Cyclone with the return cone for the vacuum cleaner. Do-it-yourself vacuum cleaner with a cyclone filter for a workshop

When processing wooden blanks everyone must have come across the fact that everything around is covered with a large amount of shavings, sawdust and wood dust. In order to at least partially get rid of them, various dust collectors, chip extractors, filters and other devices are used. Many power tools and machine tools have their own dust collectors, while others have special outlets for connecting a vacuum cleaner.

In home workshops, it will be better to use special. vacuum cleaner than household. Firstly, the engine in special. the vacuum cleaner is designed for more than a long work, and secondly, as a rule, it is equipped with a hose with a length of 3 m, which greatly simplifies its use with power tools. And yet, the minus of each vacuum cleaner is a small container for garbage.

How to make a cyclone filter with your own hands

Having set out to somehow simplify the work of cleaning the vacuum cleaner and reduce the cost of bags, I began to collect information on this issue. I found a description on the Internet different types simple devices in the form of intermediate dust collectors for a vacuum cleaner. Firstly, these are dust collectors in the form of a mini-cyclone. They do a good job of collecting dust in a separate container, preventing it from getting into the vacuum cleaner, which increases the service life of the bags tenfold. The process of cleaning the dust collector from debris is also facilitated. Ready-made fixtures are sold through online stores, but their cost is quite high with a very simple design.

Design. I decided to make my own mini-cyclone dust collector. The author and developer of this design is Bill Pentz from California. Having earned himself a serious allergy to fine wood dust, he subsequently devoted a lot of time and effort to the fight against both the disease itself and its causes.

The dust collector is a device, the main element of which is an inverted truncated cone, inserted into the bottom of the dust collection container. A tube for connecting to a vacuum cleaner is inserted into the upper part of the dust collector, and a tube for connecting a hose from the tool is inserted tangentially on the side.

When air is drawn in by the vacuum cleaner, turbulences form inside the apparatus, and debris, moving along with the air, is thrown by centrifugal forces to the inner walls of the filter, where they continue their movement. But as the cone narrows, the particles collide more often, slow down their movement, and, under the influence of gravity, fall into the lower container. And the partially purified air changes direction and exits through a vertically installed pipe and enters the vacuum cleaner.

There are two mandatory requirements for this design. This is, firstly, its tightness, otherwise there will be a sharp loss of suction power and air purification quality. And, secondly, the rigidity of the container and the cyclone body itself - otherwise it strives to flatten.

There are tables on the Internet with drawings of cyclones for various particle sizes. The cyclone body can be made from galvanized or plastic, or you can choose a ready-made container of a similar shape. For example, I saw cyclones made on the basis of a road cone (necessarily rigid), plastic flower vase, a tin horn, a large toner tube from a copier, etc. It all depends on what size cyclone is needed. The larger the debris particles, the larger the diameter of the tubes for connecting hoses should be and the more massive the cyclone itself is.

Bill Pentz points out some of the features of his design. So, the smaller the cyclone in diameter, the greater the load on the vacuum cleaner. And if the garbage container is low and flat, then there is a possibility that garbage will be sucked out of the container and get into the vacuum cleaner. When using a container of any shape, it must not be filled to the top with garbage.

The choice of material. I decided to use as blanks plastic pipes for outdoor sewerage and fittings for them. Of course, it will not be possible to create a full-fledged cone from them, but I was not the first to try to use them for this purpose. The advantage of this choice is the rigidity of the parts and the tightness of their connections due to seals. Another plus is that there are various rubber pipe inserts that allow you to easily and tightly connect the vacuum cleaner hose. In addition, if necessary, the structure can be easily disassembled.

For your own to collect large sawdust and shavings I made a cyclone from a pipe ∅160 mm. I used ∅50 mm pipes as hose connectors. I want to draw your attention to the fact that the eccentric adapter from a pipe ∅110 mm to ∅160 mm must be funnel-shaped. I have seen flat ones, but they won't fit - nothing will work with them, and debris will get stuck.

Do-it-yourself cyclone progress of work

Operating procedure. In the plug for the ∅160 mm pipe and the body pipe, I made holes for the hose outlets. Further, using a thermal gun, I glued a piece of pipe ∅50 mm into the plug. It should be located in the middle of the cyclone body and be a couple of centimeters below the side tube, so it is better to first glue the longer pipe into the plug, and then cut it in place during assembly.

On the Internet, I found complaints that hot melt adhesive does not stick to PVC pipe, and advice to weld parts with a soldering iron and pieces of the pipe itself. I tried, but didn't do it. Firstly, the glue adhered perfectly to me, and, secondly, the smell of melted plastic discouraged any desire to weld anything in this way, although the connection may be more durable and neat.

The difficulty of working with hot melt adhesive is that it does not spread, and the seam, in the absence of skills, is not very even. I had such a sad experience - I decided to heat it with a hair dryer to even out the seam. flat surface I got a glue influx, but at the same time the plastic tube itself was deformed, and I had to throw it away.

In the next step, I glued to inner surface body spiral, which should direct the air flow down to the dust collector. This solution was recommended by Bill Pentz himself - according to him, this almost doubles the efficiency of the cyclone. The spiral with a height of about 20% of the gap should fit snugly against the body and make one turn with a pitch equal to the diameter of the inlet for the side pipe.

As a material for it, I used a plastic rod, which I heated with a hair dryer and bent in the form of a spiral (photo 1), and then glued it into the case (photo 2) using a heat gun. Then glued the side tube (photo 3), the inner end of which is directed slightly downward.

As soon as the glue had cooled and hardened, I measured and cut the vertical outlet tube so that it was 2-3 cm below the cut of the side tube, and finally assembled the whole structure.

Waste container made of rigid plastic barrel, to the bottom of which I attached wheels - it turned out to be very convenient for cleaning it (photo 4). I cut a viewing window on the side of the barrel and closed it with acrylic glass on hot melt adhesive. I reinforced the connection with a plastic ring and bolts from above. Through such a porthole it is convenient to monitor the filling of the container.

I didn’t have a barrel lid, and I made it from a piece of countertop, which had been waiting in the wings for a long time after inserting a sink in the kitchen (photo 5). On the underside of the countertop, a milling cutter selected a groove under the edges of the barrel and glued a window seal into it to seal the connection. (photo 6). The hole in the lid is supposed to be in the center, but then I would have problems placing the cyclone in the workshop, so I made an offset hole. The lid is attached to the barrel with latches from a long-broken vacuum cleaner. From him also used a hose to connect the cyclone. I want to draw your attention to the fact that it is better to take hoses from vacuum cleaners. If you take, say, a corrugated pipe for electrical wiring, when you turn on the vacuum cleaner, a whistle and a terrible noise appear.

Do-it-yourself cyclone for a vacuum cleaner

Connecting the cyclone to the instrument. Not all tools have an outlet for a vacuum cleaner. So I decided to make a simple adjustable vacuum cleaner hose holder. For him, from scraps of plywood, he made blanks for levers (photo 7). The holder was supplemented with a sewer clamp for attaching the hose (photo 8). The stand was specially made large in size so that it was possible to fix it with a clamp or hold it with a load. The holder turned out to be convenient - I use it not only for a vacuum cleaner hose, but also for a portable lamp, a laser level and supporting a long workpiece in a horizontal position.

After assembling the cyclone, he conducted several experiments to determine its efficiency. To do this, he sucked in a glass of fine dust, after which he measured its volume that fell into the dust collector capacity. As a result, I was convinced that about 95% of all garbage gets into the barrel, and only very fine dust, and then an insignificant amount of it, gets into the vacuum cleaner bag. This result suits me quite well - now I clean the bag 20 times less often, and only from fine dust, which is much easier. And this despite the fact that my design is far from perfect in terms of shape and proportions, which, of course, reduces efficiency.

Wiring. After checking the performance of the cyclone, I decided to make a stationary distribution of hoses around the workshop, since a three-meter hose is certainly not enough, and a vacuum cleaner with a cyclone is bulky and clumsy, it is inconvenient to move them around the workshop every time.

Due to the fact that standard pipes were used, it was possible to mount such a wiring in an hour. I pushed the vacuum cleaner and cyclone into the farthest corner, and laid pipes ∅50 mm around the workshop (photo 9).

In the workshop I use a specialized BOSCH green series vacuum cleaner. After four months of operation in tandem with a cyclone, I can say that they are generally coping with their task. But I would like to slightly increase the suction power (when working with a jigsaw, you have to move the hose almost close to the cutting zone) and reduce the noise level. Since few chips get into the vacuum cleaner itself, there is an idea to make a more powerful impeller and take it outside the workshop to the street.

I can also say that the suction power of the vacuum cleaner dropped a little when using it with a cyclone, but at work it is not very noticeable. There were doubts that static electricity could accumulate on the elements, because the whole structure is plastic, but this practically does not happen, although earlier, when collecting fine dust, the hose had to be grounded.

Of course, when using professional pipes with large outlets, pipelines of this diameter are not enough. It is better to take ∅110 mm or more, but then both the vacuum cleaner and the cyclone should be more powerful. However, for my homework, this is enough.

The hose of the vacuum cleaner was firmly fixed on a small pipe outlet ∅50 mm and inserted it in the right place of the wiring. At the same time, the remaining wiring outputs are closed with plugs, rigidly put on short taps. Relocating the hose is a matter of seconds.

During operation, I encountered one small problem. If a small pebble gets into the hose (the concrete floors have not been repaired for a long time) or another small but heavy object, it moves through the pipes to the vertical section in front of the cyclone and remains there. When such particles accumulate, other debris clings to them, and a blockage may form. Therefore, in front of the vertical section of the wiring, I embedded a chamber from a ∅110 mm pipe with an inspection window. Now all the heavy debris is collected there, and by unscrewing the lid, it is easy to get it. This is very convenient when fasteners or small parts accidentally get into the vacuum cleaner. here it’s simple - I unscrew the lid, turn on the vacuum cleaner and mix everything that remains in the revision with my hand. Small particles immediately fly into the cyclone tank, while large particles remain and are easily removed. Their number is usually insignificant, but recently I found a missing screwdriver bit in such garbage.

Also, the inspection hole can be used for temporary connection of a ∅100 mm hose. It is enough to unscrew the cover - and we get a finished hole ∅100 mm. Naturally, in this case it is necessary to muffle all other wiring inputs. A flexible adapter can be used to simplify connection. (photo 10).

To remotely turn on the vacuum cleaner, a switch was installed next to the hose clamp (photo 11) and additional . It can be used to connect a power tool, then you will definitely not forget to turn on the vacuum cleaner before using the tool - this often happens to me.

I use all of the above devices on a regular basis. I am satisfied with the result - there is noticeably less dust in the workshop, it is easier to clean. During this time, I collected several bags of sawdust, and very little debris accumulates in the vacuum cleaner. I want to check the cyclone for collecting small garden debris and dust when cleaning the concrete floor.

I think this design is very useful and affordable for making at home.

Sergey Golovkov, Rostov region, Novocherkassk

A home vacuum cleaner is so familiar to the household that no one thinks about the principle of its operation. Since the invention of this cleaning assistant, the only possible way to separate dust from clean air has been used - a filter.

Over the years, the filter element has been improved, from a banal bag of thick tarpaulin, it has turned into high-tech membranes that hold the smallest particles of debris. At the same time, it was not possible to get rid of the main drawback.

Filter makers are constantly looking for a compromise between cell density and air throughput. In addition, the dirtier the membrane, the worse the air flow through it.
30 years ago, physicist James Dyson made a breakthrough in dust collection technology.

He invented a compact dust separator that works on the principle of centrifugal force. Needless to say, this idea was not new. Industrial sawmills have been using centrifugal scorch and chip accumulators of the "cyclone" type for a long time.

But no one guessed to apply this physical phenomenon in everyday life. In 1986 he registered a patent for the first vacuum cleaner cyclone type, with the name G-Force.

In general, there are three ways to separate dust from clean air:

1. filter membrane. The most massive and cheap way remove dust. Used in most modern vacuum cleaners;
2. Water filter. Air with garbage passes through a container of water (like in a hookah), all particles remain in a liquid medium, and a perfectly clean air stream enters the outlet. Such devices have gained popularity, but their use has not become widespread due to the high cost.
3. Centrifugal dry cleaning filter of the "cyclone" type. It is a compromise in terms of cost and quality of cleaning in comparison with a membrane and a water filter. Let's take a closer look at this model.

The principle of operation of the cyclone

The illustration shows the processes taking place in the cyclone filter chamber.

Polluted air enters the cylindrical filter housing (2) through the pipe (1). The branch pipe is located tangentially to the walls of the housing, due to which the air flow (3) is twisted into a spiral along the walls of the cylinder.

Under the action of centrifugal force, dust particles (4) are pressed against the inner walls of the housing, and under the influence of gravity, they settle into the dust collector (5). Air with the smallest debris particles (which are not affected by centrifugal force) enters the chamber (6) with a conventional membrane filter. After the final cleaning, they exit to the intake fan (7).

When working in a workshop or at home with a grinding tool, when processing parts and preparing surfaces, there is a need to remove fine dust. And, of course, it is desirable to reduce its concentration even during work by organizing local permanent air purification at the workplace.

In enterprises, this problem is solved by installing filter units with a cyclone, which captures and settles dust with the required efficiency.

In our case, it is enough make a vacuum cleaner with a cyclone, thereby saving on the purchase of a construction vacuum cleaner, where such a function is provided by the manufacturer.

The principle of operation of a homemade construction vacuum cleaner with a cyclone filter

There are several options for manufacturing a cyclone for domestic needs. To determine the most efficient scheme for the functioning of the equipment, you should know the principle of operation of this filter.

The cyclone in the classic version is a cylinder and a cone, in the upper part of which there is an inlet for polluted and an outlet for purified air.

The inlet is made so that the air enters the filter tangentially, forming a rotating flow directed towards the cone of the equipment (down).

Inertial forces act on pollutant particles, carry them out of the flow to the walls of the apparatus, where dust is deposited.

Under the influence of gravity and the secondary flow, the mass deposited on the walls moves towards the cone and is removed to the receiving hopper. Purified air rises up along the central axis and is discharged through a branch pipe located strictly in the center top platform cyclone.

A prerequisite for effective air purification is the accurate calculation of the apparatus and the tightness of the cyclone, including in relation to the receiving hopper.

Otherwise, the principle of operation is violated and a chaotic movement of air occurs, preventing dust from settling in the normal mode.

In addition, it is necessary to select an engine that sucks in polluted air, which will ensure optimal equipment operation parameters.

Homemade filter for construction vacuum cleaner, the variants of which are offered on the Internet cannot be called a full-fledged cyclone.

The most simple circuit Such equipment is a plastic barrel with an embedded tangential inlet pipe, a built-in filter from the car inside the “cyclone” body, through which purified air is removed and to which a household vacuum cleaner is connected.

The disadvantages of the equipment are the absence of a formed flow swirling along the walls of the barrel and a laminar return flow.

In fact, we get an additional capacity for the deposition of large particles (sawdust, shavings), and fine dust will clog the filter at the outlet, and it will require constant cleaning.

To improve the design, we suggest supplementing the plastic barrel with a homemade cyclone made from a traffic cone. It is best, if the work is carried out for several hours, to install a stationary version of the equipment to remove dust from the workplace.

In this case, we need a radial household fan. And with a one-time connection of the cyclone, it is enough to use a conventional vacuum cleaner with adjustable suction power.

Sometimes an additional rheostat is installed to reduce the speed of the vacuum cleaner motor, thereby selecting the parameters necessary for the normal functioning of the filter.

In the following sections of the article, we will present you with two variants of a cyclone for domestic use.

Inventory selection - what is required for work

For the first design option for a fixed installation, you will need the following components:

• plastic barrel;
• Gray plastic sewer pipe with a diameter of 50 mm;
• traffic cone;
• Corrugated hoses reinforced with steel wire or metallized hoses;
• Glue for plastic;
• Radial domestic fan with the ability to change the engine speed and performance equal to six times the air exchange in the room;
• Plywood 10-12 mm thick.

The second version of the product is the most successful, since in this case the product approaches the functionality of a real cyclone.

To make a filter, you will need to purchase:

• Ready-made plastic cyclone made in China;
• A barrel, bucket or other container for making a dust bin;
• Corrugated hoses.

A plastic cyclone is inexpensive, about 1500-2500 rubles, and is designed to collect dust of medium and heavy fractions. Works great on chips and sawdust.

Step-by-step instructions for the cyclone assembly process

The first option we have in line fixed structure for workshops with a high generation of dust of various origins.

We assemble a cyclone-type filter for a vacuum cleaner

1. First, we make the cyclone itself. In a plastic cone, we make a hole for the passage of a sewer pipe tangentially.
2. For a better connection of the branch pipe with the body of the cone, the interface surfaces are matted sandpaper. We glue the seams with a mounting gun.
3. In the upper part of the cone, we install a vertical branch pipe, the lower end of which should be below the inlet. Thus, we can achieve a vortex movement of air. The branch pipe is fixed in a plywood sheet in the form of a circle with a diameter equal to the size of the base of the cone.
4. The prepared cyclone is fixed on the barrel lid with a round plywood sheet.
5. So that the plastic barrel, when clogging the inlet pipe with debris, does not deform under the influence of vacuum, we install a spacer inside the container - a frame made of plywood sheet. The outer dimensions of the frame repeat inner diameter barrels. To strengthen the structure, we attract the building cone to the container lid with the help of metal studs.
6. Next, we connect the cyclone to the corrugated hoses at the inlet and outlet. We install a radial household fan outdoors under a canopy.

The second version of the construction vacuum cleaner is based on a Chinese plastic cyclone, which is also attached to any of the selected containers. It turns out a reliable and efficient design.
Fastening of the cyclone to the tank is carried out using a clamping metal flange.

VIDEO INSTRUCTION

When starting the vacuum cleaner and further operation, do not forget to clean the inlet pipe and stop the internal spacers on the containers in order to prevent deformation of the receiving hopper.

If more is needed fine cleaning air, then the design is complemented by a car filter in the housing at the outlet of the product.

From the very beginning of work in the workshop, I faced the problem of removing dust after work. The only opportunity available to clean up the floor was to sweep it. But because of this, just an incredible amount of dust rose into the air, which settled in a tangible layer on furniture, on machines, on tools, in hair and lungs. The concrete floor in the workshop exacerbated the problem. Some solution was to spray water before sweeping and use a respirator. However, these are only half measures. In winter, water freezes in an unheated room and you have to carry it with you, in addition, the water-dust mixture on the floor is difficult to collect and it also does not contribute to the hygiene of the workplace. Firstly, the respirator does not block all 100% of the dust, some of it is still inhaled, and secondly, it does not protect against dust settling on the environment. And not all back streets can be climbed with a broom to pick out small debris and sawdust from there.

In such a situation, the most effective solution it would be to vacuum the room.

However, using a household vacuum cleaner will not work. Firstly, it will have to be cleaned every 10-15 minutes of operation (especially if you work on milling table). Secondly, as the dust container fills up, suction efficiency decreases. Thirdly, the amount of dust, greatly exceeding the calculated values, will greatly affect the resource of the vacuum cleaner. Something more specialized is needed here.

There are many ready-made solutions for dust removal in the workshop, however, their cost, especially in light of the 2014 Crisis, does not make them too affordable. Found on thematic forums interesting solution- use a cyclone filter in conjunction with a conventional household vacuum cleaner. All of the listed problems of household vacuum cleaners are solved if dirt and dust are removed from the air to a standard vacuum cleaner dust collector. Some collect cyclone filters from traffic cones, others from sewer pipes, others - from plywood and everything that is enough for imagination. But I decided to buy a ready-made filter with fasteners.

The principle of operation is simple - the air flow is twisted in the cone-shaped filter housing and dust is removed from the air under the action of centrifugal force. In this case, the dust falls through the lower hole into the container under the filter, and the purified air exits through the upper hole into the vacuum cleaner.

One of the frequent problems in the operation of cyclones is the so-called "carousel". This is a situation where dirt and sawdust do not fall into the dust container, but swirl endlessly inside the filter. This situation arises from too high a speed of the air flow created by the turbine of the vacuum cleaner. It is necessary to reduce the speed a little and the "carousel" will disappear. In principle, it does not interfere - the next portion of garbage pushes most of the "carousel" into the container and takes its place. And in the second model of plastic cyclones, this carousel practically does not exist. To eliminate air leakage, I smeared with hot glue the junction of the filter with the cover.

I decided to take a larger dust container so that I had to take out the garbage less often. I bought a barrel of 127 liters, produced, it seems, in Samara - the size is right! I'm going to carry the barrel to the trash can like a grandmother carrying a shopping bag - on another cart, so as not to overstrain.

Next is the choice of layout. Some install the dust collector permanently and lead channels to the machines. Others simply put a vacuum cleaner and a barrel next to each other and drag them to the right place. I wanted to make a mobile unit on wheels to move everything around the workshop in one block.
I have a rather small workshop and the issue of saving space is very relevant. Therefore, I decided to choose a layout in which the barrel, filter and vacuum cleaner are located one above the other, occupying a minimum area. It was decided to cook the body of the installation from metal. frame from profile pipe determines the dimensions of the future installation.

With a vertical layout, there is a possibility of tipping over. To reduce this probability, you need to make the base as heavy as possible. For this, a 50x50x5 corner was chosen as the material for the base, which took almost 3.5 meters.

The tangible weight of the trolley is offset by the presence of swivel wheels. There were thoughts, if the structure is not stable enough, to fill the cavity of the frame with lead shot or sand. But this was not required.

In order to achieve the verticality of the rods, it was necessary to use ingenuity. The recently purchased vise came in handy. Thanks to such a simple equipment, it was possible to achieve accurate installation of angles.

It is convenient to move the trolley by holding on to the vertical bars, so I strengthened their attachment points. In addition, this is an additional, albeit not large, weighting of the base. In general, I like reliable things with a margin of safety.

The barrel will be fixed in the installation frame with the help of clamps.

At the top of the rods is a platform for a vacuum cleaner. Further, holes will be drilled in the corners in the lower part and fixed wooden planks using self-tapping screws.

Here is the whole frame. It seems to be nothing complicated, but for some reason it took four evenings to assemble it. On the one hand, I did not seem to be in a hurry, I worked at my own pace, trying to complete each stage with high quality. But on the other hand, low productivity is associated with the lack of heating in the workshop. Goggles and a welded mask fog up quickly, impairing visibility, bulky outerwear hinders movement. But the task is done. Besides, spring is only a couple of weeks away.

I really did not want to leave the frame in this form. I wanted to paint it. But on all the cans of paint that I found in the store it is written that they can be used at a temperature not lower than +5, and on some even not lower than +15. The thermometer in the workshop shows -3. How to be?
Esteemed thematic forums. People write that you can safely paint even in frost, as long as the paint is not water-based and there is no condensation on the part. And if the paint is with a hardener, then do not bathe at all.
I found an old, slightly thickened can of Hammerite in the stash, which I used to paint a horizontal bar at the dacha in the summer -. The paint is quite expensive, so I decided to test it in extreme conditions. Instead of the expensive original thinner, Hammereit added some regular degreaser to make it a little thinner, stirred it to the desired consistency and began to paint.
In summer, this paint dried in one hour. It is difficult to say how long it dried in the winter, but when I returned to the studio in the evening next day the paint is dry. True, without the promised hammer effect. Probably the degreaser is to blame, not negative temperature. Otherwise, no other problems were found. The cover looks and feels secure. Perhaps it is not for nothing that this paint costs almost 2,500 rubles in the store.

The body of the cyclone is made of good plastic and has fairly thick walls. But fastening the filter to the lid of the barrel is rather flimsy - four self-tapping screws screwed into the plastic. At the same time, significant lateral loads can occur on the hose, which is attached directly to the filter. Therefore, the attachment of the filter to the barrel must be strengthened. People approach this problem in different ways. Basically, they collect an additional stiffening frame for the filter. The designs are varied, but the idea is something like this:

I approached this a little differently. A holder for pipes of a suitable diameter was welded onto one of the rods.

In this holder, I clamp the hose, which accounts for all the twists and jerks. Thus, the filter housing is protected from any stress. Now the unit can be pulled behind you right by the hose without fear of damaging anything.

I decided to fix the barrel with tie-down straps. When choosing locks in a hardware store, I made an interesting observation. 5m ratchet strap foreign production cost me 180 rubles, and the bare lock of the Russian-made "frog" type lying next to it would cost me 250 rubles. That's where the triumph of domestic engineering and high technology.

Experience has shown that this method of fastening has an important advantage. The fact is that on the forums dedicated to these filters they write that barrels like mine, when connected to a powerful vacuum cleaner, can be crushed due to the vacuum that occurs when the inlet hose is clogged. Therefore, during the tests, I deliberately blocked the opening of the hose and, under the influence of vacuum, the barrel shrank. But due to the very tight grip of the clamps, the barrel did not shrink completely, but only in one place below the hoop a dent appeared. And when I turned off the vacuum cleaner, the dent straightened itself with a click.

At the top of the unit is a platform for a vacuum cleaner

As a household vacuum cleaner, I bought a bagless almost two-kilowatt monster. I was already thinking, and at home I would need such a thing.
When buying a vacuum cleaner on an ad, I encountered some inexplicable human stupidity and greed. The people sell used things without a guarantee, with a depleted part of the resource, shortcomings in appearance at prices below the store by some 15-20 percent. And okay, these would be some running things, but second-hand vacuum cleaners! Judging by the period of placement of ads, this trade sometimes drags on for years. And as soon as you start haggling and calling an adequate price, you come across rudeness and misunderstanding.
As a result, after a couple of days, I still found a great option for myself for 800 rubles. Famous brand, 1900 Watts, built-in cyclonic filter (already the second in my system) and another fine filter.
For its fastening, I did not come up with anything more elegant than pressing it with a tie-down strap. In principle, it holds securely.

I had to fiddle a bit with the hose connections. As a result, we have such a setting. And she works!

Usually when you read reviews from the first use of such gizmos, people choke with delight. Here is something similar and I experienced the first time I turned it on. It's no joke - vacuuming in the workshop! Where everyone walks in street shoes, where metal shavings and sawdust fly everywhere!

I have never seen this concrete floor, impossible to sweep due to dust stuck in the pores, so clean before. Persistent attempts to sweep it only lead to an increase in the density of dust in the air. And such purity was given to me in a couple of easy movements! I didn't even have to wear a respirator!

In the barrel, we managed to collect what was left after the previous cleaning with a broom. During operation of the device, due to the translucence of the filter, you can observe dust wisps swirling inside. There was also dust in the dust collector of the vacuum cleaner, but it was a small amount and these were especially light and volatile fractions.

Very pleased with the result. No more dust storms in the workshop. You can say I'm going to new era.

Advantages of my design:
1. Occupies a minimum area, due only to the diameter of the barrel.
2. The unit can be dragged and pulled by the hose without being afraid to pull out the filter.
3. The barrel is protected from crushing when the inlet pipe is clogged.

After some time of using the installation, I still ran into the problem of a lack of barrel rigidity.
Bought a more powerful vacuum cleaner. Household, but sucks like a beast - sucks stones, nuts, screws, tears off plaster and pulls bricks out of masonry))
This vacuum cleaner slammed the blue barrel even without clogging the inlet hose! Tight girth of the barrel with clamps did not help. I didn't have my camera with me, sorry. But it looks like this:

Thematic forums warn of such a possibility, but still I did not expect this. With great difficulty he straightened the barrel and sent it, fairly dented, to the dacha to store water. She is not capable of more.

There were two ways out of this situation:
1. Buy a metal barrel instead of a plastic one. But I need to find a barrel of a very specific size so that it fits exactly into my installation - diameter 480, height 800. A superficial search on the Internet did not give a result.
2. Assemble the box yourself right size from 15 mm plywood. Here it is more real.

The box was assembled on self-tapping screws. The joints were sealed with double-sided foam tape.

The trolley had to be altered a little - the rear clamp was digested for a square tank.

The new tank, in addition to strength and volume increased due to right angles, has another important advantage - a wide neck. This allows you to install a trash bag in the tank. It greatly simplifies unloading and makes it much cleaner (I tied the bag right in the tank and took it out and threw it away without dust). The old barrel did not allow this.

The lid was sealed with foam insulation for windows

The lid is held in place by four locks. They create the necessary tension to seal the cover on the foam gasket. A little higher, I wrote about the pricing policy for these frog locks. But I had to fork out.

Well done. Nice, functional, safe. How I love.

Today we will tell you about the cyclone filter for a vacuum cleaner in the workshop, because one of the problems that you have to deal with in woodworking is dust removal. Industrial equipment quite expensive, so we will make a cyclone with our own hands - it's completely simple.

What is a cyclone and why is it needed

In the workshop, there is almost always a need to remove garbage of a sufficiently large fraction. Sawdust, small scraps, metal shavings - all this, in principle, can be caught by a regular vacuum cleaner filter, but with a high probability it will quickly become unusable. In addition, it will not be superfluous to remove liquid waste.

The cyclone filter uses an aerodynamic swirl to bind the specks different sizes. Spinning in a circle, the garbage manages to stick together to such a consistency that it can no longer be carried away by the air flow and settles at the bottom. This effect almost always occurs if the air flow passes through a cylindrical container at a sufficient speed.

Such filters are included in the kit of many industrial vacuum cleaners, but their cost cannot be called affordable for the layman. At the same time, the range of problems solved with the help of homemade devices, not at all anymore. A handicraft cyclone can be used both in conjunction with planers, perforators or jigsaws, and for removing sawdust or chips from different kind machine tools. After all, even simple cleaning with such a device it is much easier, because the bulk of dust and debris settles in a container, from where it can be easily removed.

Difference Between Wet and Dry Cyclone

To create a swirling flow, the main requirement is that the air entering the tank does not follow the shortest path to the exhaust hole. To do this, the inlet pipe must have a special shape and be directed either to the bottom of the tank or tangentially to the walls. The exhaust channel, according to a similar principle, is recommended to be made rotatable, optimally if it is directed towards the cover of the device. The increase in aerodynamic drag due to pipe bends can be neglected.

As already mentioned, the cyclone filter has the potential to remove liquid waste as well. With a liquid, everything is somewhat more complicated: the air in the pipe and the cyclone is partially rarefied, which contributes to the evaporation of moisture and its breakdown into very small drops. Therefore, the inlet pipe must be located as close as possible to the surface of the water or even lowered under it.

In most washing vacuum cleaners, air is supplied to the water through a diffuser, so any moisture contained in it is effectively dissolved. However, for greater versatility with a minimum number of alterations, it is not recommended to use such a scheme.

We make from improvised materials

The simplest and most affordable option for a cyclone tank would be a bucket of paint or other building mixtures. The volume should be comparable to the power of the vacuum cleaner used, approximately one liter for every 80-100 watts.

The bucket lid must be intact and hermetically put on the body of the future cyclone. It will have to be finalized by making a couple of holes. Regardless of the material of the bucket, the easiest way to make holes desired diameter- use a homemade compass. V wooden lath you need to screw in two self-tapping screws so that their tips are at a distance of 27 mm from each other, no more, no less.

The centers of the holes should be marked 40 mm from the edge of the cover, it is desirable that they be as far apart as possible. Both metal and plastic are excellently scratched with such a home-made tool, forming smooth edges with virtually no burrs.

The second element of the cyclone will be a set of sewer elbows at 90º and 45º. In advance, we draw your attention to the fact that the position of the corners must correspond to the direction of air flow. Their fastening in the housing cover is carried out according to the following scheme:

1. The knee is inserted all the way into the side of the socket. Silicone sealant is pre-applied under the side.
2. WITH reverse side a rubber o-ring is pulled onto the socket with force. To be sure, you can additionally compress it with a screw clamp.

The inlet pipe is located with a narrow turning part inside the bucket, the socket is on the outside almost flush with the lid. The knee must be provided with another turn at 45º and directed obliquely down and tangentially to the wall of the bucket. If the cyclone is manufactured with the expectation of wet cleaning, you should increase the extreme elbow by cutting the pipe, reducing the distance from the bottom to 10-15 cm.

The exhaust pipe is located in the opposite position and its socket is located under the bucket lid. You also need to insert one knee into it so that the air intake occurs at the wall or make two turns for suction from under the center of the lid. The latter is preferable. Do not forget about the o-rings, for more reliable fixation and to prevent turning of the knees, they can be wrapped with plumbing tape.

How to adapt the device for machines and tools

To be able to draw in waste when working with hand and stationary tools, a system of adapters is required. Typically, a vacuum cleaner hose ends in a curved tube, the diameter of which is comparable to the nozzles for power tool dust bags. In extreme cases, you can seal the joint with several layers of double-sided mirror tape wrapped with vinyl tape to eliminate stickiness.

With stationary equipment, everything is more complicated. Dust vents have a very different configuration, especially for homemade machines, so we can only give a few useful recommendations:

1. If the dust extraction of the machine is designed for 110 mm or larger hose, use plumbing adapters with a diameter of 50 mm to connect the corrugated hose of the vacuum cleaner.
2. For docking with a dust trap of home-made machines, it is convenient to use press fittings for 50 mm HDPE pipes.
3. When designing the dust collector housing and outlet, use the convection flow created by the moving parts of the tool for greater efficiency. For example: the branch pipe for removing sawdust from a circular saw should be directed tangentially to the saw blade.
4. Sometimes it is required to provide dust extraction from different sides of the workpiece, for example, for band saw or a cutter. Use 50mm sewer tees and corrugated drain hoses.

Which vacuum cleaner and connection system to use

Usually, a vacuum cleaner for a homemade cyclone is not chosen independently, but the one that is available is used. However, there are a number of limitations in addition to the power mentioned above. If you want to continue using the vacuum cleaner for domestic purposes, then at a minimum you will need to find an additional hose.

The beauty of the sewer elbows used in the design is that they ideally fit the diameter of the most common hoses. Therefore, the spare hose can be safely cut into 2/3 and 1/3, a shorter segment must be joined to the vacuum cleaner. The other, longer section, in this form, is refueled into the socket of the cyclone inlet pipe. The maximum that is required in this place is to seal the joint with silicone sealant or plumbing tape, but usually the planting density is quite high. Especially with the o-ring.

In the video, another example of the manufacture of a cyclone for dust removal in the workshop

To pull a short piece of hose onto the exhaust pipe, the extreme part of the corrugated pipe will have to be leveled. Depending on the diameter of the hose, it may be more convenient to tuck it in. If the straightened edge does not fit slightly on the pipe, it is recommended to warm it up a little with a hair dryer or an indirect flame. gas burner. The latter is considered an excellent option, because this way the connection will be located optimally in relation to the direction of the moving stream.