Egbell,
It sounds like you are making good progress; congratulations! For me it was a lot of time and money, but that is now behind me. I my opinion it was worth the effort and a good purchase. I trust you too will enjoy the dust collector. While installing the system is challenging, increasing the efficiency of the dust pick-ups at some machines can also be a challenge. But for sure, the CV 1800 collects almost all the dust from the shaper or router table, drum sander, jointer, and band saw by just connecting some flex hoses. I am pondering table saw (under the table only) and radial arm saw collection improvements, but have yet to act. These two machines are a real challenge for me.
Remote circuit wiring. A Clear Vue technician recommended that I switch the remote. I assumed that it was to prevent accidental startups of the CV1800 from stray RF signals. While I have not had any mysterious, stray RF startups of the cyclone, I have accidentally bumped the remote hanging from my belt causing the cyclone to start up. These occasional accidental bumps of the remote cause me to flip the relay switch OFF when I am emptying the bin. I would hate to re-enter the shop from emptying the barrel and discover the cyclone on and spewing residual dust everywhere from an accidental bump of the remote.
My approach for switching the relay was to add a 120v receptacle that is controlled by a conveniently located switch. The receptacle was placed so the 120v plug from the relay box reached the receptacle. If the cord from the relay box is too short, it could be replaced with a longer cord outfitted with a 120 v plug that would reach the receptacle.
Dual flex hose. I too found it easier to add a second dust port to a few of my machines rather than enlarge the existing 4” port. If the second 4” port is thoughtfully placed, dust collection at the tool could be improved.
The cross sectional area of a 6” diameter pipe is about 28” while that of two 4” dust ports is about 25” (12.5 sq in X 2). Thus dual 4” dust ports are about 90% of the cross sectional area of one 6” pipe. However the manner in which the transition of the 6” pipe to dual 4” flex hoses is important. In my judgement, the Woodstock 6 x 4 Inch Dust Collector Adapter D4240 is superior since both 4” legs dump directly into the 6” opening of the fitting. (see
http://www.toolplanet.com/product/W...MIz63RiMik2gIVBrnACh1oPgN4EAYYASABEgLxlfD_BwE)
A 4” x 4” x 4” wye transitioned to 6” pipe with a 6” x 4” reducer would likely restrict air flow.
The barrel. I see no reason why the bottom of the barrel cannot be cut to reduce the barrel’s overall height. My approach would differ from the approach you outlined; if I understood your approach correctly. I would be tempted to cut a disc from ¾” thick MDF or plywood whose diameter would match the inside diameter of the barrel. The disc would then be installed flush with the bottom cut edge of the barrel and secured with washer head screws through the barrel into the edge of the ¾” sheet good. The sheet good disc could be reinforced with wood glue. Finally, I would run a bead of silicone on the inside seam to ensure an air tight seal.
But before cutting a $100 barrel to fit under the cyclone, consideration could be given to reducing the length of the 6” flex hose that transitions from the cyclone body to the lid of the barrel, as Rushton suggested. As a wild guess, a 2” length of flex hose extending down from the cyclone body may be sufficient to allow the lid to lift off the barrel.
Another debris barrel approach. My approach to the barrel differs from most. I did not like the thought of having to deal a barrel lid locking ring. Additionally I wanted a stable platform to which the McRabbet bin level sensors would mount and I wanted the ability to look inside the barrel while the cyclone was operating. I met these requirements by constructing a “dust collection chamber” into which the collection barrel sets.
The dust collection chamber is a plywood box sealed with silicone caulk. The top of the box is permanently attached to the bottom of the cyclone outlet via a short length of 6” flex hose. The box is a 5 sided ½” thick plywood box. The sixth side is a door fitted with weather stripping and held closed by 3 window sash locks that pull the door tight when closed. Polycarbonate covers a pair of holes cut in the top. An under cabinet switched LED light illuminates the interior of the dust collection chamber while the second hole in the top is a viewing port. The dust collection barrel was sized to allow a 3/4” gap between the top of the barrel and inside surface of the top of the dust collection chamber. A rubber bicycle inner tube was added to the barrel to form a seal between the barrel and the top of the dust collection chamber.
This approach took some extra time and materials and some planning but I find emptying the barrel is as easy as opening the dust collection chamber door and sliding the barrel out. It is very fast and convenient. The LED light and viewing port allow me to judge whether the barrel can accommodate additional shavings from a planer run or whether the barrel should be emptied without turning off the cyclone.
But the issue I can foresee, were you to adopt the dust collection chamber, is containing the debris in the barrel as it is moved from the basement to the outdoors. Some type of lid that would work with the bicycle inner tube gasket on the top of the barrel would have to be figured out to prevent dust spewing out of the full barrel as it is moved upstairs and outdoors. Perhaps a contractor’s sized trash bag or a sheet of plastic secured over the top of the drum with a bungee cord would be sufficient.