the look. It added additional effort and calendar time for the installation, but I'm happy with the results.

[capncarl]

Slik.... I like your free standing installation. I wish that I had gone ahead and made mine free standing. My install is in a sturdy corner so I didn't think I would get much resonance from it, but it is evident that it is shaking the whole building when standing outside!

what is your noise level in the shop now?

I dont think you ever ever get through with duct installation. There is so much modification to the equipment to accept 6" piping that at some point your just start using what you have and say you will worry about modifications later.

[Slik Geek]

I like your free standing installation.

It was a last minute modification. I fabricated the plywood mounting bracket, planning to mount it onto my basement wall. But then I read in the Clear Vue forum about the possibility of low-frequency vibration traveling through the foundation. In response I threw together the stand. I was tired of not making progress so I didn't patiently work through the details as much as I probably should have. Hopefully I left room for noise reduction...

it is evident that it is shaking the whole building when standing outside!

I haven't walked outside with mine running yet. Given that my dust collector isn't mounted to the wall, I'd expect it to not couple noise outside as much. I was surprised that upstairs in our living space that the dust collector isn't as noisy as I thought it would be.

what is your noise level in the shop now?

I can't find my notes on the sound level that I measured a few months ago. My recollection is that it was similar to what you have experienced. At that time, I didn't have any tubing attached to the cyclone. I concluded that I would always want to wear hearing protection when the dust collector was running. Now that I have the tubing attached, it does seem a bit quieter. But there is still much room for improvement. I'll make a measurement and post the result.

I dont think you ever ever get through with duct installation. There is so much modification to the equipment to accept 6" piping that at some point your just start using what you have and say you will worry about modifications later.

I'm just coming to that realization. I'm still not done connecting everything and making all of my new dust ports and I'm already planning a downdraft cabinet / table that will need another drop.

[capncarl]

After I got most of my dust collector piping in I discovered that my downdraft table and sanding "corner" were too close to the collector to pipe in conventional. That means I will re-arrange my wood shop area and move the sanding corner to another corner. Wonder what that will require me to relocate then?

Slik, we are ready to see more photos of your install!

[Slik Geek]

what is your noise level in the shop now?

93 dB A-weighted, 100 dB C-weighted, measured 10 feet directly in front of the dust collector with the table saw blast gate opened (behind and to the right of the sound level meter). There is no noise reducing currently employed. I hope to reduce the levels by 20 dB to 30 dB with noise reduction.