Replies

1. 
   AlanWS | May 06, 2005 02:29am | #1

   You want the air inlet to be out all the way to the edge of the trashcan, and to direct the air to swirl around inside the can. That means you want the flow to be slanted down almost horizontal. The outlet should be larger, in the center of the top, and go straight up. You can do this with elbows, which can make it easier to set up, but if you can have the lines as straight as possible, and use gentle rather than sharp curves where you need them, it will work better.

   You can use a piece of 3/4" plywood for a top, with holes cut to fit flex or rigid tubing. If you cut each to fit the tubing going through at a right angle, you can use a half-round rasp to enlarge the one at the edge to allow the tube to tilt a lot. (More than 45 degrees. Make sure you take this into account when you decide where to drill.) Then bathtub caulk can affix the tubes to the top, and form a rim around the bottom edge to help seal it to the can. Foam weather stripping can be added to help seal.

   That's the way I made a small separator for a shopvac, using the 2 1/2" hose as the inlet, and a bit of 4" flex between the can and the vac. The more air going through, the larger the can should be, and the larger the tubing.

   
   

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   Edited 5/6/2005 10:25 am ET by AlanS