Leaf vac for sawdust removal

Fern Wood · January 16, 2020, 08:03:59 PM

I have been thinking about buying a leaf vac for sawdust removal. Would be gas powered with a 8 or 10 inch suction hose . Let the sawdust accumulate for a day or two then suck it up. Anybody been around one and think it would suck up sawdust?

Fern Wood · January 16, 2020, 08:09:24 PM

Would be mounted on left wall with a chute going outside.

jeepcj779 · January 16, 2020, 09:16:53 PM

I was just looking into that yesterday. Cyclone Rake has several options, with the two largest systems holding 415 gallons. The motor does come off, and they have an attachment with a 17 or 32 ft hose that hooks directly up to the power unit. You could blow it into the hopper that comes with the system or into a bin, truck, trailer, etc. they cost from about $1200 up to $2300, plus $300-$600 for the hose depending on which one you get. I need the vac for the rest of my property anyway, so the ability to pick up sawdust will be a bonus.

SawyerTed · January 16, 2020, 09:53:44 PM

Does a rental company near you have one? It would be cheap R&D to rent one for "proof of concept" before spending the money on the equipment. Just a thought. I've learned that rental equipment is better than buying one time use tools and if I want "test drive" something under real conditions renting is a good way to go.

sawguy21 · January 16, 2020, 09:57:32 PM

I would prefer a shop vac over a leaf blower, it would be quicker.

jeepcj779 · January 16, 2020, 10:03:34 PM

The units I mentioned are far larger than a shop vac or leaf blower. I think the OP was referring to the large, tow behind vacuum units like the ones from Cyclone Rake or DR. I could be mistaken, but here are the links:

Cyclone:
https://www.cyclonerake.com/cyclone-rake-xl-leaf-and-lawn-vacuum/
https://www.cyclonerake.com/the-estate-vacuum/

DR:
https://www.drpower.com/power-equipment/leaf-blowers-vacuums?src=AW1AAB7XE4063309&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9YXCutOJ5wIViB-tBh0zzwmbEAAYASAAEgIcYfD_BwE

btulloh · January 16, 2020, 10:25:40 PM

The impeller on a dust collector is the same or very similar to the leaf vac impeller. You can buy a 2hp dust collector at HF for about 250$. Electric motor. Lots of people rig them to take the sawdust as it comes out the discharge chute and send it outside. There are quie a few examples on the forum here. It can also work to vacuum a pile of sawdust. Just send the sawdust to a bin outside instead blowing it into the bag it comes with.

YellowHammer · January 16, 2020, 11:27:26 PM

I just went straight into a 5 hp dust collector blower as Btullah says, and doing it this way, I never have to stop to clean it, pretty much everything just blows outside into a bin.

jeepcj779 · January 16, 2020, 11:39:55 PM

I guess it depends on if you plan to be mobile or stationary. What I know about dust collection is worth only about 1% of a SGU, but for what I plan to do being mostly mobile, a portable unit will best meet my needs. Plus I will have the additional capabilities afforded by the Cyclone Rake XL set up with the vacuum hose attachment. In a stationary application, I agree with btulloh and Yellowhammer that an electrically driven blower is ideal.

Fern Wood · January 17, 2020, 07:16:14 AM

Yes , it would be an industrial leaf vac (Billy Goat brand). Don't have electric at the site, so I don't want another engine running in order to hook up vac system to the sawmills chute. Found one on Marketplace that needs engine work and the guy said it would definitely suck it up and blow it out the building. The wife says she could help shovel and wheelbarrow it out but I don't think that offer would last for very long.

Don P · January 17, 2020, 08:47:52 AM

If you look just beyond the sawmill under the unroofed shed, this side of the tractor to the left of the ladder, that is one of those tow behind vacs. It has a radial fan hooked to a gas engine. It is sucking from just under the circular saw blade and you can see the discharge hose going into the trailer just behind the middle knee. The other name for a radial fan is a material handling fan. It should work fine.

WV Sawmiller · January 17, 2020, 09:43:08 AM

Quote from: jeepcj779 on January 16, 2020, 11:39:55 PM
I guess it depends on if you plan to be mobile or stationary. What I know about dust collection is worth only about 1% of a SGU, but for what I plan to do being mostly mobile, a portable unit will best meet my needs. Plus I will have the additional capabilities afforded by the Cyclone Rake XL set up with the vacuum hose attachment. In a stationary application, I agree with btulloh and Yellowhammer that an electrically driven blower is ideal.

Jeep,

I really question the need on most mobile jobs. On the ones I do the customer typically has MHE including a bucket or blade they can use to periodically use to remove the sawdust. We are usually in a relativly remote area where the customer does not care about the sawdust. I always take a gas powered leaf blower (Advertises 210 mph) I use to clean the mill after every couple of logs. I have used it to scatter sawdust at the end of the job. I haven't searched for it but one old thread showed where a guy laid a bunch of big plastic totes side by side so the chute emptied directly into them. When full the tote was hauled away and dumped as needed. I often use a couple of overlapping 8'X10' tarps in the path of the sawdust and I drag them off and dump or bag (if desired) the sawdust as needed. Anyway, unless you are doing a lot of urban sawing in close confines I can't see investing a lot of time and transport space for a big piece of equipment to move sawdust.

I always suggest to the customer he may want to save a garbage bag/barrel full of sawdust for oil sweeping use. I'm still trying to find a market for it for use with composting toilets but we don't have enough old hippies/off grid airheads in the area to kick start my plan so far or at least I have not found them. :D I had one neighbor ask for some to use with her ceramic kiln processing but I have not heard back from her since I dropped 3- 50 lb feedsacks full off at her house.

moodnacreek · January 17, 2020, 09:51:15 AM

I used one for a few years. I was off a A-C lawn tractor, belt driven, 7"x6" pipes. The shaft/bearing assm. wore out twice so I rebuilt it with a long shaft in pillow blocks and put it on my first edger. It ran whenever the saw ran.

jeepcj779 · January 17, 2020, 03:35:06 PM

WV,
It would have been better for me just to say I don't plan to be stationary, even at home initially, so it makes sense to have a system that is capable of being moved easily. Since I don't have anything bigger than the FEL on my tractor, even at my own place I'll be milling where the trees are dropped - several pines in the 36-40 inch range, so I will have to move the mill and set up in different spots (good setup/teardown practice for a new guy). These spots are not in the woods, so I would need to move the sawdust when I'm done. I think the yard vac with the estate hose is just the ticket. Picking up the sawdust will be a secondary function for me anyway, because I have a fair amount of tree debris to pick up in the fall, both at my place and my parent's.
I don't think I will clean up sawdust at customer locations, unless it makes financial sense because the customer wants it cleaned up and is willing to pay for my time. The vacuum unit and motor ride on their own little cart, so I could take it to jobs and blow the dust into the hopper, garbage cans, a truck, or where ever else they want it. I would charge the same hourly rate for dust cleanup as I charge for everything else. I think I have decided that instead of charging by the bdft and having a bunch of fees, like mileage fee, setup fee, oversize fee, undersize fee, 4/4 fee, etc., or a different rate for moving logs or chain saw work, I will use the same hourly rate for everything. If they want to pay it, then that is one more use for my giant vacuum, and more justification for the purchase price.

WV Sawmiller · January 17, 2020, 04:41:22 PM

Thanks for the clarification. I would not overthink this issue till I had sawed a while and verified it was actually going to be a problem. Throwing a cheap tarp down and cleaning/removing the sawdust when it becomes a problem does not take that much time or effort in my experience. The only time I move my sawdust pile is in my primary sawing spot in my pasture and then I use my little FEL and tractor blade to move it. I know sawdust is a big problem for indoor sawyers but I find it much less for outdoor sawing or at least that is the case for me. I do like the idea of the rental as a trial basis.

On your comment about using your vac system to remove sawdust for customers I agree all work a sawyer does should be billed at or above the sawyer's normal rate because it is something prohibiting him from sawing. I bet you more customers would trim their logs better and stage them neater if the sawyer charged more for trimming nubs or rolling logs into position than for sawing lumber.

Stephen1 · January 17, 2020, 05:40:12 PM

I have never had a problem with sawdust when mobile. I hook the mill up and drive away. I have only one customer that wanted me to clean up the mess. I charge by the hr for the full time I am on location, so customers will cleanup the mess.
I have used tarps supplied by the customers, usually on gravel driveways.
The shop I have now where my kiln is an industrial unit. I have to clean my sawdust there, it goes in brown paper yardwaste bags and is picked up by the city for recycling. I just shovel it in as I saw. The residue is blown off the ashphalt into the creek out the back

At the sugarbush I am next to a ravine and everything goes over the edge except slabs and wood I can use to boil Maple Syrup.

Dave Shepard · January 17, 2020, 08:27:20 PM

I set up a Giant-Vac at one mill. It was hooked to the mill, edger, and planer. Saved hours every day.

SawyerTed · January 17, 2020, 08:53:14 PM

On portable jobs, I have a couple of helpers that prefer to catch the sawdust with this shovel as it comes out the chute. They walk along more or less beside me as I saw holding the shovel and catching the sawdust (they stay out of line with the chute/blade). They dump the shovel on a tarp, in a barrel or a pile near the end of the mill. They prefer to catch and dump rather than shovel when the pile accumulates. When I'm stationary at my house we catch and dump in the loader bucket or in empty cattle mineral tubs.

Some guys hang a bucket on the sawdust chute. They empty or swap buckets every two or three passes. Ten or twelve buckets will hold a lot of sawdust.

jeepcj779 · January 18, 2020, 01:23:20 AM

Where is the guy that goes with that shovel?

SawyerTed · January 18, 2020, 06:15:35 AM

The pretty one in the orange shirt is the one that started using the shovel and had the idea of using the storage totes to catch sawdust on portable jobs.

Magicman · January 18, 2020, 08:11:43 AM

Quote from: jeepcj779 on January 18, 2020, 01:23:20 AMWhere is the guy that goes with that shovel?

The shovel person is not always a "guy".

My customer here is doing a very nice job removing sawdust. ;D

She could also stack lumber.

And then hop on the JD and bring me another Sinker Cypress log. ;D

Fern Wood · January 18, 2020, 09:22:40 AM

Magican, I hope you were able to keep your concentration and didn't have any misscuts!

WV Sawmiller · January 18, 2020, 10:15:07 AM

Maybe fairy tales do come true.

Al_Smith · January 18, 2020, 10:25:34 AM

A vac most likely would work .I have a tow behind with I think a 7.5 HP Briggs engine .Makes a real racket sucking up hickory nuts .It would suck up sawdust slick as a whistle .I did on one occasion manage to suck up a softball .The blower didn't like that .

jeepcj779 · January 18, 2020, 12:35:06 PM

"Guy" is meant to be a generic term of non-specific gender to describe anyone who should be attached opposite the business end of a tool to make it accomplish work, but only while the tool is idle. Once said tool is known to be operated by a female, the non pejorative word of choice such as lady, woman, girl, etc., maybe used at your discretion.