lid for plastic 55gal drum

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Roadkill401

New member
I am putting in the finishing touches for my ClearvuMax cyclone. I have two options for the chip bin.

I would prefer to use the semi transparent plastic 55gal drum that I had used with my old DC that was hooked up to a cyclone lid. As I don't have an orginal lid for this drum, I would have to build my own..

I know that this cyclone does create quite a bit of suction, and was thinking if I cut a board of MDF and put a rubber seal around the outside edge.. I was thinking of using something like a bicycle inner tube that will seal on the top lip edge of drum.

But I'd rather ask here for input first before trying something if it's known not to work, or if there is something far more easy or tested that I should do first.

thanks

Matt.
 
Matt,
A plywood or MDF lid with a rabbet around the outside edge works great. A sticky back rubber/vinyl gasket is laid in the rabbet and it sits on the lip of the bin. The rabbet keeps the gasket from getting pulled in which was always a problem with the standard garbage can lid. You can get the rubber/vinyl gasket at HD/LOWES; I think they are 3/8 thick by 1/2 or 5/8" wide. The lid should be thick enough and the rabbet deep enough that the plywood /MDF sticks down enough to center the lid on the drum. I used a 6" starter ring that I bought from a local furnace supplier to couple the hose to the lid. The starter ring is about 6" high so I cut it with snips to 1" height and used an SS clamp to hold the hose on. This is a solid way of coupling the hose to the lid.
bababrown
 
Matt,

Another method that uses a plywood or MDF lid is a variation on what Bababrown suggested: Instead of a rabbet around the rim, rout a circular dado in the oversized cover blank that will accept a gasket like this EDPM Rubber tape and use a collar as BB suggests or glue in a straight section of PVC pipe to accept the flex duct below your CV Max. I've attached pictures of a few examples using MDF or plywood that also show some different hold-down strategies. These also have bin sensors mounted on the lids.
 

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I am wondering what size plastic pipe fittings you got that fit a 6" flex hose?
It seems up here in Canada, they seem to think that dust collection stops at 4".

I flipped my 55gal drum upsidedown and traced the outside of the bin onto some 7/8 thick plywood that I had as scrap. a few minutes on the bandsaw and voila, the top of my lid. Then I ended up using a down spiral bit on my router bench and made a 1 1/2" lip around the outside so it fits semi snug. I will look to see if what sort of gasket I can get from HD or Rona.

All the PVC fittings that I have found are too large to fit a 6" flex hose. i will see if i can see somethig in metal HVAC.
 
Follow up for what I ended up doing:

I couldn't find any true 6" fitting in PVC. I tried a 6"to5" step down fitting, but that didn't work. The stepdown part just caught too much debis and it wouldn't fall down into the bin below. I ended up buying a metal 6" hvac starter from HomeDepot for $3.50 that worked. I did have to tape up the top edge and the joint seam with aluminium tape. That worked perfectly.

I did take a look for the rubber gasket like McRabbit linked on his post. Seems that Canada is the backwaters and we don't carry anything like that. All we can get up here is closed cell foam that if you went wide enough to give you surface area to seal, it's too stiff bend around and make a circle around the plywood lip.

I ended up just doing as I originally thought and went to my local bike shop who happily gave me 5 old bike innertubes that I cut the valve stem off one and using a furniture staple gun, tacked around the lip. Seals like a charm and best of all was pretty much free.
 
Good to see that you worked out a solution -- I've seen several applications that have used an inexpensive HVAC starter collar for their inlet -- another option that would work is to glue a short segment of 6" PVC pipe into the hole in the bin lid -- Gorilla Glue works well to fill any gaps if the hole isn't perfect. I'm surprised that your loacl home improvement stores don't stock good weather stripping like the one I suggested, but your inner tube solution was cheap and effective!
 
This is very knowledgeable information for me about plastic items. I have read all conversations and got lots of points about plastic items. So try to keep doing this conversation.
 
I used MDF for my lid on my 55 gal plastic barrel. I cut it oversized and used some weatherstrip material from HD and I've had no problems. I use 4 turnbuckles to cinch the lid down so I know the seal is good.:rolleyes: Jim.
 
Just a heads up that all the drums and cans (55 gal or otherwise) are not necessarily round on top. I measured the diameter of the top of my plastic 55 gal drum and cut a groove to fit. Turns out the top was an oval. :eek:
Luckily, I made a wide groove, but now I have to pay attention when I replace the lid to match up the oval depression in the gasket to get a good seal.:cool:
 
Jim O'Dell said:
I used MDF for my lid on my 55 gal plastic barrel. I cut it oversized and used some weatherstrip material from HD and I've had no problems. I use 4 turnbuckles to cinch the lid down so I know the seal is good.:rolleyes: Jim.
Click to expand...

I too have a 55 gal plastic barrel with a relatively pointed edge that the lid will sit on. I'm thinking of trying pipe wrap to go around the rim as the barrel is somewhat oval shaped. Any thoughts?
 
Sorry, I usually look in here in the mornings and didn't see your post until I answered your PM. I used MDF and used the barrel to mark the location and shape (mine is pretty round) and used the rubber weatherstrip from Home Depot. Didn't worry about routing a groove for it. I used 4 turnbuckles to cinch the top to the barrel as noted earlier in the thread. Jim.
 
Here is just a heads up for those making your lids. I got the barrel free from a car wash.

I used 3/4 MDF. Routed a groove, cut a hole in the center, epoxied a 6 in metal starter collar, painted, installed gasket into groove.

I was pretty excited, because it took awhile and looked good. Slid it under the cyclone and Surprise!!

The barrel was too big/ cyclone didn't sit out far enough from the wall. So the cyclone and starter collar didn't line up.

So now I'm in the process of filling in the hole and moving the collar off-center so it can line up with the cyclone.

So DON'T ASSUME YOUR CYCLONE HOLE SHOULD BE IN THE CENTER OF YOUR LID. :mad:
 
RMason said:
(snip)

So DON'T ASSUME YOUR CYCLONE HOLE SHOULD BE IN THE CENTER OF YOUR LID. :mad:
Click to expand...


Good point!! I'd bet you aren't the first to discover that. If only someone had made this point before, maybe you wouldn't have "experienced" it on your own! (I don't suppose the cyclone could be extended from the wall on the mounts to make room?) Thanks for sharing! Jim.
 
Boy...making your own lid, though not complicated I suppose, seems like too much work and tinkering to get your seal just right.
I know, I know...that's what we do. BUT, I went with an inexpensive cardboard style drum with locking lid.
I realize you're trying to re-use your old one but the locking lids are hard to beat. They fit perfect, make a good seal and are easy to change out when your bin is full.
The other thing I do is line it with a large heavy duty trash bag. The lid allows me to clamp down the outside edge of the bag and it is held very securely. I have been doing this for a cpl years now and it works great.

I think I paid $15 for mine.
 
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