I have an Oneida Gorilla DC which works great. It captures just about everything in the bin and I rarely have to clean the filter except for the fine dust created when I resaw veneer. It captures a lot of it in the bin but a lot of it goes to the filter too. Would I be better off opening multiple blast gates for maximum airflow and maximum cyclonic effect or better off restricting airflow? Either would give enough airflow at the saw.
It seems that maximum airflow would tend to pull the fine dust toward the filter because the dust has so little mass and momentum and there is such a large volume of air going to the filter. On the other hand, restricted airflow would also tend allow the dust to get closer to the air stream going toward the filter because of air turbulence. Maybe I am just doomed to deal with it.
Replies
No, you do need enough airflow for the cyclone to be effective. That's because it is a centrifuge: the air coming in is directed to spin, so the dust is thrown to the outside and can slowly settle down the sides. Air exits from the center where it's cleaner.
Trashcan separators with their exits anywhere other than the center work much less well than centered ones for this reason. If you have too gentle a flow, the suspended small dust will go right through the cyclone, though the really big dust will settle out -- possibly in the ducts before it even gets to the cyclone. The faster the spin, the smaller the particles that can be separated out, but there's a limit. If there is too much airflow it becomes so turbulent it mixes too well and you don't get the circular flow that separates stuff, so it works less well then too. But that would be more air than a well-designed cyclone could move.
Edited 10/18/2008 12:17 pm by AlanWS
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