Question on Dust Collection

[dpsnyder]

A friend is putting in a new shop - 12' x 22' - and will be pouring a concrete floor.

Before he does that he wondered about putting some dust collection tubes (I assume 4" PVC) in the floor bringing period ports up to the surface to connect to various equipment with solid and or flexible tubing. Should work well for a port coming up to the table saw in the middle of the room. He is planning on putting the dust collector outside the shop room.

If the dust collector was going to be in the corner, I was thinking he could run one tube down the long wall, one down the short wall, and one into the middle of the room.

Several questions:
- for turns in the tubing in the concrete, use the larger 90 degree turn connector or a "Y" connection (for example for the period ports along the run)?

- what kind of connector would you use at each port? Be nice to have the table saw connection to be flush with floor with a cap (screw-in?) when not using it.

An other ideas, issues or concerns with doing this?

Thanks in advance!

Dan Snyder

 

[McRabbet]

Dan,

Unless you have a raised wood floor and can run ducting underneath, then the best options I have seen are to build trenches (using forms before the concrete slab is poured) and make tham wide and deep enough to run 4"or 6" PVC and power for tools in the center areas of the shop. The forms should include a 3/4" deep lip on each side to accept a set of 3/4" thick plywood covers. I would also pitch the trenches to insure they would drain to a convenient place in case of a spill.

Somewhere out in bits and bytes land of the www, I've seen a diagram for this, but it would take some searching.

 

[rbradford]

Dan,
I think your approach of running lines along the walls will be better over time. I added a 14 x 22 shop on to my garage last year and encourage your friend to consult with the building inspections dept before committing to running channels in the pour for duct work. I found the inspections dept to be very professional and fair; but strict on code enforcement.:wink_smil

 

[Bill Clemmons]

Dan,
I think your approach of running lines along the walls will be better over time. I added a 14 x 22 shop on to my garage last year and encourage your friend to consult with the building inspections dept before committing to running channels in the pour for duct work. I found the inspections dept to be very professional and fair; but strict on code enforcement.:wink_smil

+1 on using the building inspectors. When I built my shop I got to the point of consulting w/ them before I committed to do something. They not only told me what I could and could not do, but they also had helpful suggestions on how to do some things.

Bill

 

[jhreed]

Be prepared to break concrete if you have a bad plug up. I would not run ducting under floor unless the floor had a crawl space big enough for me to work under.
James

 

[merrill77]

If it were me, I wouldn't put the DC lines in a concrete floor. Maybe it is just because I'm a hobbiest with only moderate experience, but I seem to rearrange my shop every few years based on changes in the way I work. I would not want to be restricted on where I put my machines based on where the DC ports are.

 

[TOL Woodworks]

I think it's a great idea. It would look a lot neater, be out of the way, and easier to maintain. And I don't think having a clog would be a big deal...you could just use a snake (the kind used to clear clogged plumbing lines) to clear any clog. Liquid shouldn't get into it because no hole would be left open and uncovered. I would put in plenty of extra lines to places where you might have tools later and keep those routes closed until needed. And definitely don't use T's or L's. You want Y's and elbows. No sharp turns to create clogs. And you want to make sure that the connectors that you use leave no ridges on the inside of the pipe...at least not in the direction in which particles would be flowing. Great idea.

 

[Bas]

I like the idea of a trench, since you can also run power, compressed air etc. that way. It's definitely a space saver too, 6" pipe takes up quite a bit of room! With a shop this size, you're not likely to run into rearrangement problems. With a 12x22 shop, there's only so many ways you can make equipment fit, and even if you move something, worst case you're adding a few feet of flex. And absolutely worst case you simply add an overhead run to complement what's underground.