I have a Jet 1100 dust collector that I modified a number of years ago to accept a Wynn .5 micron filter and added a Super Dust Deputy cyclone into the airflow to keep the filter cleaner. Doing this eliminated the 5 micron dustbags and made the collector catch down to 0.5 microns. Win. I put a small 5 gal dust pail onto the end of the filter to collect what was left and a 30 gallon can on the end of the Super Dust Deputy for collection of the material that was separated by the cyclone. I left the Jet steel vortex cone and the remainder of the system as it was. It worked like a champ, with 99% of the swarf from working collected in the 30 gallon bucket.
On moving to my new house, I need as much space as I can get, so I further modified the collector. In this iteration, I removed the steel Jet vortex unit and directly connected the Super Dust Deputy output into the Jet blower motor inlet. Everything seemed to work just fine.
However, lately I have been doing a fair amount of woodworking, creating medium sized chips of walnut and maple. Prior, most debris sent to the dust collector was just that, dust. Now its dealing with larger pieces. The change in output has been significant. My 5 gallon pail is filling with debris quickly, and the 30 gallon collector bucket is never really full. Usually, the 5 gallon pail only filled a bit when the 30 gallon collector bucket was overflowing. I have to keep emptying the 5 gallon pail to keep things operational, and despite checking the 30 gallon cyclone collector pail, its not filling up.
I think I know what is happening, but wanted to throw it out to the others in our club. My theory is that the Oneida Dust Collector is spinning the air counter clockwise, driving debris down the cone of the cyclone into the 30 gallon bucket. When the Jet steel vortex unit was in place, it gave the airflow time to settle, minimizing the counter clockwise airflow.
The Jet blower unit is turning clockwise. Since I direct connected the Oneida unit to the blower using an 8 " long piece of pipe to eliminate the Jet steel vortex cone, the counter clockwise flow of the Oneida air is colliding with the clockwise flow of the Jet Blower airflow and major turbulence ensues, neutralizing the cyclonic action of the airflow and allowing the wood to continue through the system to the airfilter and ultimately the 5 gal collector bucket. Since the pieces are larger, they need a greater efficiency of the cyclone to keep them up and out of the force of gravity. With the lost force, they drop out of the cyclone and go into the filter.
So, my question - does this sound right? Anyone else try something like this? Anyone possibly have a different theory or solution? I'm thinking I either need to allow more space and replace the vortex, or create some type of 'air straightener' to get one of the circular flows to be more neutral to make this work.
Appreciate your thoughts.