"Jim Stewart" wrote in message
...
Harold & Susan Vordos wrote:

I'm not nuts about the appearance of concrete, so when we built the
current
shop, I chose to dye the concrete instead of paint it. I use a generous
amount of Oil-Dri, so my floor stays very clean, not oily. I also have
a
built in vacuum cleaner system so it doesn't get dusty.

Did you use a purpose-build vacuum or a modified shop-vac?
I've been thinking about running 3" PVC around and connecting
it to a shop-vac in the loft. Do you know if there's a place
to get adapters to make something like this work? It probably
wouldn't be a big deal to turn adapters on the lathe if they
aren't readily available.


Unless you have a killer vacuum cleaner, I'd suggest you don't go beyond 2"
pipe. 3" would likely be so large that you'd pick up items that would get
dropped once they hit the larger pipe, thanks to reduced velocity of the air
flow. I used schedule 40 PVC pipe and 2" ABS fittings. They are just
slightly larger than the pipe supplied by the manufacturers of built in
cleaning systems, but with a much heavier wall. By using both glues, or
one made for both materials, the joints are more than adequate. Remember,
they are under vacuum, not pressure, so the strength of the glue joint is
not an issue. In the shop I terminated each of several outlets simply by
using a piece of 1-1/2" ABS pipe, which I cap with a rubber cap when not in
use. I use commercial hose like you find in car washes for a vacuum hose
in the shop. For the house my plan is to buy the outlets that are made for
homes. They include the automatic switch. I use a simple toggle switch
at each outlet in the shop, where everything is in the walls except for the
outlet and switch, so the installation is completely out of sight.

Armed with the idea that the vacuum we bought would be used in the house as
well as the shop, which we built first, we chose to buy a large commercial
sized built-in vacuum cleaner, a Vacuflo model 960. I chose it over all
others because it does NOT have a filter bag, so it doesn't experience
reduced cleaning ability. In place of the filter bag it is plumbed directly
outside, where the finest of dust that isn't extracted by the cyclonic
separator is discharged. It keeps the interior of any place much cleaner by
not recirculating dirty air. The model 960 has two motors and is adequate
to clean up to 18,000 square feet of area. A unit that doesn't move much
air is likely to disappoint, so don't get caught up with a wimpy unit and
expect great results. Many of the shop vac's I've used wouldn't be worth
installing.

Try to mount your vacuum on something that won't transmit noise. I have a
dedicated room for the vacuum cleaner, shared by my compressor. You don't
hear anything when it runs except for the air moving at the hose. Makes it
much nicer than hearing an entire building rumbling, something that you'd
likely experience by mounting your vacuum on an upper floor.

Hope some of this helps!

Harold