DC 3300 upgraded to DC 6000

[80spiders]

My DC 3300 motor went into "hum mode" so I decided to upgrade to the DC 6000 while it was on sale last a couple of months ago. The transition went fine and I really like how the new motor is less of a noise maker than the DC 3300.
This past weekend I hooked the DC 6000 to my DeWalt planner and then a "light snow storm" started from the fan vent on the rear of the DC. This did not happen when it was a DC 3300. It does not happen when the DC is connected to the Mark 5 for sawing.
Any comments on this issue would be appreciated particularly if the suggestions are for correcting the problem. The issue seems to be with a large collection of shavings from the planner being deposited on top of the fan housing - just a guess - as the storm eventually stops after 20 mins following my opening the hood and clearing the shavings away with my hand.

[algale]

I don't think that should happen. Is the seal between the DC6000 motor and the fan vent installed correctly??

When I connect my DW735 planer to my DC3300, I generally leave the dust collector off (at least until I turn the planer off). The blower in the planer is powerful enough to send the chips and dust through to the DC3300 while also fully inflating both the upper filter bag and lower collection bag with air.

[JPG]

Blower in the planer????

[algale]

Blower in the planer????

Yep. It has a quite a powerful fan that actively ejects the chips.

[DLB]

When I did the DC 6000 upgrade my machine blew dust out of the motor vent under all conditions except OFF mode. SS requested that I return it and they sealed the poor fit between parts of the motor housing. There is a thread on this with pictures showing the problem. Mine has been fine ever since, and I use it with the DW735 with it turned on. My DW735 won't fully inflate the DC by itself, but I have the large hood so perhaps that is the difference.

IIRC there are (at least) three possible problems here. 1) A leak into the motor cavity where the motor housing mates with the impeller housing like I had, this is an unsealed mechanical interface. 2) A leak where the seals are installed at the outside end of the motor housing where it mates with the DC main housing. Especially suspect here is the very thick foam gasket that fills the top gap which is relatively wide. (And perhaps consistent with the OP report that a buildup of shavings on top of the motor housing eventually causes the leak to stop.) 3) An external leak with shavings dropping near the motor vent and entering into the motor cooling air flow around the vent.

I suspect 2 above in the OP's case. IIRC there was a note in the instructions suggesting that in some instances two of the very thick gaskets could be used together to seal the gap. Dusty and I were involved in a thread discussing modifications to resolve this and I think he sent final recommendations to SS engineering but don't know if anything was changed. It is a poor fit in the original, made worse by the DC 6000 mod. You can remove the hood and check this fit by observation.

- David

[80spiders]

IIRC there are (at least) three possible problems here. 1) A leak into the motor cavity where the motor housing mates with the impeller housing like I had, this is an unsealed mechanical interface. 2) A leak where the seals are installed at the outside end of the motor housing where it mates with the DC main housing. Especially suspect here is the very thick foam gasket that fills the top gap which is relatively wide. (And perhaps consistent with the OP report that a buildup of shavings on top of the motor housing eventually causes the leak to stop.) 3) An external leak with shavings dropping near the motor vent and entering into the motor cooling air flow around the vent.

I suspect 2 above in the OP's case. IIRC there was a note in the instructions suggesting that in some instances two of the very thick gaskets could be used together to seal the gap. Dusty and I were involved in a thread discussing modifications to resolve this and I think he sent final recommendations to SS engineering but don't know if anything was changed. It is a poor fit in the original, made worse by the DC 6000 mod. You can remove the hood and check this fit by observation.

- David

David, thank you for the info above and the reference to the post regarding your experience. I skimmed through that post and became glazed over with the technical info - which I do appreciate the knowledge but it is at a level that is beyond me.

I did note that when I pulled the 6000 unit out of the shipping box, I thought that the amount of silicone used on the joints was excessive and very sloppy in the application. From your bad experience as noted in your referenced post, I now understand the use of multiple tubes of silicone on my housing.

Back to your response to my posting. With your suggestion that my problem may be with the #2 scenario, are you saying that I should focus on the foam gasket provided with the kit from Shopsmith? I believe I installed it correctly - perhaps I need more gasket material?

And to be clear with my original post, when I said the leaking stopped after about 20 mins after I manually cleared the deposit of shavings on the motor housing - what was not clear was that I opened the hood, cleared away the shavings that had deposited on top of the housing, and then continued to run the DC 6000 while no longer using the planner. It took about 20 minutes for the fan to stop spitting shavings.

[DLB]

...
Back to your response to my posting. With your suggestion that my problem may be with the #2 scenario, are you saying that I should focus on the foam gasket provided with the kit from Shopsmith? I believe I installed it correctly - perhaps I need more gasket material?
...

What I recall doing was to use tape over the various mechanical interfaces in order to determine which were leaking. I suggest doing the same or similar. IIWM I would start with that upper gap where the motor housing comes near the main housing. The gap is wider on the DC6K because the whole motor/blower assembly angles downward slightly compared to the DC 3300. The dimensions and explanation are in the other thread, but it is a wide gap filled with a foam gasket. Perhaps your system is actually displacing the foam gasket.(?) As algale points out, assuming a DW735 or similar, you are moving a lot of air compared to 'normal' because of the blower fan in the planer. I would probably start by duct taping this gap, adding something to protect the foam gasket from the duct tape. Then test with the planer to see if the problem is solved. I used a good bit of duct tape on mine to find the leaks, but it sounds from your description that SS might have altered the design since I bought in.

- David

[80spiders]

Again, thank you David. This is clear now.

[80spiders]

I would start with that upper gap where the motor housing comes near the main housing. The gap is wider on the DC6K because the whole motor/blower assembly angles downward slightly compared to the DC 3300. I would probably start by duct taping this gap, adding something to protect the foam gasket from the duct tape.
- David
[/quote]

Thank you, David. This solved my issue.