Using tent for dust collection system.

MountainBilly

MountainBilly

Joined
Nov 13, 2007
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I'm converting a 12' x 8' shed into a knife shop. It's small but pleasant in there with the french doors and the window installed. I have an old craftsman dust collector which doesn't really fit, nor do I want it in the shed even if it did. If I build a lean-to on the side to house it I violate the building code because my roof is already maximum size without a building permit. I'm on a tight budget anyway.

So I'm planning on getting a small tent, a privacy shelter or cabana which has a 4' x 4' floor and is 7' tall. The one with good reviews is $45. I figure I'll erect it against the side with the machines needing dust collection, which is fortunately surrounded by a cluster of trees. I'll drop in a plywood floor and bolt a frame attaching a 6" square of the tent wall to the side of the shed, cut out the tent wall material and cut a hole for the 5" hose and electrical cord to go through.

Anyone tried this? Any reasons why it shouldn't work for a few years? Average rainfall here in Sequim is 17 inches, so that helps.

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A lot of cities have time limits in the building code on how long a tent can be up in the same spot...something to look into. Also if you have a dust collector fire, most tents burn pretty well... running an extension cord through a hole in the wall violates electrical code in a lot of places and there's probably some reason having an indoor electrical appliance in a wet tent is against code too.

The proper, but expensive, way to do this would be to put an outdoor rated cyclone dust collector outside. The cheap way to do it is put a good cyclone upstream of your dust collector fan inside the shop, ditch the filters, and vent the exhaust outside. This may not impress the neighbors if the noise and remaining dust go into their yard
 
Hah, no this is a rural area. I have 2+ acres and my neighbors both have 15+, but we are just inside the 5800 person strong city limits of Sequim. Nothing I do will bother the neighbors. I wouldn't have thought anyone would notice the added roof area being a violation but a neighbor got busted for that exact problem and he now has a row of four 12' x 8" sheds.

I'll check out the outdoor rated cyclone dust collector, I hadn't heard of that before.
 
Look into what the codes actually say. Years ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I was able to do an end-run around the codes by not attaching the awning to the house. If the structure is free-standing (supports on all four corners) it didn't "add" to my roof footage even though there was only about .250" gap between the two structures. It's not necessarily as strong as an attached awning, but the chances of some freak wind-storm carrying it away are pretty slim.
 
I have done a lot of camping, and tents like the one shown don't last long when permanently set up. Bad idea.

Vaughn and your neighbor have the answer......don't attach the structure that you put the dust collector in.

For such a small space, one of the pre-made garden sheds (Many are plastic) may be a good choice. Just set it up where you were putting the tent and when working in the shop, run the hose and power cord out the shed door and in your shop door. You can have the shop dust collection piping end there and just hook the hose up quickly.

Check your local Home Depot or Garden center for pre-made sheds. Here are some examples:
http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/s...heds-Plastic-biz_shop&infoParam.campaignId=WZ
http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/s...heds-Plastic-biz_shop&infoParam.campaignId=WZ
Whatever you put there, build a base of salt treated 4X4s and use treated deck boards as a floor - and set the shed on that.

If it was me, I would build a small 4'X4' structure like a tall dog house and put the collector in it. Set it right up against the shop wall and put a small window in each that matches. Open the shop window, open the dust shed window, reach in and hook up the hose and plug in the power cord.....grind away. You can use it to store a lot of excess supplies,too.
 
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