Vacuum hoses

[br1]

Which vacuum and hose would be best for small in house shop, I have read that you need a copper wire wrapped hose but how would you install it. I know you have to put it into the hose but where do you connect it to.?

[CarveOne]

Which vacuum and hose would be best for small in house shop, I have read that you need a copper wire wrapped hose but how would you install it. I know you have to put it into the hose but where do you connect it to.?

Some hoses have an embedded wire coil to support the vinyl tube under vacuum. You can connect a drain wire to that wire if you separate it from the vinyl for about 1/2". A wire nut may come loose, so I would probably use something similar to a Dubro R/C model landing gear wheel collar that allows the wires to just slip into it. Tighten the set screw so that it pinches both wires firmly.

I would find the AC cable's grounding bolt on the dust collector and connect the drain wire to that bolt. Make sure that the AC wall connector is actually grounded to an earth ground near the power distribution panel and make sure that all power cords have a functional ground pin on the wall plug.

If you are unsure about this have an electrician take a look at it.


CarveOne

[br1]

Good advice I will work with that, Thanks. Everything I have is plugged into a wall socket, so that sould be earth grounded one would think. The dust collector will be outside. But I am thinking about just running it to a shop vac like one used for refinishing wood floors however I have not found one yet I can use. My first thought was I could just run the copper wire down the shop vac tube and attaching that to the ground of the plug into the wall is that possible?

[CarveOne]

Good advice I will work with that, Thanks. Everything I have is plugged into a wall socket, so that sould be earth grounded one would think. The dust collector will be outside. But I am thinking about just running it to a shop vac like one used for refinishing wood floors however I have not found one yet I can use. My first thought was I could just run the copper wire down the shop vac tube and attaching that to the ground of the plug into the wall is that possible?

I'm not so sure that running the wire through the hose is going to work. It can promote clogs, or get sucked into the vacuum machine. If you do this make sure to attach the wire at the intake end of the hose so that it can't get sucked back through the hose. If the bare wire was wound in the spiral grooves on the outside of the hose it could impair the flexing of the hose. The 4" vinyl hoses I've seen at wood working stores have the embedded wire. All-plastic hoses may have a type of carbon infused plastic that is conductive to static. I would think that most commercial vacuum machines already have some sort of static charge reduction in the hoses.

CarveOne

[br1]

Yes I think your right, I will look for 4" vinyl hose. Thanks

[CarveOne]

Yes I think your right, I will look for 4" vinyl hose. Thanks

Harbor Freight has them online for $15 each in 10' lengths. Woodworking stores sell a similar hose for $40.

CarveOne

[Phife]

Good advice I will work with that, Thanks. Everything I have is plugged into a wall socket, so that sould be earth grounded one would think. The dust collector will be outside. But I am thinking about just running it to a shop vac like one used for refinishing wood floors however I have not found one yet I can use. My first thought was I could just run the copper wire down the shop vac tube and attaching that to the ground of the plug into the wall is that possible?

Are you using a shop vac or a dust collector?

Also you mentioned you are having the dust collector outside, do you have gas heat/water in your shop? If so, Be careful not to create a negative pressure area inside your shop causing exhaust gases to get sucked into the shop instead of being exhausted outside.

[dlwoodworks]

I'm not sure how well the wire embedded into the vinyl will work as a ground sink since it is in an insulated casing. The wire needs to be exposed to the static that is being built up inside the hose by the movement of dust and chips through the hose. I've got several machines hooked to a steel dust collection piping system. Each machine is connected to the metal pipes using vinyl hose. Each hose has a bare wire connected to the machine and connected to the metal piping. The metal piping is connected to earth ground at the dust collector. My CNC is VERY susceptible to static discharges and with the dust collection grounding setup I have set up I've never had a problem.

[Phife]

Ive wrapped bare copper wire on the outside of 4" plastic dust collection hose, before the wire if you walked near or under the hose you could feel your hair stand up, and get an occasional static shock. After the wire was wrapped around the outside the static shocks stopped but you could still feel your hair stand.

After several months, dust has settled on the hose in only the places where the wire is not. The wire helps, but there is still static being generated where the wire does not touch.

[CarveOne]

I'm not sure how well the wire embedded into the vinyl will work as a ground sink since it is in an insulated casing. The wire needs to be exposed to the static that is being built up inside the hose by the movement of dust and chips through the hose. I've got several machines hooked to a steel dust collection piping system. Each machine is connected to the metal pipes using vinyl hose. Each hose has a bare wire connected to the machine and connected to the metal piping. The metal piping is connected to earth ground at the dust collector. My CNC is VERY susceptible to static discharges and with the dust collection grounding setup I have set up I've never had a problem.

I'm not sure how well vinyl hoses conduct static charges. The old audio vinyl records would charge up easily. The wire coil is primarily intended to support the hose and keep it from collapsing, but I think it will also act as a static charge drain wire. I'll find out soon enough. I'm connecting my two CNC routers to one dust collector today. The fittings are plastic, and I'll connect the wire coils with copper wire.

CarveOne