penn state dust collectors
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| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
I’m looking @ the 14″ Tempest series D/C from penn state, at around five to seven hundred they seem to be a good by, has anybody have any feedback.
Replies
Morning NG...
I did a review on this forum months ago. Go to Advanced Search and click on TO ALL.. From SARGEgrinder47 and enter the thread title of:
Penn State Cyclone.. Dice Roll ??
or
by thread # of 35632.1 and goes thru 35632.59
Good machine the day I installed and hasn't skipped a beat since!
Regards...
Sarge.. john thompson
Thanks, I found the thread you mentioned after my post, very informative.
Evening NG..
You're quite welcome and good luck with your decision!
Regards...
Sarge.. john thompson
I have had the 3.5HP 15" "S" model in the shop for over a year now, and have had excellent results from it. I did have a problem with the long ranger remote swithc that I had, but the folks at PSI were very cordial in getting me a replacement, and I have not had any problems with the new one.
Peter
www.jpswoodworking.com
Morning nugrowth...
Whoa.. I was just glancing in the Penn State catalog and a little light bulb went on about my endorsement of PS 14" cyclone. I wanted to clarify what my review covered and that may not be clear.
The review was for the Tempest.. but specifically the Tempest "S" series. I had looked at the old design Tempest (the prices warrant a look), but with some comparisons I spent the extra few hundred and went "S"!
The "S" series has had the cone re-designed to come closer to a 6:1 taper ratio and also the impeller design was upgraded to a more efficient one. Both of these make a difference.
Would I purchase the older style? I definitely would choose one over a standard DC.. but the newer "S" series is worth the extra few hundred $$ IMO with it's increased cfm. So.........
Regards...
Sarge.. john thompson
Hi Sarge, I'm still interested in putting in a cyclone when I scrape together a grand and a half or so and, in a two-car attached garage, sound level is an important consideration for me. Have you done a dB measurement at 10 feet from your PSI cyclone? Penn State claims 75 dB 2.5 HP S model, but offers no details about distance or room configuration. For all I know they might have had Joe Paterno test it at midfield of Beaver Stadium.Grizzly 2HP claims 75dB [measured at 10 feet from a machine mounted on a stand in the middle of a 30'x30' room with 16'+ ceiling] but Oneida claims to have measured the same Grizzly model at 84 dB [wall mounted in a 20'x30'x12' room] while the Oneida 2HP Super Gorilla tested at 78-79 dB under the same conditions. Since sound normally travels in all directions from the source, a machine in the center of a big room with high ceilings will test quieter than wall mounted in a smaller room where reflection from the wall would amplify the sound. A low ceiling would tend to channel the sound like a megaphone, keeping it from attenuating as much with distance. I would have to mount mine in a corner of a 21'x20' garage with 8'6" ceiling - perfect conditions for maximizing sound levels.
BruceT
Morning Bruce...
Mine sits at almost center with low ceilings. Can I hear it.. oh yeah. Could I compare it to competitors if they were sitting there.. if the other guys will send me one I will compare. ha.. ha...
Actually Bruce, I have about a 30% hearing deficit thanks to listening to too many rifle cracks and big guns (105 mm .. 155 mm.. 8"), so I have a understanding of how Paterno feels. I don't think I would be the best judge of which is quieter even if I were in position to compare.
The PS is relatively loud.. but I have heard others in local shops that I consider relatively loud. If not for the hearing deficit, I would have probably put it outside as I have a perfect space under a breakfast nook that juts out over-head on the forward end of my shop. It could be enclosed easily.
But.. with hearing protection on it will sit as "I" can't detect it to be a major deficit. Still.. I don't qualify to make a call on just how loud it is to someone with perfect hearing.
I personally feel that some of the numbers that get thrown out by the manufactures are not overly scientific as a person only buys one cyclone most likely. Perhaps what has to be said to grab that one and only sale might be tweaked IMO. It's a fiercely competitive market as I found out shopping the competitors.
BTW.. when I use the tool with it I use the most.. the Uni-saw, 6 HP Shop Vac to over-head and Tempest to rear port are all running at the same time. Not exactly an ideal place to hold a "moment of silent prayer". :>)
Regards...
Sarge.. john thompson
Edited 8/21/2007 10:22 am ET by SARGEgrinder47
Hi Bruce,I think it's safe to state you'll experience the cyclone as being louder than what's rated. I would think hearing protection would be a must.Both Penn & Oneida offer mufflers for their cyclones which should provide around a 10dB drop in noise level. That loosely translates into still needing hearing protection, but it won't rattle the house as badly. ;-)I've got a similar situation and am planning on isolating the cyclone from the house by increasing the drywall and insulation in that area. Mostly aiming to decrease the amount of noise going into the house.Glen
Glen,
Any chance of enclosing the DC and putting the sound barrier closer to the source of the noise? Would perhaps kill (I hate that word) two birds with one stone, and be a bit cheaper.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 8/21/2007 8:58 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
G'morning Bob,The answer is both yes and no, but isn't it always that way? In my particular case, I don't think I have enough space in the nook for a full enclosure of the cyclone. Ideal, but impractical in my case. To make it work, I would have to locate the canisters 6' away from the DC and I don't know if I'm willing to give up that amount of floor-space from the rest of my shop.Mileage will obviously vary for other folk, and I think it's a good tip worth repeating. Sometimes it's very worthwhile to build an enclosure for the noisy device and cut down on the noise transmission. I'm pretty certain many folk have done exactly that with their shop vacuums and single stage DCs.Glen
Adding another layer of drywall will help by making the wall heavier and therefor able to absorb more sound energy.
You would get much better results by building a second wall that doesn't touch the existing one. That way sound vibrations would not be conducted through the house wall to the other side.
A compromise solution is resilient channel - looks sort like z-bar flashing. Screw the resilient channel to the existing wall, screw new drywall to the flashing, tape and mud. The new wall surface is "suspended on springs" so that it transfers much less vibration through to the house wall.
BruceT
In December I will have had my TEMP142CX for three years, the "S" series was not available. In that time there has never been any problems with the machine (it's a DC what can go wrong?) or it's filters. The filters don't need to be cleaned often but when they do it does take a little bit of time and yes I do have drum sander but most of that fine dust is actually collected in the barrel.
As other posts indicate tests results by mfr's are somewhat suspect and in magazine articles you have to take some tests with a grain of salt. I think that is especially true with a DC of any type.
Yes in DC magazine tests you'll find they test all the machines the same way which on the surface is a level playing field but is it really? Specifically what is typically done is a metal pipe of 10 or 15 feet is added, followed by a 45, maybe a few feet of flex and then they take a measurement.
Can anybody here raise there hand and say, "yes that's exactly how my shop is layed out"? I doubt it. In a warehouse it's easy to errect a setting such as this but in a working woodshop this is hardly the case. There's placement issues (compromises that are dictated) which creates & addes bends, extra feet of piping and longer flexible pipe than you will find in a sterile setting of a "DC Comparison".
One thing in all the test that I've seen (and for some reason the magazine editors gloss over) is the static pressure the DC's can deal with and it's relative importance. That's why I chose the TEMP142CX when I purchased it, because in the world of "my shop" I knew it wasn't perfect, that DC placement and duct runs were a compromise that "static pressure" would in my world be a big player.
I would hope that the next time a magazine does a test of DC's that they do it in a "real" woodshop (I'm volunteering mine) and give us a comparison that reflects what most of us work with.
Amen. At least they could test with 7", 6" and 5" main lines with, say three or four elbows and a 4" flex hose on the end.Also, when they are testing cyclones built for use in a room with 8' ceilings, I'd like to see sound level measurements taken in a room with 8' ceilings.
BruceT
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