Our millroom dust collector

[mswebb]

Just wanted to point out that TEFC does not equal explosion proof.

Totally
Enclosed
Fan
Cooled

From wikipedia - The enclosure is "Totally Enclosed". This means that the motor is dust tight, and has a moderate water seal as well. TEFC motors are not secure against high pressure water nor submersible. They are also not explosion proof without additional modifications.

[d_striker]

The motor is a TEFC, so yes, it's explosion-proof.

However: Check with your fire inspector and local OSHA consultant first. Our Oregon OSHA inspector was fine with the DC, but only with it sited as above--outside, in an enclosure that would direct any potential explosion away from the building.

These DCs are commonly installed in woodworking shops, and I've yet to hear or read of one exploding if installed correctly--everything, including the ducting, well grounded.

Thanks TG!

[TGTimm]

The motor is a TEFC, so yes, it's explosion-proof.

However: Check with your fire inspector and local OSHA consultant first. Our Oregon OSHA inspector was fine with the DC, but only with it sited as above--outside, in an enclosure that would direct any potential explosion away from the building.

These DCs are commonly installed in woodworking shops, and I've yet to hear or read of one exploding if installed correctly--everything, including the ducting, well grounded.

[d_striker]

Are these Jet DC's explosion proof? I put in a call to Jet and the tech service guy had no idea what I was even talking about which makes me think they are not.

I don't have the space anywhere outside to build out a room to house the DC. I have a small mill room that is basically just a warehouse curtain that encloses the mill. I have some space behind the warehouse curtain where I wanted to put the DC and then just run the collection hoses through the warehouse curtain.

[lhall]

Hey Timm, can you come to Nashville and build me one too? Nice!

[TGTimm]

I've been getting several phone calls about our new dust collection system, so here it is:

The dust collector is a Jet DC 650M. It's a shop dust collector, pulls 650 cfm and cost ~$250US. It's about the bare minimum to do the job. After 20 or so 1,100+ lb grinds, the bag was about one-third full, about 10 lb of dust and chaff, but no grain.



To keep OSHA happy and our millroom less crowded and quieter, we built a lean-to outside the mill room for the DC to live in. The louvered panels allow air to escape, and double as blow-out panels to direct any potential dust explosion away from the millroom, and make OSHA even happier:



We plumbed it with 4" sch 20 PVC drain/irrigation pipe. This stuff is cheap, light, and easy to work with. Buy it locally or the shipping will kill you. We didn't glue up the joints, but used a couple of sheet-metal screws to hold them together. I might want to move things around in the future. Contrast how clean the pipe is with the rest of the room to get an idea of how well the collection system works:



Avoid sharp turns in the pipe. I used 45* elbows instead of 90*s, to get less line restriction. Again, to minimize restriction I kept the flexible dust hose to a minimum.

At the grain bin, I used a Big Gulp dust collection hood, cut so the drops of the flex-augers go through it (drops on the right, dust pipe on the left). Some heavy vinyl sheeting and duct tape help to seal the bin, and a flip-up door at the front allows for the addition of bagged or minor grains. The opening on the front right allows air flow through the hood:



At the top of the mill, I used a Little Gulp dust collection hood. I cut out the back of the metal guard on the top of the mill to mount it, then semi-sealed the top of the mill, using magnets to hold the covers in place so the mill can be easily cleaned or unstuck:



One very important point--if you don't want to blow up your brewery: ground everything! We ran bare, stranded 16 AWG copper wire through all the pipes and plastic fittings and carefully attached it to electrically grounded equipment. The amount of static electricity that can build up from grain or dust moving through plastic pipe is incredible--it's basically a big VandeGraff generator. A spark in the pipe could have nasty consequences, especially with the augers running.

Now to get the millroom cleaned up....