So can someone talk me through grounding my DIY cyclone extraction set up?
I understand running bare copper wire (12 gauge good) around pvc pipe work, but do I need to run the wire physically onto the vacuum to terminate it? Its a cheap wet and dry (shop vac)… mostly plastic… where do I attch grounding wire?
Similarly, do I physically attach the copper wire to my planer?
thanks again legends!
Since no one has bothered to answer your question for a couple days, I’ll give it a shot. Grounding dust collection is a debated topic amoung woodworkers. The general consensus is, its a cheap and easy enough thing to install so why not. Woodworking has the added risk associated with fine wood dust and its ability to ignite in an explosive way, so most woodworkers install it as a safeguard. Personally I think the chances of a fire happening from static electricity is slim and don’t have mine grounded. The more realistic concern is static shock to you.
As far as actually gounding the system it is fairly easy, but may require you to access internals of your vacuum and planer. After you wrap the copper wire around the piping, you need to terminate the ends to a ground. I would terminate to the ground points inside both the vacuum and planer, but any points where the electricity can get to the earth is adequate. Grounding to the machines ensures both are ultimately grounded through their respective cords and your household wiring. Also grounding to the machines is just cleaner and your copper grounding wire will travel with your tool. I would also use spade connectors between your dust collector hose and ground termations just so your hose is able to be easily disconnected from your plane or vacuum.
I hope this helps. If all else fails look at how woodworkers do theirs.
phillipjohnw pretty much nailed it. In over 50 years woodworking plus a stint as a fireman I’ve never heard of a home shop system exploding or catching fire, at least not from static buildup. Overheated/clogged motors, yeah. Typically power tools and vacs are grounded, they take care of themselves.See this here for a very comprehensive writeup.
Big flour mills, definitely. They seem to blow up regularly, very flammable very fine dust in clouds at the right stoichiometry, you get the right mix and BOOM. See youtube for those.
Overall, I would worry more about your resin and solvent storage.
hope that’s of use
doc…
Phillip and Doc
thank you gents, some great food for thought!
cheers
Posted this previously, here it is again: Run a bare copper wire inside the hose and pipe and ground the other end at the vacuum to the outlet box. You don’t need to ground the tool end or coil up the wire inside, but run the wire all the way to the tool in the hose. Static charge is developed by the foam dust swirling in the hose, and it will follow the path of least electrical resistance to discharge which will be the wire in the hose. The best solution is to use a grounded hose but you’ll still need to put the wire in the hard piping. Keep in mind that unlike sawdust, foam dust is far more flammable and can be ignited by a static arc.