Cyclonic Dirt Separator Using Off the Shelf Parts

Whether or not I need something is beside the point. The question is 'Do I want it?'
While in the process or setting up my workshop, I read quite a bit about the Cyclonic Dirt Separator - a device that allows the heavier particles of debris, such as wood shavings or sawdust, to settle to the bottom of a container, while the finer particles go into your vacuum's filter.
I had to have one.
But I didn't particularly want to spend a load of money or fabricate individual pieces. So this Instructable was born, using (almost all) store-bought parts.


 

The container was no big deal - I merely used a couple of five gallon buckets I already had. If I had to buy them, they would have cost about $5 or $6. I did have to buy the two lids, at a mere $1.25 each.

The cyclonic action begins with the dust being sucked in the top container through a hose connected to the sice of the container, giving it a spin. I already had the rubber boot from a whole house vac, but I wouldn't recommend buying one for several hundered dollars and throwing everything away but the boot. Just select a piece of PVC pipe your vacuum hose will fit into or around and cut the end on a 45 degree angle.
Using the pipe as a guide, trace an oval outline on the bucket that the pipe will slide tightly into. Drill a hole through the bucket and pipe and insert a screw of the minimum length necessary to connect the two together (with the pipe slid inside.) Use silicone caulk to seal the joint.

As shown in the photo, cut a small block of plywood and fasten it to the center of the bucket lid. Using a hole saw or jigsaw, cut a hole through the plywood and lid that another piece of PVC pipe will tightly fit. Again, caulk with silicone. Use plenty - It is what holds the pipe in place.
The hose from the vacuum goes here. The pick up hose goes to the side connection. You have to come up with a second hose for this; I used a pool skimmer hose that I had. Then again, I keep all kinds of junk - you may not. In that case, you will have to buy something that fits.

In other instructables, I have seen where the author had molded plastic into a funnel shape. I had no intention of doing that - the point was to use things easily obtained, and in my case, things I already had. I already had a 10 - 8" air conditioning reduction fitting. With the sides of the bucket slightly sloped, and with the fitting almost as wide as the inside of the bucket, it sort of resembled a funnel. Sort of.
I cut a hole in the bottom of the bucket with a sabre saw so that the small end of the fitting would fit. Then using Great Stuff foam, I foamed the inside, around the fitting in the void. It really did have sort of a conical appearance when I got done.
So much for the top container.

This part is simple enough. Cut a hole in a bucket lid the same size as the air conditioning fitting. Snap the lid to the bottom bucket.
That's it.

Set the top part on the bottom part with the metal piece sticking through the hole.
Use a bungee cord to hold them together.
Hook up the hoses.
Note the pile of dust, dirt, and foam on the floor. It will be gone soon.
 

and the big stuff winds up in the bottom bucket. The smaller stuff winds up in the vac filter. It obviously works.
Two small problems. The assembly hardly weighs anything. I keep pulling it over if I don't chink it somewhere when I am using it. And, secondly, the bucket holds only five gallons, obviously. I have never vacuumed up five gallons of anything at once but it stands to reason I might, over a period of time. There is no reason why the bottom bucket can't be replaced by a larger - twenty gallon, for instance - drum. Also, however much the bottom container holds, you still need to check the vac filter occasionally, That's where the fine dust goes, and that plugs up the filter quickly.
That is pretty much that. An easy project that actually works, costs almost nothing, and uses things you probably already have, if you are a hoarder, like me.