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My cyclone project

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edtbjon:
I've been experimenting (for the third time now...) with a cyclone. I thought that I'd start up with a simple chinese plastic one until I got it all sorted. (... and whether or not it was worth the effort ...)
A bit of history: The first one I saw (for the Huky) was the one Susan posted years ago. I tried a similar setup with the original fan and exhaust bowl upside down on top and found it very top-heavy. The "top heavyness" was my biggest concern at the time so I got me an (about) 8"/200mm large radial fan, which sat nicely on the top of the roaster. Now, a radial fan is by nature very effective, so I had from about 30% up to 40% on my Variac to control the fan from standing still to actually sucking all the beans out of the roaster. I abandoned the project for a while, using the standard exhaust setup instead.
But a few months ago, I started to look for smaller fans (mostly in terms of CFM), but also to be able to run a cheap adjustable 0-12V or 0-24V converter instead of the bulky and heavy Variac (clone) that I used.
I bought a couple of cheap fans (in the $10-$20 range) from China (AliExpress) which arrived after a few weeks. The least effective one has a capacity of about 30CFM, while the stronger one is about 60CFM. These fans are about 4" in diameter. Yes, I know they look small, but the stronger fan of the two sucks beans out of the roaster if at full whack!
I use a J type setup, with a depicted "special order" exhaust pipe, which was available for the J-type roaster. For the T-model you can easily get a piece of "blank pipe" from Mr Li. 150mm/6" will do nicely.

As you can see all of the cyclone and chaff bucket is PVC plastic. Yes, it will stand up to the heat as the temperature is below 60C/140F when it reaches the cyclone. But this is an experiment rig and I'd absolutely recommend getting a metal cyclone and bucket for the "finished product"... The duct from the roaster to the cyclone is a generic automotive heat duct, while the outlet from the cyclone is a standard 4"/100mm ventilation flexible duct. ... and yes, I have a fire extinguisher and water nearby. :)

Last but not least, I'm still not satisfied with the fan selection. 30CFM for this setup is too little, while 60CFM is too much. The problem is that the fans are a bit hard to control (the 60CFM that is...), with very little voltage to play with. I either have to get me a better controller or try to find a suitable 45CFM fan. It's also my opinion that Duct Tape may come in handy while in the experimenting phase... :)

edtbjon:
A couple of more pictures...

monkey_lever:
I have the same plastic cyclone.

Two comments:

- The plastic bucket is a good choice . I haven't had any problems whit it. I liked because you can see the chaff falling just before first crack.

- The weak point of the system is the  vertical section of the plastic cyclone.  The part where you connect the exhaust fan. Mine is completely melted on the inside. I think that when you use low or no airflow the temperature increases and  melt the plastic. Im trying to replace that section with a metal tube.

- Im still using the original fan and my concern is the stability of the setup I used thermal silicone to glue everything up.

Regards.

SusanJoM:
My two primary reasons for abandoning this rickety set up were similar to those mentioned.   Finding useful non melting connectors and the constant thread of having the whole mess come tumbling down. 

edtbjon:
Susan and monkey-lever: The difference in our setups is that I use about 3 feet (1 meter) of ducting (60mm/2 1/4" generic automotive heater ducting) between the roaster and the cyclone (as compared to Susans 4" silicon ducting). The exhausts cool very quickly in a few feet of ducting, which seems to be the reason for me not having heat issues.

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