Attic installation

[Jonathan]

I'm planning to do an attic installation, directly above the shop. The only access to the attic space is with a ladder through a scuttle door in the ceiling.

Does anyone else have a similar set up, and if so, how hard do you find it to empty the dust bin? I'm thinking 30 gallons of saw dust is going to be rather difficult to hoist down through the scuttle door.

The alternative I was considering is to have the dust bin hang from the ceiling inside the shop, but have the cyclone in the attic. I'm not super fond of that solution because it takes up space along the wall I was going to use for cabinets. Any other ideas for solving the problem?

Thanks,
Jonathan

[bababrown]

Jonathan,
There are a number of installs in the photo gallery where part is in the attic but I do not recall any where all is above. I think you would find it inconvenient. Have you considered an outside closet? I like mine because it is very easy to empty the bin and the mess is outside.
bababrown

[Steve P]

Crawling up to the attic to empty the dust bin on a hot august day does not sound like much fun.

The tube between the cyclone and the dust bin can be any length and it should not affect the separation efficiency. It is just a conduit for the dust to fall through. Why not put the dust bin on the ground? Then you could use any size drum that you want. I use a 55 gallon plastic barrel with 4" caster wheels. It is easy to roll outside to dump. Just make sure to completely seal the tube or else dust will flow back to your filters.

Steve

[Jonathan]

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll probably go ahead and hang the bin from the ceiling. The shop is small, only 11x21, so every square inch of floor space is precious. Luckily it has a 9 foot ceiling, so the bin shouldn't be in the way. I'll just need to see if I can position the cyclone in the attic such that the bin underneath isn't in the way of any cabinets planned for the walls. I'll be sure to take photos to share :)

Thanks again,

Jonathan