Shop Sweep with Cyclone
Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2024 9:00 am
Since I do all my wood-cutting work on the driveway, my usual dust collection system is the great outdoors. Occasionally however, I need to clean up the driveway, garage and basement. I wanted a rugged, upright, wheeled vac for use on large outdoor ground areas such as garage and driveway.
So for years I have owned a "Shop Sweep" model 405EDI upright-style floor vacuum, made by Shop Vac. This vac is rugged, has a 19" wide intake, and has large 7" wheels. But it also won't stand upright by itself, and the power switch must be held in during operation. Must have been a rushed design effort at ShopVac.
Biggest problem with it however, was its heavy cloth filter bag which dragged on the ground and was uncleanable. I kept the vac but got rid of the old bag*, and the vac sat un-used for years. But I still wanted a decent upright floor vac for outdoor and basement use.
Since these "Dust Deputy" type cyclone cannisters are becoming more used in vac systems, I designed and fabbed the hardware to mount one to the "Shop Sweep" to replace the old bag.* Pictures below.
The cyclone separator is a "NANTONG SUNING SN50T33". I looked at many of these cyclones, but this one was compact enough for the application.
I had to transition from the 3-5/8" OD on the vac to a 2-1/4" OD on the cyclone. For this I CAD-designed a transition duct and had it made by an FEA fabricator (Xometry). $123 total, but free shipping. Costly, but it fit well on the vac, and I could not have home-made a better one.
Cyclone diameter was 2-1/4" OD so I had to find a hose ID of that size. Found it from BISCO-AIR. $36 for 5 feet + $20 shipping (ouch).
From some scrap acrylic, I designed and fabbed (on my Shopsmith of course) a bracket to hold the cyclone to the vac. This bracket will get bopped around, so I think I will make the next one from aluminum. Sooner or later this acrylic bracket will break.
For the cyclone waste bucket, I used a 2-gallon LEAKTITE bucket + lid. Home Depot sells them. I modified the lid to fit the cyclone, and I cut some portions of the lid away to make bucket removal easier.
On the cyclone air-outlet duct, I clamped a small disposable "pool skimmer" cloth bag. These bags are terrific for use on shop vacs and many other filtering tasks.
I put this cyclone-equipped vac to work. Performance was underwhelming. Needs more power for outdoor debris. I did fill the 2-gallon can with sawdust in a short time, so the cyclone itself is not the weak link. But I expected more suction. It will be better than a conventional shop-vac for floor work, but for the amount of dust I create, the old pushbroom + jumbo dustpan still works best.
* no relatives or in-laws were harmed.
So for years I have owned a "Shop Sweep" model 405EDI upright-style floor vacuum, made by Shop Vac. This vac is rugged, has a 19" wide intake, and has large 7" wheels. But it also won't stand upright by itself, and the power switch must be held in during operation. Must have been a rushed design effort at ShopVac.
Biggest problem with it however, was its heavy cloth filter bag which dragged on the ground and was uncleanable. I kept the vac but got rid of the old bag*, and the vac sat un-used for years. But I still wanted a decent upright floor vac for outdoor and basement use.
Since these "Dust Deputy" type cyclone cannisters are becoming more used in vac systems, I designed and fabbed the hardware to mount one to the "Shop Sweep" to replace the old bag.* Pictures below.
The cyclone separator is a "NANTONG SUNING SN50T33". I looked at many of these cyclones, but this one was compact enough for the application.
I had to transition from the 3-5/8" OD on the vac to a 2-1/4" OD on the cyclone. For this I CAD-designed a transition duct and had it made by an FEA fabricator (Xometry). $123 total, but free shipping. Costly, but it fit well on the vac, and I could not have home-made a better one.
Cyclone diameter was 2-1/4" OD so I had to find a hose ID of that size. Found it from BISCO-AIR. $36 for 5 feet + $20 shipping (ouch).
From some scrap acrylic, I designed and fabbed (on my Shopsmith of course) a bracket to hold the cyclone to the vac. This bracket will get bopped around, so I think I will make the next one from aluminum. Sooner or later this acrylic bracket will break.
For the cyclone waste bucket, I used a 2-gallon LEAKTITE bucket + lid. Home Depot sells them. I modified the lid to fit the cyclone, and I cut some portions of the lid away to make bucket removal easier.
On the cyclone air-outlet duct, I clamped a small disposable "pool skimmer" cloth bag. These bags are terrific for use on shop vacs and many other filtering tasks.
I put this cyclone-equipped vac to work. Performance was underwhelming. Needs more power for outdoor debris. I did fill the 2-gallon can with sawdust in a short time, so the cyclone itself is not the weak link. But I expected more suction. It will be better than a conventional shop-vac for floor work, but for the amount of dust I create, the old pushbroom + jumbo dustpan still works best.
* no relatives or in-laws were harmed.