Looking at dust collectors?

[Shawn Stennett]

I am of need of a dust collector, I want to avoid what I usually do, and that is buy the cheapest and end up upgrading sometimes more than once. I can not buy the best but would like to get a good quality collector, one that I would not have to replace for quite sometime. I would apprieciate any suggestions. As for what equipment I have, which might help with suggestions... I have, a 3hp jet cabinet saw, 10' miter saw, router table, another router mounted in table saw extention and a 6 inch Grizzy jointer. I will soon add a planer, and later on a Drill press and band saw.

Please help with any pointers, or suggestions. I would like to stay within the 500-800 dollar range (closer to the 500 dollar range) Shop is 22x25.

Shawn

[John Michaels]

I've got the Delta 50-760 (http://www.amazon.com/DELTA-50-760-Horsepower-Vertical-Collector/dp/B00078V9KA) . Very happy with it. It has gotten great reviews.

[Jack Ellis]

If I hadn't gotten a great deal on a well used 3 HP unit, I'd be buying the Delta 50-760 also.

One other idea is to look for larger used units on Craigslist. That's where I found mine. It may not be quite as well designed or efficient as the Delta, but a 14" impeller and a 3 HP motor more than make up for any flaws. Cabinet shops that are closing are good sources for DCs, too.

[Rick Fisher]

The DC is something you should spend a bit more money on than usual. Regardless of what machinery your using, it should be chugging away in the background.

Wireless on/off is a great feature. Something I miss with my newer unit.

If you get a 3hp unit (or bigger). You wont regret it or resent it in the future.

[Anthony Whitesell]

I was thinking of getting a Delta 50-760 as it lists a higher CFM than my current DC. Can the Delta 50-760 support 6" ductwork? (something else I'm look to upgrade)

[Loren Blount]

I have the Delta 50-760 as well and have been very satisfied with it.

Loren

[Scott Mann]

I have the Delta 50-850 (which is a 1 1/2 HP) and it works very well. I run 4" flexible hose to a table saw, jointer, planer, router table, and band saw. I have not had any issues with the DC lacking power, but the longest run of hose that I have is about 15 feet. The unit is under your budget, so buy a remote starter for it (you won't regret it!)

[Shawn Stennett]

Thank you for the responses, I will look into those models. What should I look for, CFM, Static pressure, horsepower, impeller size? What is static pressure? What difference does the impeller size make?

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Shawn, unless you are looking at something like an Oneida cyclone, you'll probably discover that the numbers most dust collectors claim are about as useful as the ABCP (Asset Backed Commercial Paper) that was involved in the recent financial meltdown.

Impeller size is of no importance to anyone except the engineer who designed the fan. There is no way to evaluate whether a 16 inch impeller will provide more airflow than a 14 inch impeller, the reverse can even be true depending upon vane shape and fan housing profiles. It is however something the marketing people can use to sell, since bigger is better, right?

The last step in a dust collection design is picking the collector.

The first is to list your machines, including future purchases, then.......

- draw a shop layout

- write down the CFM requirements for your machines

- calculate your duct frictional losses

- select a collector based upon the fan curve from the different manufacturers.

What's that? Most of the collectors don't have fan curves? That lets you know that their performance specs are BS.

Any fan manufacturer that won't provide a fan curve has a fan that they're embarrased about.


Regards, Rod.

P.S. The fan curve will plot airflow in CFM at various static pressures. This allows you make sure that the fan can provide the desired CFM with the resistance (Static pressure) of your duct system.

[Shawn Stennett]

Rod I believe that I can say that you sound like you know a little about dust collectors. I know what machines that I want to buy in the future, but as far as shop layout goes........My shop right now is a two car garage but in my future I am planning on building a 20 x 40 shop. I would like to get a collector that would still be effecient in the new shop when everything is spread out a bit more than it is now.

Also should each machine state what the cfm requirements are, I have noticed it in any paperwork before?

Thanks again to everyone.

[glenn bradley]

I run a 2HP Grizzly G0440 in a 21' x 31' shop. I only use it for the tablesaw (over and under), router table (over and under) and the bandsaw (under table and bottomo of base). I have my first DC (a Delta bag unit upgraded with an oversized American Fabric Filter bag) dedicated to my jointer and planer. This is working out well for me.

[Shawn Stennett]

Does anyone have any experience with the Grizzly 1030, 3 hp model.

http://www.grizzly.com/images/pics/jpeg288/g/g1030.jpg (http://www.grizzly.com/products/G1030/images/)

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Shawn, the first decision I would make is do I want a single or two stage system?

The collector you have illustrated is a single stage system. The dust goes through the fan, into the filter/bag area. This type of collector is inexpensive however...

- because the chips go through the fan, you can't use them with floor sweeps

- the filters clog much more rapidly than a two stage since all the dust goes into the filter/bag area.

A two stage system like a cyclone has the fan on the outlet side. The dirty air is drawn into the cyclone where the dust and chips slide against the cyclone walls, losing speed and falling into the dust bin.

Only a very small portion of the finest dust is then drawn into the fan, and discharged into the filter.

- filter stays clean for a long time, performance doesn't drop off as much as a single stage.

-blocks of wood, screws etc which may enter the cyclone are seperated out before going through the fan, no possibility of fan damage or sparks.

- because of the above you can use a floor sweep.

To get an idea of what kind of CFM you need for tools, check out a website such as Oneida.

For a TS consider about 400 to 500CFM for the cabinet, and add 300 for an overhead guard.

Planers are in the 400 to 600 CFM range depending upon cutterhead size and manufacturers info. Note that a lot of "American" style machinery comes without info, much different from European stuff where they design for excellent collection from the start.

Do some hunting and see what you come up with.

Regards, Rod.

P.S. you can PM me if you wish.

[Chris Ricker]

Shawn, Rod has some excellent advice:)

[Shawn Stennett]

What about thesethings for single stage systems? I do want the ability to use floor sweeps and not be limited.


http://www.woodcraft.com/images/products/143290tmb.jpg (http://www.woodcraft.com/product.aspx?ProductID=143290&FamilyID=4310)

[Anthony Whitesell]

Better off with the built-it-yourself version from Phil Thein.

[Shawn Stennett]

Would one be happier with a smaller cyclone @1 1/2 hp unit or a larger bag type 3hp one with a seperator like the one mention by Phil Thein?

[Stephen Edwards]

Does anyone have any experience with the Grizzly 1030, 3 hp model.

http://www.grizzly.com/images/pics/jpeg288/g/g1030.jpg (http://www.grizzly.com/products/G1030/images/)

I don't have experience with that particular DC unit. However, I can tell you that it's very simple and very inexpensive to make your own very efficient separator using a 55 gallon plastic or heavy duty card board barrel to work with that DC unit. That's what I did for my 2HP DC unit. For all practical purposes, in my opinion, it makes your single stage collector a two stage collector. It takes about two hours to make the separator using the barrel and $20 bucks or so in fittings.

The barrel catches all of the heavy chips, any metal pieces and blocks of wood such as Rob mentioned, etc. The only thing that goes through the blades and into the bag is fine dust. Everything else drops to the bottom of the barrel. Generally speaking I'll empty the barrel two or three times before I have to empty the fine dust in the bag. With this method you can use a floor sweep and a floor drop with the Grizzly DC unit you asked about.

Feel free to PM if you want more details.

[Shawn Stennett]

Has anyone built a preseperator like Phil Thein's and still regreted not buying a cyclone?