Hey Mike .
That would have been a long drive on gasoline . I was tired !!
Here’s the current plan-a-gram for my filter install. I’m redoing the blowers at the same time here, I want them to be mounted vertically and to be valved before, not after. I’m coming into the hay filter at the height of the standpipes, and tapping into that area for the blowers. Hay filter exit will remain where it currently is, at the top.
I’m using a tennis ball valve inside a 3" wye, thanks to Daniel Hightower for that idea. This means the blowers can stay open, drained, constantly vented and (hopefully) no woodgas corrosion. I’m adding an exhaust turnout, a la Herb Hartman. Any drops of collected rain water will drain back to the tennis ball, and will flow into the condensate tank on the next valve open. I may decide it needs a weep hole - a small hole just outside the ball valve won’t hurt the startup routine, and is sealed off with the valve closed.
Chris, will that tennis ball seal with suction and gravity or will you still need a spring?
Looks good to me. I like the high side entry too. My bearings are squalling right now.
Don, I’m not taking any chances, so I’ll have a light spring.
Carl, I know the feeling - 3 of my 5 have quit, so I’m going to start with a fresh set.
Do you plan on flaring from the exhaust turnout?
Hmm… the thought had crossed my mind. Yes, I think I will! 
Be careful, at that height it could burn the hair off your chest!
Aah! I see your concern. The drawing isn’t to scale, the blower stack will be a bit taller than shown. In any case, the tip has to be above the hay filter, otherwise any flare could melt the plastic.
I like flaring out my new 4in stack. I wanted chrome but I couldn’t get past the price so I went regular steel and painted it with 900deg caliper paint. It is holding up good so far. Gotta make sure you have absolutely no air leaks prior to the end of the stack, or the gas wants to burn back to the place it first gets air. My blowers are vertical behind the diamond plate shield.
David S
Hi Chris
Look at the second picture on my thread, it looks like your drawing I don’t have a shutoff valve on the bottom I just stick a ball in the top.
How do you plan to fasten the barrel to the truck Chris? Fasten the pipes that connect to the barrel? Those pvc to barrel connectors are just a slip fit, right? Maybe you could plastic weld tabs to the barrel that could then bolt or screw to the box.
Looks great David! I hope mine turns out half as well. Jim, that’s pretty much what I’m after. Mine will go in front of the hay filter, sort of tucked away.
Don, I’m going to make some steel straps to wrap the tank, similar to gas tank straps. That way I can weld extra mount points anywhere I like, add blower mounts, etc. without adding stress points to the plastic.
Chris, I like the elbow in the top of the tank. I never thought the lid on my garbage can filter would get sucked down and plug things off but it did. My mistake for not having a notch in that pipe. Have you pulled a vacuum on the tank yet to see if it will collapse or cave in under 30 or 40 inches of vacuum ?? You can do that just fine with duct tape and a shop vac. Bring lots of duct tape and aluminum tape either way on your trip. Friggin cold here today (19) and white as far as the eye can see… BEST Regards, Mike
Chris, I started to put the blowers in the front, but after I looked it over the blowers would be hard to get to work on. in the back I can take all mine off in 2 minutes.
Mike LaRosa has been bugging me to test the hay filter under vacuum. I received my UniSeals yesterday, and installed the first one today. They make a wonderful seal! No fuss no muss.
So, after I installed an elbow, I bolted on the hay filter lid. Applied full vacuum from my shop vac, and it didn’t flex in the slightest.
Video:
That’s great news Chris. Thanks for doing that. I’m sure the typical “blue” plastic drums we have around here would get sucked in some … Thanks again, Mike
Chris, thanks for the link to the seal rings. Mine came in the mail today. Good video. I never would have thought of running the hole saw backwards and have the resulting heat smooth the hole. Didn’t take long to drill through either.We used to put circular saw blades in backwards when we cut vinyl siding for the same reason. My barrel has the clamp ring - not the bolt ring. Hope it seals as good as yours. What are you going to use for the little cap on top of the cover?
Mike, I have the blue drum. It is as thick as Chris’s looks on the video-maybe 3/16" or so. I also have a thin one I use as a junk barrel that would be too thin for a filter barrel.
That is slick. Glad everything is going as expected.
Nice Chris. Did you have to purchase those barrels or find them? Just wondering what a fair price should be?