Redesigning Shop

[BobLand]

Because of the noise and low hanging ducting I've decided to radically change the location and ducting in my shop. The shop is 15' x 30 but irregular in shape. Ceiling height is 82". Fortunately for me I'm a short 5'7".

I've identified a spot in the garage where I can isolate the cyclone from the main house so vibration wont be an issue. My concerns to date are:
1) Return air. The shop gets direct hot and cold air from the furnace/ac before the rest of the house. It is overly warm in winter and overly cool in summer. With that in mind, I'm wondering if it will be OK to not worry about return air. On the other hand, I could send it back to the shop or the furnace room which is adjacent to the shop.

2) Since hanging ducting on the ceiling bothers me, how about either directly on the floor or waist height? My reason for laying it on the floor is -- no hanging issues at all; ducting near machines will most likely be covered by support cabinets for that tool, i.e., no tripping issues.

3) As the main source of noise is now distant, will I get any noise from the ducting?

4) I get great suck as the system is now. If I add about 50-75' of ducting to what I have now, will I loose suck? Do I need to upgrade to the CV1800 body?

5) Can I run a remote? The CV1400 will be about 60' max, as the crow flies, from the cyclone to the furthest point in the shop. The shop is encased in concrete. The garage is attached to the kitchen, where directly below is the furnace room which is adjacent to the shop. I can get cell calls with no problem in the shop.

6) The garage get brutally cold in winter and blistering hot in summer. Will this be an issue?

I'll stop here as I'm sure you guys will bring up issues I haven't thought of.

Thanks,
Burt

 

[dwdrury]

Partial Response

Partial Response

Burt,

Probably can't fully address all of your questions. Maybe there's some opinions of use below:

(1), and some (6): I think you've almost answered your question here, but maybe not. Tossing cooled (summer) or heated (winter) air from your shop might only make your HVAC system work that much more. So even though the loss of some conditioned air might not seem like a bad idea, I'm wondering if doing so might cause your systems to run that much more, thereby exacerbating the situation. Rather, might it not be possible to close down the vents in your shop somewhat, to take less of the flow off your air handler?

(2) I ran ducting for my old Delta 2 stage "dust pump" at the machine's inlet height, about 3 ft off the floor, and then went low under the rather long windows in my shop. No problems associated with the ducting, only with the Delta's performance, hence my project to upgrade to a CV. Think most folks run them high to get them out of the way, where they won't interfere with cabinets, tools, pegboard, and the like. But if for you, running them waist high is more attractive, have at it. So far as flow is concerned, think the length of the ducting runs (including straight foot equivalent of bends and flex pipe) is more important. Think I'd try to keep it from being directly on the floor, though. But maybe a chunk of 2x4 spacer every now and then would do the job if that's where you prefer.

(3) Possibly. There's always going to be some airflow noise associated with the ducting. But there shouldn't be any "rattle and hum" from the machine itself, especially if you insert a short piece of flex 6 to 10 ft upstream of the main trunk line into the cyclone's inlet transition. That may not be clear, holler if it isn't and I'll try to find you a photo from the gallery.

(4) Increased duct length will increase friction losses. So, technically, yes, you will lose some flow. Is it noticeable? Given Matt's performace with his very long runs in CV's main shop, I don't think you'll hurt it enough to notice (assuming you're using smooth wall straight pipe, for the most part).

(5) Should work. Try it. Plug a light or Christmas tree string into the receiver box, in the location you want, go to your shop and try the remote. Light comes on, it works. Light doesn't, try moving the receiver a bit.

(6) Heat will impact the motor, so the spot you pick should have plenty of free space around it for airflow. Cold may increase startup amperage. I don't start all that well on cold mornings either. How bad are we talking? Also, think somewhere in these threads Matt or Ed once listed the specs for the motor's operating range. Don't recall the specifics right now, but I remember thinking at the time installing it in my attic might yield too hot an environment in the dog days of summer. Another consideration for the garage is humidity. The MDF pieces of the cyclone and the motor may be adversely affected over time if your garage humidity gets really bad. But then again, if that were to happen, would think you'd have a mold / mildew problem in there as well.

Regards,
DWD