Cyclone

[stevep]

Liberated a Dyson DC01 vacuum cleaner the other day (next door neighbours chuck-out, nothing wrong with it except clogged filters). It has a dual cyclone, so I thought it might be possible to do something with it:
Took it apart and washed all the bits:

Made a base from 12mm birch ply to fit the top of the CT22, like a systainer, then screwed the bin to the base:

Cut the top off the uppermost (silver grey coloured) moulding. Tape shows the top of the box needs to be around 310mm from the base.

Upper assembly mounted on top board. The position is fairly critical as the inlet needs to be accessible. I mutilated a piece of aluminium beyond all recognition to make the inlet duct, which has to go from round to rectangular section. Plenty of silicone sealant to bond it in place, and the pipe clip helps. (The 3 little yellow things are air valves, which I think are something to do with balancing the air pressures between the 1st and 2nd stage cyclones, so I left them in position)

Same again, but with a piece of ply added to support the hose which goes to the top of the cyclone. The 90 bend at the top is a standard 40mm waste pipe fitting, as is most of the other pipework.

View inside (actually taken after a little test). I cut 4 large apertures around the bottom of the clear polycarbonate bin, to allow all the debris to fill the box. The bin on it's own is not big enough of course, but it would be difficult to do away with it completely as it supports all the rest of the assembly. This is the bit I'm not sure about - the bin might clog up before the box gets completely full, so I may have to think again.

The complete set-up.  The extra pipework consists of the original dyson hose, some 40mm plastic waste pipe and fittings, and a short length of 50mm waste (plus reducer) to fit the CT22 inlet pipe. Total cost around ?12 for the plumbing fittings, plus some offcuts of ply. That's around the same price as 2 dust bags.

 

[jmbfestool]

Nice little setup!

Show use a video of it sucking up stuff and then in the box and bag maybe?!?!?!

JMB

 

[Alan m]

lovely job. might steel.
cant wait for a video if thats posible. maybe a few more pics of the alterations would be nice

 

[stevep]

Video

In case you don't catch them, the weights are:
start - bag 129gm, tub of dust 248gm
After - bag 130gm, tub of dust 239gms.
Obviously I didn't bother too much about the accuracy, but you get the idea.

 

[Alan m]

brilliant
do you think it would work with the smaller more compact version of the dyson

 

[stevep]

Don't see why not, in theory at least. In practice, it might be a bit difficult fabricating something to allow hose connections to the inlet and outlet ports, as obviously the Dyson mouldings are fairly odd shapes to say the least. I also found it a bit of a head scratcher working out exactly where the air flow went through the cyclone itself, but it has to be done so you don't cut the mouldings at the wrong points. This model is quite simple in that respect, but some of the other types they do look a bit more complex.
Still got some more to do on it, as I think I need to cut the lower half of the clear plastic bin away almost completely, to use more of the capacity of the plywood box.

 

[Alan m]

yes i think you will have to cut away the clear part as i think it is only sitting on the bottom of the plywood box. you could raise to cyclone up so that it is almost at the top of the ply box, this would allow you to only cut away the bottom of the cyclone.

i am thinking of making somthing similar as this for my cheap shop vac, i will have to find a dyson of my own first thow.

 

[NuggyBuggy]

While the exercise is interesting, I can't help but think it seems a waste of a fairly expensive vacuum to create something that could be bought commercially for less than one could have probably sold the used Dyson for.

 

[Deansocial]

go to the local tip and there will be a skip full of dysons as they last about 5 min

 

[FEStastic]

You can pick up old or refurbished Dysons on Ebay
Some are sold as broken with the motor or other part not working

 

[stevep]

While the exercise is interesting, I can't help but think it seems a waste of a fairly expensive vacuum to create something that could be bought commercially for less than one could have probably sold the used Dyson for.

Waste? Au contraire. I recycled it  [laughing] [laughing] [laughing]
Seriously, I have to take issue with your thinking here. I have reused some parts, and the rest will go to my local recycling centre (one of the best in the UK), where it will be dismantled and recycled correctly, ie plastic separated into different types, then chipped and used again, same for metal components.
I don't know what the Dust Deputy for the Festool costs in the UK (250$ in the US, so I expect it's ?250 in the UK). The used Dyson would have probably sold for 10 quid at the most, given that it was fairly old, the hose fittings were shot and all the filters would need renewing. Yes, new Dysons are expensive, but this wasn't new. I spent about 12ukp on a few fittings, and I expect my consumption rate of Festool paper bags  at a fiver each will now be extremely low. I'd say that's a win win situation for my pocket and the planet.

However, I share your regret that stuff like this tends to get junked rather than repaired and made to last much longer - our (ie First World) consumerism is pretty dire.

Alan m - you may be right, although I'd like to keep it as compact as possible. I could have just used the central cone (it would then have been a single stage cyclone, rather than 2 stage), but it was actually less work to keep as much of the original Dyson bit as possible. There a quite a few youtube videos on home made cyclones which are quite interesting, even very primitive ones seem to work well. I haven't come across any that utilise Dyson parts or fit on CT22's though, and I'd be interested to find out if there are others.

 

[RONWEN]

Excellent idea! I love giving items a second life.   Perhaps use qwik-snaps instead of the screws to hold the top?  I'll have to start checking the local repair shop for dead Tysons.

 

[NuggyBuggy]

While the exercise is interesting, I can't help but think it seems a waste of a fairly expensive vacuum to create something that could be bought commercially for less than one could have probably sold the used Dyson for.

Waste? Au contraire. I recycled it  [laughing] [laughing] [laughing]
Seriously, I have to take issue with your thinking here. I have reused some parts, and the rest will go to my local recycling centre (one of the best in the UK), where it will be dismantled and recycled correctly, ie plastic separated into different types, then chipped and used again, same for metal components.\

Evidently I underestimated the avaiiability of brokenDysons in the UK - they are not that popular in Canada, but they are expensive.  If broken ones are available cheaply, it make sense; however, all this one needed was a filter cleaning, so it might have been worth a lot more if sold.  Also, non-Festool, "regular"  dust deputies are available for significantly less that the Ultimate Dust Deputies - go fancy that.

I also confess to not knowing what a "skip" is.  Anyways, good job.  If I didn't have an Ultimate Dust Deputy, I'd be keeping an eye open for a broken Dyson.

 

[jonny round boy]

This is a skip

 

[nickao]

We call them "roll offs". 

Some call them dumpsters.

 

[jmbfestool]

Excellent idea! I love giving items a second life.   Perhaps use qwik-snaps instead of the screws to hold the top?  I'll have to start checking the local repair shop for dead Tysons.

I second that!  I was thinkin the same.  I wouldnt want to keep screwing the box on and off.  I would put some sort of rubber around the edge and then have 2 or even 4 quick clips

JMB

 

[Deansocial]

We call them "roll offs". 

Some call them dumpsters.

yeah we have roll offs too, as thats how they get off the wagon but skip dont roll off hence not being called roll offs

 

[stevep]

Yes, it will have some sort of quick release fasteners when I find something suitable. It already has a foam seal around the lip. No point in spending money until I know it works well enough to deserve a place in the workshop!