Plumbing in a Kapex.

[denap]

Having some trouble finding connectors to plumb in my Kapex....

I've built a miter station and have the kapex under the saw.  Unfortunately, the dust dep cyclone doesn't fit under there.  So, I'm planning on pluming (with 1.5" pvc) from the vac under the saw up to ceiling and over to cyclone and then back to kapex.  So I have 2 runs of pvc, one one side I need/want 2 flex hose connections to the dust dep, and at the kapex a flex from the 1.5"pvc to saw and under the saw from the pvc to vac. 

OD for the pvc is 2", would you just use a flex hose and band clamp for the dd and kapex connections?  Any thoughts on connecting rigid or flex hose to CT33 directly?  Nothing I've tried wants to fit.

thx!

 

[ChuckM]

I used whatever I could find in the shop for the hook-up.

 

[AstroKeith]

How long is your run of 1.5" pic? If its more than 5m you'll start to see serious drop off in flow.

 

[denap]

How long is your run of 1.5" pic? If its more than 5m you'll start to see serious drop off in flow.

6' from vac to cyclone and then 6' back.  Plus any flex at either end.  Not ideal aesthetically or in usage but I don't want to lose the cyclone and there's not another option for it. 

 

[morts10n]

Keep in mind that you dont have to have DD on top of vacuum...it can sit next to it as well

 

[AstroKeith]

Increasing the pipe diameter will greatly help the flow. Basically the resistance is proportional to the cross sectional area of the pipe, (it is also inversely proportional to the length.)

I've plumbed and re-plumbed a few bench tools in my workshop. I'm pretty sure you wont be happy with that run of 1.5" pipe. In the UK we have a 63mm guttering downpipe that I have found a good compromise.

 

[AlexThePalex]

I'm sorry, but when I read "up to the ceiling" I get a bad feeling here. The Kapex is a big dust generator and you want your suction to be optimal, which means the shortest path possible.

The suction of Festool vacs is bad enough as it is, you don't want to add a long path and have it fight gravity. A Festool vac does not have the suction of a central cyclone where you can just add duct piping wherever you want. With this plan it looks to me like you're sacrificing the efficiency of your dust collection which means more dust will get spewed into the air you breath.

Since a cyclone is a plastic cone and a collection box, isn't there a way to fit the cone on a custom made box that fits under your miter station somewhere? 

 

[Bob D.]

I think I would try to find a location for the separator that removes the need to run pipe overhead and reduces the total run. Even if that means reconfiguring your miter station somewhat.

 

[denap]

Thanks for the input.  I was maybe too optimistic in my solution.  [eek] 

I will find a shorter collection box/bucket and see if I can get it under the saw. 

 

[morts10n]

I have a Kapex with a DD that sits next to a CT 33 that are located under miter saw bench.  have a 5ft hose going to DD from saw

 

[ChuckM]

The shorter, the better; mine is 3 ft from the DD to the Kapex, 36mm - 38mm dia.:

[attachimg=1]

 

[Cheese]

The shorter, the better; mine is 3 ft from the DD to the Kapex, 36mm - 38mm dia.:

Shorter is better...I currently have a 36 mm by 5' long hose to the Midi I and that works well, however, I'm going to insert a 50 mm hose instead and see if that improves the dust extraction.

 

[ChuckM]

To be exact, the diameter of my hose from the DD2.5 is about 50mm, used with this on the Kapex:https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/sho.../114859-universal-vacuum-adapter?item=03J6109

[attachimg=1]