Put The Leaf Blower Back!!!!

[Tyler Howell]

Here's your chance. My Wallet's at your mercy The leaf blower must Go back in the garage where it belongs.
I need CFM over capacity. Quiet would be good. Don't have the height or space for a Cyclone. Suggestions

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

Tyler, are ya sure you don't have the headroom for a Cyclone? Oneida has a component system that is tailored for low ceiling areas. I have a basement shop, with a low ceiling, and I have an Oneida down there. The motor fits up between the floor joists, with the necessary clearance recommended by Oneida for motor cooling, but it fits....................and, does a better job than I ever imagined. It was the best thing the LOML ever MADE me buy! :D

[David LaRue]

Kevin,


Do you have nay pictures? I sure would like to see how you got one to fit. It reall is the way to go if you swing a cyclone.

Dave

[Charles McKinley]

Hi Tlyer,

Look at the fan diameter on the units and let it be the deciding factor. I think the only one that even comes close to Bill Pentz's recomendations is the Jet 1200. If you go with a bag get the finer after market bags tested by an independant lab. Have you considered a Dust Boy? I think they are even made out your way. They advertize in Fine Woodworking.

[Don Abele]

Tyler, I have the Jet and I love it. It works great. So much so, let me give you a testimonial. And I know that it'll make people cringe. My setup uses the Jet DC hooked up to 4" spiral piping ONLY. I'm in the Navy and move every couple of years, hard-plumbing just wouldn't work. I used 4 inch because when I original bought it (and the DC-1100 I originally had), that was what was recommended. So I have all this 4 inch stuff. I'd like to switch over to 6", but that's a big cost. My longest run is about 25 feet with the shortest about 10 feet. I only run 1 tool at a time so never have more than 1 gate open. As I said, with this system, it works great. I have very little dust after working out there, so I know it's doing what it's supposed to be doing even though I know it's not the best configuration.

Be well,

Doc

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

Sure David, I have pictures, and I will be happy to share them with you. I have my desktop PC shut down for the night, (I'm on the Lap Top machine now) but I will post some pics tomorrow. My unit fits and works just fine..........the photo's will give you a good idea of how you can make an Oneida work for you. I will add clearance measurements and such to my post tomorrow.

[Jeremy Bracey]

I have the shopfox, have had it for three plus years. I have my entier shop plumbed with 4" PVC overhead and have no issues. I use a trash can seperator , I know it drops the static pressure but I still ahve no issues.


Example: 4" connection at my Jet 13" planer/moulder goes straight up 7 feet to the ceiling, over 15' and down 7' to trash can seperator and then to the DC. Pretty good for a $250 DC. Im sure there are better, but it is more than enough for me.

I often here people saying that the Cyclone is the way to go and maybe it is. But for me, the shop fox has done everything I need to at substantially less $$$.
Best of luck.

[Dan Stuewe]

Not that Tyler would need this with his electronics knowledge, but I just got a flier from Rockler and it seems that Jet is including a remote for their 1100CK and 650CK (extra $30 and $50, respectivly).

[Tyler Howell]

Hey Dan,

I saw that one down at Rockler yesterday. Cheaper than I could make the one I posted if I were buying same componants OTS.
Looks interesting.

[Steven Wilson]

Tyler,

If you can't do a cyclone then get the 1200C Jet. My Oneida 2HP commercial doesn't take up anymore floor space than the 1200C but it does go higher. The 2HP component system requires less mounting height than mine and may fit your height requirements.

[Dennis Peacock]

Tyler,

I you can't go with a cyclone setup, which if you need CFM instead of capacity, then the cyclone is the way to go. I'm NOT going to get in the DC word fights and is the reason why I don't post in those kinds of threads. I know what works and I worked with Terry H. on testing and building cyclones according to Pentz's design (which is excellent BTW) and I have had almost every DC setup from no DC at all, to shop vac up to Cyclone. I have ran bag DC setup with the "improved" .3 micron bags. Well....nuff said.

It all boils down to physical space, how deep your pockets are, personal preference and settlement of your own satisfaction.

In short, can't do a cyclone? Get the Jet 1200C.....

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Tyler.....if you wallet is at my mercy.... :confused: may I suggest that you buy all 3.......try them out....keep the one you like best.......Send the other 2 to me I'll try them out and send you back the one I don't like? :eek: :rolleyes: :D :D .........Your mercy! :D

[Chris Padilla]

The Bill Pentz design could be done with a side-mounted motor and pulley system and save you about a foot of overall height.

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

Dave, as promised, here are some pictures of the 2 hp Oneida system I installed last month. I have a basement shop, and the height from the floor to the bottom of the floor joist is 80". From my shop floor to the bottom of the subfloor, between the joists, is 89". I fit the cyclone motor in between the floor joists, and still have room to spare........and more than the 1" that is needed for proper motor ventilation. So, it can be done. For what it is worth, the Cyclone is quieter than the Grizzly DC unit it replaced, and much more effective. I have attached a pic that show my install. If you want to see more pictures, I can email them to ya..............ducting, and the like.

[Jim Becker]

My 2hp Onieda Commercial Cyclone is mounted similar to Kevin's...with the motor between the joists. That meant I could continue to use the 55 gallon bin size that I prefer even with my 8' ceiling. (I needed 102" total for that) But I'm with most folks, Tyler, the cylone is the better way to go if you can deal with fitting it in. Like your "gold standard" tools...it's a good investment to go with the best you can afford (and fit)...

[Jamie Buxton]

I'm afraid I'm going to tweak some buttons here, but my opinion is that a cyclone isn't the best device for a small shop -- like the one- or two-car garages most of us work in.

The primary technical advantage of the cyclone is that it magically removes sawdust from the air stream. (And it is amazing. Did'ya see that video of the transparent cylcone?) The gee-whiz factor aside, there are other ways of removing sawdust from the airstream. Brute-force filters can work. Piping the air outside works even better.

The primary disadvantage of the cyclone is that it is so tall that it can't easily be moved. It really needs to bolt to a wall someplace. This, in turn, generally means that there's an accompanying big investment in ductwork. The long ductwork means that the DC needs to be powerful, to deal with friction losses in the ducts. The ductwork also for some reason also means that generally all the big machines in the shop get nailed down to a fixed location. Nailing down the big machines works well if you have lots of space, but doesn't work as well if you have limited space. If the machines are mobile, you can re-configure the shop for different operations and get much more use from a small shop.

IMHO, the better DC for a small shop is a mobile one with a canister filter. It gives you full versatility about shop configuration. It costs lots less than a cyclone plus ductwork and blast gates and such. It works right out of the box, instead of requiring lots of installation time. And, without long duct losses, it gets to apply its full sucking power directly to the machine.

[Brian Hale]

The reasons Jamie stated are the ones i debated with when searching for my 1st DC. Since i'm in the basement my space is somewhat limited and the hard piping idea didn't settle well with me and i've proved it several times in the last few months. Sure, there are work arounds but being able to move the DC away from the water furnance to change it's filter and roll it into the walkway so i can cut up a full sheet on the TS has made me happy with the choice. Perhaps when i move into the garage (if i ever find time to build it) a cyclone might be a better choice.

Until then, my 2hp Bridgewood does everything i need it to and has plenty of power left to suck the blue out of my jeans...

YMMV
Brian

[David LaRue]

Kevin,

Interesting I have 83" from floor to the bottom of the joist. Before, I didn't think a cyclone would fit. You got me thinkn now. :cool: Thanks for the pictures.

Dave