PVC piping vs metal

[panettad]

After reading several articles on small shops & static I am not
much worried about an explosion, but I have gotten zapped pretty
badly by bumping against my 4" plastic dust collector hose a few times.
(mainly during the winter when it is dry.)
I discovered I needed to add a ground jumper between the wire in the
plastic hose and the dust collector case which was painted so well it
insulated the hose joint.

I know its not possible to ground PVC - just adding grounding wires only
provides a shorter distance for the static spark to go. What kind of problems
have any of you had with PVC with getting zapped and dust on the piping
due to static cling?

How much trouble should I expect to have to go to if I usee PVC vs metal?

I wouldn't expect metal piping to have either problem if the connections a re solid
and grounded well at one end.

I was wondering about the best type of places to look for 6" PVC. The big box
stores around me (NE Atlanta area) have 4" S&D, but the only 6" I see is
the heaver green stuff or sched 40. Any suggestions on what to ask for and
where to look?

 

[Guest]

If you've read Dr Rod Cole's article on Static, and it sounds like you have, you know that the reason you get a shock from the flex hose with wire is because the wire is a good conductor and it actually collects the static charge being built up in the pipe. You also know that PVC is an insulator and as such won't allow a static charge to move down itself. Therefore, the most you will get from a PVC pipe is a very small static discharge from the area imediately around where you touch the pipe. The rest of the pipe will still be charged.

That having been said, I personally haven't had any problems with static from my pipes or my cyclone for that matter. I do have a perforated metal band mounting the cyclone right at the cone so that might explain no charge there, but the curious thing is I don't have that band grounded and it doesn't build up a charge. I have sprayed all of my pipe with WD40 on the inside while the blower is running. Maybe that did it.

We buy our S&D pipe at a plumbing supply place locally....not a building supply place. I don't know if that will help. The green stuff is still much lighter that schedule 40 pipe and also much cheaper. Hope this helps. Check Bill's site for the number. I'm not sure of it. 27....

Ed