Spark Bong question/WIP/construction

A.McPherson said:
I think the idea is to eliminate anything that could be hot before it reaches the actual vacuum.

That way you can have an expensive filter (hepa) at the end that is really only filtering super fine stuff at the end, and it will last a lot longer. Not to mention be more effective.

But I could be wrong, maybe cushing just likes Rube Goldberg machines... ;)
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Well ... the answer is kind of all the above. The dust deputy came about because my original setup had that weird right angle turn to convert the downward flow from the grinder into the horizontal inlet to the dust deputy. I ended up finding out that both metal dust and wood dust collect in the bottom of that turn. Needs to be cleaned out and is a fire hazard ... especially if I go from wood to metal without cleaning the thing. So, the dust deputy just now exists.
Right now I am thinking kind of what AMcpherson said ... I have it, so why not use it ... doing so will provide extra protection from sparks or water making it to the shop vac (and I do have a hepa in there) .... and I REALLY do not want a fire. The cost is airflow. For now I will see how it goes..
 
Do yourself a favor and take the shop vac out of the system. Use it for what it does best ... vacuuming up the bench and floor.

Get a 1HP dust vac blower unit from HF, Amazon, or ebay and pipe it directly outside (flex hose is fine). The bong removes all heavier debris and the dust deputy removes the finer stuff. What goes outside is probably 1% of all the dust created. These are about 4 times the power of a shop vac (don't be fooled by the HP rating on the label of a shop vac).
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Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Do yourself a favor and take the shop vac out of the system. Use it for what it does best ... vacuuming up the bench and floor.

Get a 1HP dust vac blower unit from HF, Amazon, or ebay and pipe it directly outside (flex hose is fine). The bong removes all heavier debris and the dust deputy removes the finer stuff. What goes outside is probably 1% of all the dust created. These are about 4 times the power of a shop vac (don't be fooled by the HP rating on the label of a shop vac).
s-l1600.jpg
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I was just going to ask if a normal vacuum is enough for all that piping and different stages of filtering. I have a Kärcher WD3 and when I use the fire kit it probably has half of the power. I don't have the place/possibility to blow the dust out, so I will try to convert the firekit in a spark bong. Dust really puts me off, even when I stop grinding I still feel myself breathing all the dust from grinding and I don't feel like wearing a mask when handsanding or doing something non grinding related.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Do yourself a favor and take the shop vac out of the system. Use it for what it does best ... vacuuming up the bench and floor.

Get a 1HP dust vac blower unit from HF, Amazon, or ebay and pipe it directly outside (flex hose is fine). The bong removes all heavier debris and the dust deputy removes the finer stuff. What goes outside is probably 1% of all the dust created. These are about 4 times the power of a shop vac (don't be fooled by the HP rating on the label of a shop vac).
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I wish. I just do not really have a good way to vent to outside :-(
 
A window, a dryer vent, a garage door, an old chimney ... all can be made to work. But, if not, use the catch bag.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
A window, a dryer vent, a garage door, an old chimney ... all can be made to work. But, if not, use the catch bag.
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I’m tucked into a corner of the basement with no windows and very restricted sill access due to the way the joists run. Would not the catch bag be bigger than the shop vac I currently run?
 
You can fold and clamp the bag to make it smaller. Your shoo vac will work, but the main advantage of the blower is far stronger downdraft at the bong.
 
You can also turn the blower on its side and have the bag blowing upright. Or, make a simple stand and put the blower on the top with the bag below it. This is common in woodshops.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
A window, a dryer vent, a garage door, an old chimney ... all can be made to work. But, if not, use the catch bag.
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My basement shop has actually an old chimney, that is a really neat idea. I can't use the windows to blow the dust in the common garden, but chimney should be fine.
 
Brock has a good photo of the three-stage collection of grinding dust/sparks.
1) The spark bong to trap and quench hot stuff and large particles.
2) The dust deputy to eliminate most of the rest of the dust.
3) The shop vac or dust collector to trap the remaining particles ( there should be almost nothing getting here).

The advantage of this system is it allows the bong unit to be moved as needed to work with different tool arm or moved to other grinder stations, and the Deputy and shop vac to be tucked in corners or under workbenches.
You can also make a variety of spark catcher "collectors" to use on other equipment like disc grinders, horizontal grinders, and even a bench grinder. For grinding/sanding and sawing wood, just feed the saw/sander collector port straight to the dust deputy.
 
You are right Stacy. There is almost nothing in the last stage, even after years. I just emptied mine literally two years or more since the last time, and the bag had fallen and there was just a bit of stuff in the bottom.

On that igloo, I picked that up at a garage sale for a few bucks. I see them quite frequently.
 
Okay, spark bong, dust deputy make sense. Last part, I have a good sized dust collector and do lots of woodwork. Should I be using a dust collector that is dedicated to metal and another for wood dust? Or does the spark bong/dust deputy do the job and I can use one dust collector for both?
 
You will have to make those decisions, but if your bong and dust deputy are running right, connecting to a wood dust collector system is fine. That is the whole reason for the bong and deputy ... to make the final receptor safe from the sparks.

The best way to assure your system is running right is to connect to a shop vac at first and see what enters the vac. If nothing is getting there the wood dust collector would be a good choice for the vacuum supply.
 
Randydb said:
Okay, spark bong, dust deputy make sense. Last part, I have a good sized dust collector and do lots of woodwork. Should I be using a dust collector that is dedicated to metal and another for wood dust? Or does the spark bong/dust deputy do the job and I can use one dust collector for both?
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Randy - I’m just echoing what Stacy said ... but my primary reason for this change is precisely because I use my grinder for both grinding blades and shaping handles (wood). In my original setup, both wood dust and steel particles would accumulate in the bottom of that right angle Turn of ducting Entering into the dust deputy. Occasionally I would see sparks circling around the top of the dust deputy. A little water tossed down the intake manifold, and those sparks would go out. I accumulate a bunch of gunk around the inside walls of the dust deputy (Which is wet, so I don’t worry too much about it), but pretty much nothing Makes it to the shop vac (which makes me feel much better ).
My real issue has been that accumulation of gunk n the inlet manifold. If I transition from working wood to metal, I have had to make sure I clean/vacuum out that accumulation of wood dust before the sparks fly. I am hoping the addition of the spark bong eliminates that need. I will keep water in the dust deputy ... so my worry about the vacuum is pretty small (but I always do have an extinguisher positioned and within reach)
 
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