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Carpet tubes for dust collection ductwork?

2K views 16 replies 12 participants last post by  bigJohninvegas 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Any body ever tried this? Or know anyone who has? Even if not, what drawbacks or problems do you think there might be? I'm trying to estimate the cost for a good dust collection system (will be making my own cyclone unit - Bill Pentz design) and the price of even the cheapest drain/sewer pipe seems excessive. And since I can get carpet tubes for free…
 
#4 ·
Thanks. I think some of them are slick and others are just "raw" cardboard. (Not slick but still smooth - like the back of a legal pad.) I googled it and found a (very old) post where somebody had done this and he said that standard 4" fittings were just a little bit loose. He got around this with a few wraps of electrical tape and he said that tightened it up.
 
#5 ·
I like this idea!

Free tubing can t be beat as long as the cost involved in integrating the tubes is minimal.
Certainly for the long/straight runs it should work fine as long as the diameter is correct.
Speaking of which, what is the inside diameter?
Not sure. Just a smidge larger than the OD on 4" PVC pipe fittings.
 
#6 ·
Availability of fittings that work with a cardboard pipe system will be the limiting factor.
You'll be fabricating and and modifying at every turn. Not saying it can't be done, but I wonder how you'll connect the pipes in a way that won't fall apart in regular use. Also, ductwork should be easy to re-arrange for new tool layouts etc.

I use metal 26 gauge ductwork special ordered from the big box store. It's actually cheaper than PVC. No static problems, and it connects with pop rivets and foil tape.

Good luck with it.
 
#7 ·
Availability of fittings that work with a cardboard pipe system will be the limiting factor.
You ll be fabricating and and modifying at every turn.
I've got a lot more time and creativity than I have money! ;)
Not saying it can t be done, but I wonder how you ll connect the pipes in a way that won t fall apart in regular use. Also, ductwork should be easy to re-arrange for new tool layouts etc.
I could see where longevity might be an issue with cardboard ductwork. From what I read, $' PVC fittings work but there's just a little extra room. If it's small enough that it can be fixed with just 2 or 3 wraps of electrical tape, I was thinking that maybe I could cut a slot in the cardboard tube at the joint (I.e. with a hand saw) Then use duct tape to squeeze the kerf together for a nice, tight fit. (I'd continue to wrap the duct tape until the slot was fully covered up.)
I use metal 26 gauge ductwork special ordered from the big box store. It s actually cheaper than PVC. No static problems, and it connects with pop rivets and foil tape.
That's interesting. The cheapest suitable plastic pipe I've found is about $12 for 10 feet. Is the metal ductwork less than $1 per foot? And what about availability and affordability of fittings? (45 degree bends, Y connectors, etc.)? You said that ductwork should be easy to rearrange… It seems like riveted metal is a lot more permanent than cardboard tubes with PVC fittings.

Thanks for the input! I appreciate the points you made.
 
#9 ·
Well, 4" soil pipe is $1 a foot….doesn't seem to be unreasonable, though the fittings will jack that up quite a bit. But you'll have to buy fittings anyway, and I'll bet those tubes weigh quite a bit more than soil pipe. Anyway, I haven;'t tried it, but I have seen that question a few times over the years. No idea what those folks ended up doing.
 
#13 ·
How heavy is the pipe wall? Thin cardboard might collapse under the vacuum of the fan. Free is nice, but how much money do you spend on straight pipe? A $100, $150? The cost is in the fittings, blast gates, etc. How do you plan on making all the bends a system needs? If you want to make your own ducts, maybe making them from wood might be a better idea, or maybe you could incorporate your cardboard tubes into a self made wooden system. Something to think about. Jim
 
#14 · (Edited by Moderator)
Cardboard absorbs moisture from the air and wIll soften and sag over time. The unfinished surface of the inside of the tubes will attract and hold dust. Being rigid and opaque the tubing will make localizing and clearing clogs troublesome.

There is a reason you don't see cardboard used in dust collection systems.

If your shop is soo large that you have huge dust producers everywhere you should be able to afford the cost of hoses and ducts. If not then the cost of ducts should be minimal.

Get one flex hose attached to a central DC and connect to individual tools as required. No ductwork needed at all. Use those quick connect hose fittings Rockler et al sell.
 
#15 · (Edited by Moderator)
Cardboard absorbs moisture from the air and wIll soften and sag over time. The unfinished surface of the inside of the tubes will attract and hold dust. Being rigid and opaque the tubing will make localizing and clearing clogs troublesome.

There is a reason you don t see cardboard used in dust collection systems.
Now THAT'S what I was looking for. Thank you, Madark2 !

Got mine (5" 26 gauge) for about .70/ft through an HVAC supplier.

The 45s and 90s were about $3-4 each. The wyes were about $12 each.
Looks like this is the way to go. Thanks, SuperCubber!
 
#16 ·
Got mine (5" 26 gauge) for about .70/ft through an HVAC supplier.

The 45s and 90s were about $3-4 each. The wyes were about $12 each.

Looks like this is the way to go. Thanks, SuperCubber!

- DonnyBahama
I should have mentioned that the wyes I used were plastic ones from Woodcraft. You can also get them from Amazon (brand is PowerTec). They fit perfectly inside the 5" HVAC pipe, which isn't ideal for flow in all cases. For those situations, I chamfered the lip to help smooth the flow of air.

The metal wyes are typically for air flowing the opposite direction, so they really don't work well. You can find reverse flow wyes (sometimes called flue wyes), but they are extremely expensive and difficult to find.
 
#17 ·
I used this 4"X10' Corrugated pipe, and standard PVC joint parts. Blast gates at every tool.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/4-in-x-10-ft-Corrugated-Solid-Pipe/3221927

It worked well. Single screw and duct tape at each joint.
I no longer use it though. Early shop layout, and not enough room to keep all my tools hooked up all the time.
So now my table saw is only fixed tool, and the rest is on mobile base's. And I move each tool to a central hose as needed. Wish I had the shop space to keep it all set up.

When I set mine up with this pipe. I only looked at big box hardware stores. And found 4" metal pipe to be pricey, and I was not finding the small parts, like elbows to my liking.
Supercubber had mentioned using a HVAC supplier to source the pipe cheaper. wish I had thought of that.

This is all that is left of the plastic pipe now. I use it with my lathe from time to time.
The rest has not been wasted, a friend used all my left over parts in his shop.
Pipeline transport Plumbing Plumbing fitting Gas Composite material


I was happy with how it all worked. Just ran out of room for dedicated tool locations.
 

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