Replies

1. 
   hammer1 | Jul 17, 2005 01:14am | #1

   I think one of the better ways to quiet down your cyclone is to move it outside. Use a section of flexible duct at each machine and some at the cyclone attachment. You will want your return air canister or bags indoors, or all your heat and cooling will be sucked out. You can add an attenuator to the return side and it will reduce the Db's but only to a degree, that you may not notice. Rubber pads at the base and any wall attachments can help. I haven't used the noise canceling ear protectors, yet. Since I play drums, ride motorcycles, shoot guns as well as do woodworking, I use fitted silicone plugs. They are expensive $100(regular)-$2000(w/digital sound) and need a mold made for your ear.

   Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

1. 
   JayS | Jul 17, 2005 05:19am | #2

   Thanks.

   My shop is in my basement in a residential subdivision.  The wall to the exterior is concrete on one side and brick on the other.  If I tried to make a hole in my wall and put the thing outside, the neighbors (not to mention my wife) would kill me, then have me committed.  The unit weighs over 300 lbs. and is on a stand, with no wall attachments.  I will try rubber pads under it if I can lift one foot at a time slightly.  Would wrapping some kind of blanket around the cyclone help?  I can't encase the motor since I'm sure it needs air flow to cool.

   I have combined the small foam ear inserts with a Peltor ear muff style hearing protector, and the additive effect of the two produces almost silence.  (But it's a pain to have to use both)

   Jay

1. 
   PlaneWood | Jul 18, 2005 05:59pm | #3

   I put mine outside on a concrete pad and in it's own little house under the eve.  The door is a full sheet of 4x8 plywood.

   PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood

2. 
   hammer1 | Jul 19, 2005 02:28am | #7

   I would not wrap a blanket around the cyclone but I would consider a closet for the separator, not the cannister or bags. The closet walls don't have to be permanent, some simple plywood with foam attached would help. You need access for emptying the hopper and basic maintenance. I've added attenuators (mufflers) to a number of cyclones but they were large industrial systems and the mufflers did little for their huge cost. A drop of 5dbs can be a big safety gain in an industrial environment but is not significantly noticeable to the ear. Your ear protection doesn't have to stop all sound, just the damaging decibels.Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

2. 
   AlanWS | Jul 18, 2005 10:41pm | #4

   A muffler between the blower outlet and filter might help, as could making sure vibration of the cyclone does not use the duct or house as resonator. See if you can tell where the sound comes from: is it the fan, or the air going through the duct that causes most of the noise?

   Bill Pentz has some comments:
   http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/Ducting.cfm#Noise%20Control

3. 
   brianmexico | Jul 18, 2005 11:03pm | #5

   Jayst,

   Build yourself a sound insulated closet around the unit with the filter on the outside of the wall as previously suggested. There are many excelent sound insulating materials that can reduce the noise in your shop considerably if you line the interior of the closet with them, including the door.

   If you're worried about heat building up in the closet have a small bathroom type extractor fan to the outdoors to keep the interior temperature down. You may also consider a vent to allow fresh air in from the outside without robbing from your possibly heated or airconditioned interior.

   Also consider a remote control unit or some kind of automation to make turning the unit on and off practicle. I don't have experience with these but they seem really handy.

   If you can't afford to steal the shop space for a closet then build an exterior closet in the same fashion on the outside of your house and it will also deaden the sound so the neighbors won't form a linch mob.

   Good luck,

   Brian

4. 
   IronDog | Jul 18, 2005 11:43pm | #6

   Hi Jay,

   I have a 3hp Onieda cyclone and it is very quiet. One reason is the sound dampening "muffler" between the cyclone and the dust bags.
   You might want to see if Grizzly offers one or if Onieda has one that you can fit to your collector. Lot simpler than moving the unit!

   Tom

   You Don't Know.

   You Don't Want to Know.

   You Aren't Going to Know.

5. 
   DaveR | Jul 19, 2005 06:51pm | #8

   Jayst,
   I have a penn state cyclone and I know that they sell a muffler for their DC's. I don't know if the diameter of your cyclone outflow is the same as the penn state, but if it is, $55 plus shipping sounds alot cheaper and easier than making a closet. They claim it reduces the noise by 50%. (10db) I don 't have one, but have been debating. I usually have to wear ear plugs anyway when using my screaming Dewalt planer, so I haven't felt the need to quieten down the DC. I would though also recommend getting a remote (penn state also sells one) It is great addition, no more walking across the shop between every cut...

   Dave
   (And no I don't work for Penn State.)

   http://www.pennstateind.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=CYAC

1. 
   JayS | Jul 20, 2005 02:55am | #10

   It does come with a remote, but it's an IR remote, which requires that the beam not be obstructed.  My DC is in an adjacent room.  My shop is subdivided by lots of annoying walls into 4 smaller rooms.  Being a partially finished space of the basement the walls don't go to the ceiling around various HVAC ducts.  So I have to open a door to point the remote at it. 

   I like the muffler idea, but Grizzly doesn't sell one.  I will check to see if the Oneida or Penn state will fit.  Thanks

   Jay

1. 
   Piccioni | Jul 20, 2005 04:00pm | #11

   I believe Oneida warns you that repeated starting & stopping is bad for the motor.

   They want you to leave the machine on ...

6. 
   WayneL5 | Jul 20, 2005 12:29am | #9

   I bought the exhaust muffler for $40 with my Oneida system.  I tried the system with and without it and it makes a noticeable difference.

   You can buy sound dampening compound that you paint/slobber on sheet metal components to reduce noise.  I've used it in an industrial environment and it does help, but I think it is pricey for the benefit you'd get on a small system.

   I've used regular sound protecting muffs for years and they work well.

   To Dave, a 10 dB reduction is a 90% reduction.  A 50% reduction would be about 3 dB.

7. 
   dahlbergia | Jul 20, 2005 08:47pm | #12

   I just installed a 2 HP Oneida (with an internal muffler).  I built a closet around it using a fully-insulated 6 inch stud wall, hanging the interior drywall from sound deadening channels.  I plan to add acoustic tile to the interior walls and ceiling.  The closet must allow air to exit (from the filter), so I added a through- the-wall HEPA filter (using a furnace filter).  I used an out-swinging solid-core double door, insulated on its interior side with acoustic tile.

   One interior wall of the closet is brick (one side of a chimney), so I am going to hang some old carpet on it.  The cyclone stad is insulated from the concrete floor by industrial rubber pads, but I may also add carpet remnants to the concrete floor. 

   It has been a bit of a project, but will definitely be worth the effort; it is better to keep the cyclone on rather than constantly turning it on/off, so one needs to limit the noise somehow, or woodworking will suffer --- not to mention the "spousal acceptance factor!"  (My shop is in the basement.) 

   One commentor suggests putting the filter outside the closet, but I think it should be inside --- noise exits the filter with the air.  (If you locate the cyclone or filter outside your home, you won't be able to work late at night because your neighbors will be annoyed.)  One Oneida user with a closet-based cylone built a separate rectangular baffle around his filter.  The interior of the baffle is lined with downward-slanting dividers and much foam.  If you are patient, you can find this on the Oneida website, in the owner's photos section.  Dampening the ducts somehow may also help.

   You may be able to retrofit an Oneida muffler --- check with their customer service department.

   What I wish I had done: 

   1. used 2x4 studs, alternating sides of the 2x6 plate and header, threading the insulation in between the studs (I had already built the wall.)

   2. used the just-released sound deadening drywall (See latest Fine Homebuilding for details) with acoustic deadening equivalent to eight sheets of drywall.  Downside: $80.00(!!!)/4x8 sheet --- but you may not need more than a few.  The channels were not cheap and were time-consuming to install.

   3. used foam "egg-crate" material (e.g., hospital bed toppers).  I may still try this. 

    

   I hope you find this helpful.