Henry caught fire a few months ago so i'm bodging together a cyclone. I'm using an old expansion tank and a bucket. Just about to weld the top and side pipes . Should the top pipe go down below the level of the side pipe?
Yes or you won't get a cyclone action - it'll just draw stuff direct from the side pipe up the outlet.
Actually it works OK with the suck just at the top. I use a converted plastic dustbin with 50mm PVC fixed to the lid. Have to admit to looking at a Veritas lid before I started The cyclone effect is caused by the lower pressure in the tank pulling in the waste carring air at a tangent, so it centrifuges the waste to the edge and, out of the relatively narrow tube, it slows down and drops.
You can get the cyclone attachments for £13 off amazon. I attached one to a small blue water tub, the ones with the steel lockable ring on the lids, beware however, the henry will buckle the whole thing on the slightest restriction of flow, they are stronger than they seem!
Very similar to how I did mine. I used roughly the same type & size of cyclone cylinder. I put one of those 4" flanges on the bottom with some flexi aluminium hose to the bucket, (had it built into a cabinet). They work surprisingly well.