What gates have you used on 4” PVC? Are there gates that fit in or over the tubes or are couplers needed?
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Dust collector gates for 4” PVC pipes
- Thread starter Webb Willmott
- Start date
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2010
- Messages
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- Location
- Brandon, MS
- Website
- threeringswoodshop.square.site
I have mostly Al blast gates and you have to wrap the gate with masking tape or a substitute till you get the right fit. Also you will want to drill the final fit and put a couple screws in to maintain the connection because it pops off somewhat easily with movement.
I make my own, using matching "unions" that I saw in 1/2 for the connection. In the pic this has a sliding gate and those don't always work (you have to have room on each side for the gate) so on some I cut the gate in 1/2, removing the blanked off part and inserting the one with the opening.
Rumor has it that pvc can be heated with a propane torch, placed over an aluminum gate flange, and using a hose clamp, make it fit. After cooling, a simple screw holds it in place quite nicely.
Have any of you done this?
Have any of you done this?
I use the metal gates available from numerous sources. The O.D. Is a little smaller than the I.D. of the 4” pvc.
To adjust the pvc for a tight slip fit I use a mechanics piston ring compressor and a heat gun to shrink the pvc. With some practice it becomes easy to get the right amount of heat for a smooth transition. The trick is to use the minimum heat necessary to barely soften the pvc.
I have pictures if only I knew where to find them.
To adjust the pvc for a tight slip fit I use a mechanics piston ring compressor and a heat gun to shrink the pvc. With some practice it becomes easy to get the right amount of heat for a smooth transition. The trick is to use the minimum heat necessary to barely soften the pvc.
I have pictures if only I knew where to find them.
It’s doable with propane but it’s way too aggressive for my liking. I prefer to heat slowly and it’s easier to heat evenly with the heat gun. I’ve even used boiling water to heat but it’s almost not hot enough and too cumbersome with longer pipes.
Thanks Tom. A heat gun does make more sense.
We use the Clear Vue Cyclone blast gates that are sized to slip over 4" sewer & drain PVC pipe. The are self-cleaning and work well.
www.clearvuecyclones.com
View: https://youtu.be/xLaMzMUlflg
Self-Cleaning Blast Gate - 4" - Clear Vue Cyclones
4″ Self-cleaning Blast Gate sized to receive 4″ sewer & drain PVC. Designed to work with 4″ PVC.
www.clearvuecyclones.com
I have yet to try them, but there are magnetic hose clips for 4 inch hoses. I have yet to find ones for 5 inch hoses, which most of mine are. I could really use those....
robo hippy
robo hippy
In previous shops I had various metal and plastic gates. Some would plug, some would rattle, some were just easy to break junk, and all were expensive.
In my present shop I made all of the blast gates myself. Two pieces of 3/4" plywood and three pieces of 1/4" mdf or plywood. I used the 1/4" for a slide and a couple of spacers between the 3/4" plywood. I cut the hole with an adjustable circle cutter. Top hole is sized to fit over 4" PVC. The bottom hole is a little smaller to fit PVC sized to go inside flex DC hose. I sized the smaller PVC by cutting out a 3/4" or so wide strip. Then I squeezed the PVC pipe together and used the 3/4" cutout strip to glue it back.
This is an extra one. When installed, I stapled a little piece of rubber on one side across the slot in the back side to seal it up when in use. 11 in use 10 years now without any major problems. Once in a while, a chip or splinter gets stuck in the slot, but it is easy to clear. I've never had to take one apart to clear a jam.
When you run the pipe, try not to have any drops directly below a through trunk line. The reason is slow moving heavy pieces, like a big curl from the lathe can fall out of the air stream straight down into your drop.
I just remembered, I did use a heat gun to stretch out PVC on my main trunk to a shop made fitting on the DC. You can tell when it is ready to work as it feels like heavy leather.
In my present shop I made all of the blast gates myself. Two pieces of 3/4" plywood and three pieces of 1/4" mdf or plywood. I used the 1/4" for a slide and a couple of spacers between the 3/4" plywood. I cut the hole with an adjustable circle cutter. Top hole is sized to fit over 4" PVC. The bottom hole is a little smaller to fit PVC sized to go inside flex DC hose. I sized the smaller PVC by cutting out a 3/4" or so wide strip. Then I squeezed the PVC pipe together and used the 3/4" cutout strip to glue it back.
This is an extra one. When installed, I stapled a little piece of rubber on one side across the slot in the back side to seal it up when in use. 11 in use 10 years now without any major problems. Once in a while, a chip or splinter gets stuck in the slot, but it is easy to clear. I've never had to take one apart to clear a jam.
When you run the pipe, try not to have any drops directly below a through trunk line. The reason is slow moving heavy pieces, like a big curl from the lathe can fall out of the air stream straight down into your drop.
I just remembered, I did use a heat gun to stretch out PVC on my main trunk to a shop made fitting on the DC. You can tell when it is ready to work as it feels like heavy leather.
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I, and some others I know, have heated, bent, made flanges, restrictions, and otherwise shaped PVC pipe and strips of various wall thickness. A propane torch works but can easily burn the surface - a flame spreader on the end might help. A good heat gun is better. Work out of the wind. Depending on what you are doing, heating the PVC end in a container of very hot sand is both gentle and effective. But a huge pain to set up. A propane turkey fryer works.
Is your DC input 4"? Is that enough DC for that size of shop and length of runs? I admit to having zero experience with a 4" ducted dust collector. With my ClearVue cyclone I ran 6" pvc through the shop and split it to 4" at machines where needed.
It will be 6” for most and then reduce to 4” further out.