Gigantic Shop-Vac

DaveNay · May 5, 2004

I need to find someplace to store a few hundred cubic yards of pine shavings for the horse stalls. One of the buildings on my property is a very large corn crib. The bins in the upper part are literally large enough to hold thousands of bushels of corn. What I am thinking of is to put in one of those whole house fans, a bunch of 6" PVC pipe and some 6" flexible hose. I can then use the fan (4500 cfm) to generate a slight vacuum in the bin, and suck up the shavings. The bins are dry and tight, so in theory it should work.

Am I crazy? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Dave

Poppa · May 6, 2004

Dave,

You are describing a dust collector for wood working but on an industrial, not home shop scale. That might work out well in that you might be able to find a "system". Try Oneida.

That being the case, two concerns popped into my head and both are fire related. You are going to be producing a lot of static electricity so you are going to have to make sure the system is well grounded. The second concern of mine might be bogus but I picture a giant pile of pine shavings like a big compost pile and I think about it self combusting.

Don't know if this helps but they were my thoughts.

Mike

DaveNay · May 6, 2004

Good point about the static!!!

I don't think there would be any combustion problems, as these are dry shavings. Without some form of moisture, there is no rotting, and no heat.

Dave

gsganzer · May 6, 2004

I'd also worry about fire. Typically fans used for material handling, in potentially explosive atmospheres (dust) are constructed to be "non-sparking". This refers not only to the electrical motor, but the fan impeller and scroll. They're designed to eliminate the potential of ferrous metal parts striking each other and throwing a spark inside the fan.

I'm not sure if wood shavings necessitate this style of fan.
I'd check Graingers for a material handling fan. Another option might be a lawn vac style blower with some flexible hoses.

Poppa · May 6, 2004

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Good point about the static!!!

I don't think there would be any combustion problems, as these are dry shavings. Without some form of moisture, there is no rotting, and no heat.

Dave )</font>

Yeah I told you I wasn't sure about the Combustion. Never have figured that out. For fire, just add water /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

DaveNay · May 6, 2004

Hmmmm...yes, dust can be a problem. Not so much a fire hazard as an explosion hazard.

Well....maybe the answer to my original question of if I am crazy is "Yes". /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Dave

chim · May 6, 2004

If the bin is not round, I'd be concerned about caving the sides in when vacuum is applied. What you need is a blower and metering wheel...................chim

Cliff_Johns · May 6, 2004

Dave, I've been trying to figure out what to do with big pile of pine planer shavings I generated from a library project. I think I'll drop by in the dead of night and dump bags full of shavings in your yard.

About the giant sucking sound coming from your corn crib, I've read recently in fine homebuilding that the explosion issue is overrated for wood dust, but it can still be an issue. You would at least need an explosion proof motor, they are easy to get. I think though, that loading the bin with this device would be easier than getting the stuff back out. I think you could probably open a flap at the bottom and scoup it or let it fall into a cart pretty easily.

Cliff

DaveNay · May 6, 2004

LMAO.....cave in the sides....BWAAA HHAAAAA /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Sorry.....not being rude.

This ain't no wimpy bin. The walls are made of three inch douglas fir tounge and groove boards, and the floor joists are 3" x 16" in clusters of 2 joists every 16" on center.

Like I said, It is designed to hold a couple hundred thousand pounds of corn.

The aisle through the center of the corn crib is large enough to drive an 18 wheeler through.

Dave

DaveNay · May 6, 2004

The problem with unloading exists. I think that if there was no method of agitating the shavings, then some would fall out the bottom, and then the rest would sort of "lock" together, and not fall down the chute properly.

I dunno....I am still unsure if this is worth trying. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Dave