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ClearVue Cyclone Installation

60K views 16 replies 11 participants last post by  jmos 
#1 ·
ClearVue Cyclone Installation

Since I started woodworking about 2 years ago I've been using a Powermatic canister dust collector along with a overhead air filtration unit for dust control in my basement shop. It did a nice job of chip collection. But, after a while I noticed there was always a layer a fine dust all over the shop.

After a while I did some searching and found Bill Pentz's site on dust control, and decided I should try to upgrade the filter cartridge on my DC, so I bought a Nano filter from Wynn. It went on easily and seemed to really help with the fine dust being recycled into the shop. I also added a trash can separator in front of the DC to knock out the chips and prevent the Wynn from clogging up. I used a purchased lid on a metal trash can. This set-up improved the fine dust situation, but it also reduced the suction noticeably.

About 6 months ago my Wife was down in the shop, which doesn't happen too often, and she was choking on the dust. I suppose I've gotten used to some dust, or I'm less sensitive to it, but it was killing her. She's a doctor, specializing in chest no less, and she was not happy. She pretty much insisted I upgrade the system.

After more research, and some email exchanges with Bill Pentz, I decided to go with the ClearVue. PSI, Grizzly, and Oneida have some nice products, but I felt more comfortable with the ClearVue. I'm not trying to start an argument, as I know some folks really dismiss Pentz, but I found his story compelling. I think the thing that really sold me was the fact Bill posts his cyclone design for free so anyone can build one; seems like a odd angle to take if he's scamming.

Anyway, I purchased the CV1800 (5hp Leeson motor, 15" impeller) along with the nano filter upgrade, cleanout box, electrical box with remote, and their 6" blast gates. Everything shipped quickly. The filter drop shipped from Wynn and arrived first. Within about a week all the parts were on hand.

The next decision was on ducting. At first I was leaning toward heavier gauge metal ducting from HD. I kept hearing good things about thin walled PVC, the ASTM-2729 spec material. Neither HD or Lowes carried it, nor could their people tell me if it could be ordered. The guy at Lowes finally told me to try a local independent supplier. I called them but they didn't stock it and recommended a third place, and irrigation supply house. that was the ticket, they had the pipe in stock, and it was just about as expensive as the metal duct.

I sketched a layout of my shop and decided how I wanted to pipe it up, figured out my parts list and bought the supplies.. My intent was to take 6" to everything I could, and avoid hose wherever possible.

Electrical - The 5hp motor requires a 30amp 220V feed. Fortunately, my main breaker panel is in the basement on the opposite side from my shop. Unfortunately, it was full and could not accommodate any additional breakers. I had an electrician install a subpanel; I got bids and the cost (~$400) really didn't make it worthwhile to do it myself.

Electricity Electrical wiring Gas Cable Machine


The ClearVue electrical box is a prewired box with outlets, a relay, and a remote control system included. It's easy to install. You run your 2 conductor (plus ground) 10gauge 30amp 220V cable to it. It also requires a nearby 110V outlet to plug the remote into. I'm not entirely sure why they didn't just take a 110v circuit off of the 220V feed, but they wanted a separate circuit. The whip from the motor plug into the electrical box with a twist lock connector. Overall it was easy to wire up.

Wiring the whip into the motor was pretty straight forward, just a bit tight getting the wires into the head. One thing I thought was interesting was that the motor leads were only 14 gauge wire. I suppose it's because the length of wire is so short.

This is getting bit long so I'll break it into parts.
 

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#2 ·
Cyclone and Piping

Cyclone - The cyclone itself wasn't too tough to assemble. I do have to admit I would not have minded if the unit had a little less of the erector set feel to it. Everything was well made and solid. All the parts were there. The direction are good, and available online if you really want more detail. I didn't take step by step photos as they are already included in the directions. I contacted ClearVue a couple of time during the build and the they were great to work with. Got back to me promptly with good answers. I didn't have any problems that required parts, so I can't speak to that, but from what I encountered I would expect them to be very responsive.

The assembly was pretty smooth. I did the entire job myself, but a helper would have been, well, helpful. I mounted the unit as high on the wall as I could just in case I ever have a basement flood.

Wood Glass Gas Personal care Cylinder


Drinkware Wood Gas Fluid Glass


Gas Wood Electric blue Machine Office supplies


Wood Wood stain Gas Glass Drinkware


I used the metal trash can for chip collection.

Piping - After the cyclone was installed it was time to move on to the piping. With the PVC this really went fairly easily. The parts held together well once seated, and the 2729 stuff isn't very heavy. Once I had parts where I wanted them I took self tapping sheet metal screws and ran them through the double layers of PVC to fix them. Occasionally I used a couple of screws if a part was tending to move more than I wanted. Yes, the screw go into the pipe, and may give chips a place to get stuck, but I didn't glue any joints, so if it becomes a problem I can disassemble and clean.

I put together all the tool drops first and mounted them on the walls. Since I'm in a basement I took some lengths of pre-slotted angle iron and used concrete anchors to fix it to the wall. I then took long electrical cable ties and used them to strap the pipe to the wall. I added a screw into the piping just above the cable tie to prevent the pipe from sliding over time. It seems to be pretty secure.

Once the tool drops were run I started the overhead piping. I chose to run the piping below any obstructions, so I didn't have to move lights or go around HVAC ducting. It cost me a little headroom, by my basement has high ceilings so its not too bad. The light weight of the PVC really helps putting it up. Again I did it myself and it wasn't too bad at all. I used plastic hanging strap from HD to support the pipe.

The worst part of the install was mating the cyclone inlet to the piping. The cyclone comes off at about 10degrees. I heat bent the PVC, which was not a neat process. Heating it up enough to bend it wasn't too bad. I bought a heat gun for the job, and it took some time, but did the work. However, when I bend it, not unexpectedly, the inside of the bend bent, a lot. Although the angle was good, the bend was significantly distorted inside. I use the heat gun to heat up small parts that were really badly buckled and used a 2Ă—4 to bend them back out. When I was done it was a lot better, but it's sure not pretty. I suggested to ClearVue they should sell a mating fitting. They said they would consider it, and mentioned folks usually use a short piece of 6" hose to connect. I don't have any 6" hose, and really didn't want to by a length just for that.

Some general shots of the piping:
Building Wood Interior design House Floor


Wood Building Gas Engineering Machine


Line Pipeline transport Gas Human leg Thigh


Pipeline transport Wood Beam Gas Composite material


Table Saw - I ran 6" into the table saw, making a new flange from scrap plywood. I ran a 4" to my new Shark Guard so I can get some dust collection when I'm ripping.
Table Furniture Building Wood Interior design


Furniture Wood Table Floor Gas


Jointer/Planer - I ran 6" to the jointer, again, making a new flange out of scrap plywood. I used a 4" with flex hose to the planner; I figure it should work fine since the planner already has a built in blower to help push the chips. Besides, their really wasn't any way to increase the size of the dust port on the planner.
Property Wood Flooring Gas Building material


Table Computer desk Wood Gas Machine


Drill Press and Downdraft Table - I installed a 2.5" stay-put flex hose to the drill press; it might not be great, but it should be better than the nothing I had before. This is also the same port I'll use to attach the hose from the sander. From the same drop I used a 4" flex hose to reach my homemade downdraft table. that, along with dust collection off the sander should work pretty well. Haven't tried it out so, so time will tell.
Wood Interior design Floor Hardwood Toolroom


Bandsaw/Router Table - For the bandsaw I use a short length of 4" flex to the built in port (again, no way to increase size) and also added a 2.5" stay-put flex hose. This setup does seem to work a lot better than my old system. On my router table I built a box that fits over the motor and lift and gives my dust collection, along with the 2.5" hose connection off the fence.
Table Computer desk Desk Writing desk Wood


Pipeline transport Electrical wiring Gas Table Engineering


I can't give a full evaluation yet, as I've only had the system set up for a few weeks. I can tell you that the cyclone really moves a lot of air, it's quite impressive. I'll post a final chapter to this in a few months with a better evaluation of performance. It's also really cool to see the chips spinning around in the cyclone.

If anyone has any question, feel free to contact me.
 

Attachments

#3 ·
Cyclone and Piping

Cyclone - The cyclone itself wasn't too tough to assemble. I do have to admit I would not have minded if the unit had a little less of the erector set feel to it. Everything was well made and solid. All the parts were there. The direction are good, and available online if you really want more detail. I didn't take step by step photos as they are already included in the directions. I contacted ClearVue a couple of time during the build and the they were great to work with. Got back to me promptly with good answers. I didn't have any problems that required parts, so I can't speak to that, but from what I encountered I would expect them to be very responsive.

The assembly was pretty smooth. I did the entire job myself, but a helper would have been, well, helpful. I mounted the unit as high on the wall as I could just in case I ever have a basement flood.

Wood Glass Gas Personal care Cylinder


Drinkware Wood Gas Fluid Glass


Gas Wood Electric blue Machine Office supplies


Wood Wood stain Gas Glass Drinkware


I used the metal trash can for chip collection.

Piping - After the cyclone was installed it was time to move on to the piping. With the PVC this really went fairly easily. The parts held together well once seated, and the 2729 stuff isn't very heavy. Once I had parts where I wanted them I took self tapping sheet metal screws and ran them through the double layers of PVC to fix them. Occasionally I used a couple of screws if a part was tending to move more than I wanted. Yes, the screw go into the pipe, and may give chips a place to get stuck, but I didn't glue any joints, so if it becomes a problem I can disassemble and clean.

I put together all the tool drops first and mounted them on the walls. Since I'm in a basement I took some lengths of pre-slotted angle iron and used concrete anchors to fix it to the wall. I then took long electrical cable ties and used them to strap the pipe to the wall. I added a screw into the piping just above the cable tie to prevent the pipe from sliding over time. It seems to be pretty secure.

Once the tool drops were run I started the overhead piping. I chose to run the piping below any obstructions, so I didn't have to move lights or go around HVAC ducting. It cost me a little headroom, by my basement has high ceilings so its not too bad. The light weight of the PVC really helps putting it up. Again I did it myself and it wasn't too bad at all. I used plastic hanging strap from HD to support the pipe.

The worst part of the install was mating the cyclone inlet to the piping. The cyclone comes off at about 10degrees. I heat bent the PVC, which was not a neat process. Heating it up enough to bend it wasn't too bad. I bought a heat gun for the job, and it took some time, but did the work. However, when I bend it, not unexpectedly, the inside of the bend bent, a lot. Although the angle was good, the bend was significantly distorted inside. I use the heat gun to heat up small parts that were really badly buckled and used a 2Ă—4 to bend them back out. When I was done it was a lot better, but it's sure not pretty. I suggested to ClearVue they should sell a mating fitting. They said they would consider it, and mentioned folks usually use a short piece of 6" hose to connect. I don't have any 6" hose, and really didn't want to by a length just for that.

Some general shots of the piping:
Building Wood Interior design House Floor


Wood Building Gas Engineering Machine


Line Pipeline transport Gas Human leg Thigh


Pipeline transport Wood Beam Gas Composite material


Table Saw - I ran 6" into the table saw, making a new flange from scrap plywood. I ran a 4" to my new Shark Guard so I can get some dust collection when I'm ripping.
Table Furniture Building Wood Interior design


Furniture Wood Table Floor Gas


Jointer/Planer - I ran 6" to the jointer, again, making a new flange out of scrap plywood. I used a 4" with flex hose to the planner; I figure it should work fine since the planner already has a built in blower to help push the chips. Besides, their really wasn't any way to increase the size of the dust port on the planner.
Property Wood Flooring Gas Building material


Table Computer desk Wood Gas Machine


Drill Press and Downdraft Table - I installed a 2.5" stay-put flex hose to the drill press; it might not be great, but it should be better than the nothing I had before. This is also the same port I'll use to attach the hose from the sander. From the same drop I used a 4" flex hose to reach my homemade downdraft table. that, along with dust collection off the sander should work pretty well. Haven't tried it out so, so time will tell.
Wood Interior design Floor Hardwood Toolroom


Bandsaw/Router Table - For the bandsaw I use a short length of 4" flex to the built in port (again, no way to increase size) and also added a 2.5" stay-put flex hose. This setup does seem to work a lot better than my old system. On my router table I built a box that fits over the motor and lift and gives my dust collection, along with the 2.5" hose connection off the fence.
Table Computer desk Desk Writing desk Wood


Pipeline transport Electrical wiring Gas Table Engineering


I can't give a full evaluation yet, as I've only had the system set up for a few weeks. I can tell you that the cyclone really moves a lot of air, it's quite impressive. I'll post a final chapter to this in a few months with a better evaluation of performance. It's also really cool to see the chips spinning around in the cyclone.

If anyone has any question, feel free to contact me.
Nice work, man! You've really been busy. I'm a JET guy, too:)
 

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