Down draft vrs water table

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Roman
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Down draft vrs water table

Post by Roman »

Ok I am planning on up grading my table! Not sure if I should go with a down draft table or a water table for the smoke problem
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Re: Down draft vrs water table

Post by plain ol Bill »

You will get a lot of different opinions on this - here are some of mine. I like a water table because: 1 - it keeps the smoke and metal particulates to a minimum. 2 - A water table helps enormously in keeping warpage from heat to a minimum. 3- I can pick up parts from the table bare handed without yelling "damn that was HOT"
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Re: Down draft vrs water table

Post by abmetal »

I'm a fan of downdraft. No rust, no antifreeze, and I haven't seen a water table that will contain ALL of the smoke. Like everybody else....just an opinion.

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Re: Down draft vrs water table

Post by SegoMan DeSigns »

Every-time I change out the "chocolate shake", I think to myself I'm glad that is not in my lungs.
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Re: Down draft vrs water table

Post by Dana gear »

I run two down draft tables 48"x120", It did take some time to get the baffling straightened out.
Each table has there own turbine fan 1-1/2 hp 3 phase units, ducted outside to a filter cabinet.
Zero plasma dust and we don't have to go fishing for small parts.
Everyone has a preference that said down draft has worked great for us.
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Re: Down draft vrs water table

Post by Granite »

What about for a home based shop/garage?

Based upon my usage, I drain and clean my water table 4 times a year. Its always a pain, although I've learned to live with it. I try to keep my water almost touching the bottom of the part being cut and can live with the small amount of smoke/dust that gets airborne.

Is downdraft a viable alternative for home shops? 3 phase turbines are not an option for me. I would be curious if there are affordable practical exhaust/ducting/filtering solutions that capture virtually all the smoke. Is there such a thing?
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Re: Down draft vrs water table

Post by abmetal »

My downdraft does catch all of the smoke by covering most of the unused portion of the table. It also works great for removing paint fog when I'm painting.

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Re: Down draft vrs water table

Post by steel 35 »

I Am to close to the Neighbor to be bellowing outside, so I have a watertable, But every magnet outside a drawer is covered in crud so If my doors are closed in the winter I use a side draft Box on top of the water filled slats.
Planning to make a down draft pulling over the sided's between my the water table and rails :|
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Re: Down draft vrs water table

Post by jimcolt »

I have had downdraft on my home shop machine for 14 years. No smoke. It does not "billow" outside......rather it comes out of the blower louvers and then falls to the green grass outside. No mess. The only drawback is during heating season....sucking some of the heat out of the shop....which could be cured with a makup air pipe from outside directly to the table. Jim Colt Hypertherm
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Re: Down draft vrs water table

Post by Granite »

I have had downdraft on my home shop machine for 14 years. No smoke.
Jim, any idea what CFM fan you have? Duct diameter?
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Re: Down draft vrs water table

Post by jimcolt »

I have 3 eight inch diameter ducts going from my 4 x 4 table to a plenum box attached to a 36" wall fan with 3200 cfm rating. (it is a restaurant style fan with louvers on the outside that open and close).
I make sure the entire top of the tables is covered (with sheetmetal) if I am not cutting a full 4 x 4 sheet. Jim Colt Hypertherm
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Re: Down draft vrs water table

Post by plasmartist »

I am using a water basin on my table. Not sure if there is something special about the water in my area (I have been told our arsenic levels are border line too high for consumption), but I do not use antifreeze at all, just straight water from the garden hose. My containment is 52"x52"x4" and drains into a 55 gallon barrel under the table at the end of each day. about once a month I have to add 5-10 gallons of water, due to evaporation or overflowing. I have been cutting this way for a year and never changed my water, when I fill the table the water is crystal clear. One of my friends that owns a restaurant duct business ditched his downdraft and copied my setup because too much dust was settling on his classic cars. Of coarse everyone has opinions and this is just mine.
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Re: Down draft vrs water table

Post by Greg_R »

plasmartist wrote:I am using a water basin on my table. Not sure if there is something special about the water in my area (I have been told our arsenic levels are border line too high for consumption), but I do not use antifreeze at all, just straight water from the garden hose. My containment is 52"x52"x4" and drains into a 55 gallon barrel under the table at the end of each day. about once a month I have to add 5-10 gallons of water, due to evaporation or overflowing. I have been cutting this way for a year and never changed my water, when I fill the table the water is crystal clear. One of my friends that owns a restaurant duct business ditched his downdraft and copied my setup because too much dust was settling on his classic cars. Of coarse everyone has opinions and this is just mine.
Sorry sometimes I can be slow. You said that you drain the water everyday, and then you said you never changed the water in a year? Are you draining, and then reusing the same water? Could you elaborate, and also show a picture of your setup?

Thanks!
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Re: Down draft vrs water table

Post by ScottF »

Greg_R

Perhaps I can clear this up. From my understanding the table drains into the drums every day. This allows for an adjustable water level depending on cut material and allows for draining the table to pick up the drops and keep the hands dry. The water can be cycled in and out of the table and into the drum many times.

Hope this helps
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Re: Down draft vrs water table

Post by Greg_R »

Thanks, that would make sense that the water would be clear if the sediment was at the bottom of the barrell, and the water was taken from the top to put back in the water table.
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Re: Down draft vrs water table

Post by john527 »

Put your machine on wheels and roll it outside when cutting, my garage is nice and clean. No down draft and no water table. My machine is only a 4x4 so it is a little easier to move.
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Re: Down draft vrs water table

Post by abmetal »

The big drawback to rolling it outside is that the rain and snow can be miserable and rough on electronics.

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Re: Down draft vrs water table

Post by acourtjester »

I do as John 527 does and I have a cover over where I roll it out to so I am covered from rain (not much snow in Fla) :lol: . Almost all of the crud stays in the bottom of the table when I drain it so I don't think with a drum capture system very little would get into the drums IMHO ;)
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Re: Down draft vrs water table

Post by biggator850 »

Unless you live in the Arctic, fill your table with WATER!!!!!!!!!!!!! It will help cool parts as they cut, keep you from getting burned fingers, and solve the fume problems. Water table will also help keep your parts from heat warping. If you are cutting much Aluminum DEFINITELY go with water to because the water captures the hydrogen released from the exothermic cutting of aluminum. I would only expect to see a down draft table used for light gauge material.
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Re: Down draft vrs water table

Post by Ryan »

I chose water table as a least common denominator. No moving parts, nothing to break. I run straight water and have no issues. A down draft would be nice If I could afford the time and effort of keeping the woodstove chocked full. My shop has 12ft of head clearance with open trusses. 56x36 is alot to heat when you are blowing it out with the down draft table. I would rather have a seperate room for my table. That would be best IMO. But the water table does work great. I had dross problems until I lowered the water level and now I have nice clean cuts and alot of the crud is captured in the water. I weld and grind in the shop too so the extra fumes that are not controlled by the water is not a concern. I have enough Cu. Ft. of air space in my shop for what Im doing so that I dont need anything more than a dust collection system. If you have the table in a small space I recommend the down draft table. But there is all the extra that goes with it. Or you can just fill the table with water and go with it. Hope this helps
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