Two dust collectors–parallel or serial
Highdesertwoodworker
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
I have two dust collectors. One is 1.5 hp the other 2 hp, Harbor Freight , Grizzly.
What is more effective for lathe dust collection, parallel or serial connection?
Replies
Generally speaking, when referring to non-compressible fluids like water, it’s best to run two pumps in parallel. In doing so, it adds the two volumetric flow rates moved per minute (the CFM almost doubles in your case). Running in series is best when running over very long runs, but only minimally, so you don’t typically see it in practical use. With the fluid in this case being air, it’s a compressible flow so it’s not quite as black and white as it is with water. (Bends, leaks, surface roughness, etc. all effect air more so than water, making the losses in the system more dramatic) Without knowing the CFM for each dust collector, I think it’s still best to run them in parallel over the shortest run possible. You might want to also think about going from a larger size pipe at the two dust collectors (maybe a 6”) and gradually stepping it down to a 3-4” pipe at the piece of equipment. That should help eliminate some losses in your flow rate. Hope that helps.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled