Shop Vac as a dust collector?

Just got myself a used 1/2 HP baldor grinder. It has openings in the back of the wheel guards, for dust collector or some such. I am thinking about attaching a shop vac to these openings. Is this plan fatally flawed, or is it workable?

i
Reply to
Ignoramus8644
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Nothing wrong with the idea, but be advised that if the vacuum is used for collecting combustible materials, saw dust, for example, you'll eventually set it on fire with sparks from grinding steel. Use caution unless it's a dedicated collector, strictly for your grinder.

Harold

Reply to
Harold and Susan Vordos

I'm sure there are many kinds of motors for vacuum cleaners, but 2 that come to mind are "sucks right through the motor" and bypass. Even though, I suppose, the filters are in between the dirty air and the motor, I would think that the motor bearings would be fouled with minute metal particles if you don't use the bypass style.

In addition to the wood dust problem mentioned in another post, I have heard of runors about steel and aluminum particles combining vigorously, too.

Pete Stanaitis

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Ignoramus8644 wrote:

Reply to
spaco

Sparks off the grinder are pretty hot, likely to eventually melt the plastic hose. Not to mention adding the hot steel to the bottom of the shop dust and sawdust and having a bonfire.

I do set my 6x48" belt sander up with a sh> Just got myself a used 1/2 HP baldor grinder. It has openings in the

Reply to
RoyJ

Are the openings round or oval? If oval, you'd have to figure the circumference, find the equivalent sized round piece of PVC, heat it in hot water, and flatten it to fit, or something like that. Not real trivial.

GWE

Reply to
Grant Erwin

My "6 Peak HP" ShopVac from Home Depot sucks through the motor, but uses a paper filter. It's served me pretty reliably over the last 3 years, so far.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus8644

I think that I could use SS clamps, the kind that are tightened with a screwdriver, and some PVC Y connectors and extra ShopVac hoses. I'll check sizes tonight.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus8644

Good point, thanks. Maybe I should avoid it and just drag my grinding cart outside.

i

Reply to
Ignoramus8644

Thanks Harold. The contents of my shop vac are mostly chicken shit, but often times wood dust finds its way there, as well.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus8644

Put the vac a distance away, for the noise abatement. Make the intake of thinwall tubing. Run it into a 5-gallon bucket with a n air-tight lid, with the end of the tub about 3 inches from the bottom. Fill 3/4-full of water. Attach vac hose to the lid so it pull air from atop the water. This way any sparks will wind up in the water, the water will filter the air enroute to the vac.

Keep the water level up, as it will evaporate. Be sure the vac is wet-or-dry.

Reply to
Rex B

No personal knowledge or experience here but note the CAUTION in the following howto article:

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Lots of good dust collection info on this site though primarily oriented towards woodworking.

David Merrill

Reply to
David Merrill

Ow, my eyes.

Reply to
Dave Hinz

I got a hepa filter for my SS ShopVac - It is a bit larger than the paper and it was clean - the delta was some difference I noticed. I was picking steel cutoffs off the floor easily. Martin Martin Eastburn @ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net NRA LOH, NRA Life NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

Ignoramus8644 wrote:

Reply to
Martin H. Eastburn

That setup would certainly be less restrictive and would be lower-maintenance than the water trap.

Reply to
Rex B

I saw a similar setup in a shop using a 10# coffee can and no water. A thin plate was welded to the top of the can and a hole cut into it. with a hole cut into the side of the can near the bottom. the bottom hole was connected to the grinder and the top hole connected to the vacuum cleaner. This way most of the sparks went into the can and only the smallest lightest ones made it into the vacuum plus they had to travel so much that they were cold by the time they hit the vacuum anyways. The can was placed at the bottom of the grinder but the vacuum was about 6 feet away under a bench.

Reply to
Xenophon

I have a 10" baldor bench grinder with a baldor dust collector. You can look at them in J&L catalog.

The grinding wheel discharge connects to the blower with a rubber hose. The output of the blower is directly into a large cloth bag. No water traps or anything fancy. When I got it the cloth bag was very old and torn, but had obviously survived for years without a fire.

I think a water trap would be pretty smelly after a short time. I have considered adding a metal can for a particle trap. Someday.

chuck

Reply to
Chuck Sherwood

How about a cyclone device between the vac and the grinder?

Make or scrounge a can, perhaps about the size of a 3 lb coffee can. Make the inlet (from the grinder) enter tangentially, and the outlet from the center of one end. The idea is to have the incoming air make the air inside the can spin. Centrifugal force (centripetal acceleration for the purists) moves particles outward so they flow (and fly) around the inside wall of the can. This might have two beneficial effects: the particles would be cooled by contact (collisions) with the inside wall, and they would have a much longer path between inlet and outlet which further promotes cooling before they enter the shopvac hose. Heavier particles (that cool more slowly) may just stay in the can if the inlet is at the top pointing a bit downward and the outlet is also at the top.

Reply to
Don Foreman

Thanks Don. I think that I will just drag the grinding cart outside if I want to do more than, ssay, sharpen a small knife. That's why I made a cart on wheels. For very small jobs, I will just put a sock on the outlet. I did that yesterday.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus29984

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