Dust collector decisions

[Andre Cormier]

Hi,


I've been on the forum a fair bit but this is my first post.


I'm looking for a dust collector and I initially looked at the Grizzly G0548z. I'm sure some of you are probably familiar with it, it's a 2 hp canister with a paddle inside to shake some of the dust of the walls. Seems like a nice unit.


I've been reading all the posts about the HF and the positive comments. It looks like the canister mod is done by most.


1. Is the main advantage of the can air quality?
2. Does it make a significant difference in performance?
2. Does the stock bag clog up with easy with dust?
3. Do you need to shake the filter bag from time to time? (First dust collector so not sure)


The reason I ask theses questions is that my dust collector is going to be on the outside of my shop wall in its own little closet. The closet is under the carport and is well ventilated to the outside. So any dust missed by the DC should mostly stay in that little room and perhaps out the vent a little.


The only mod I plan to do is to raise the motor and shorten that flexible piece of hose. I will also add a separator in front.


So the HF unit with the stock bag would be a cheap option allowing me to spend more on other tools. But if having a canister proves more advantageous than I thought I think I will spend a few more bucks and get the Grizz. I also like the 220v option on the Grizz.


Has anyone heard the noise level of the HF vs GZ


Thanks, great forum

[Peter Aeschliman]

Since you're going to be putting the DC outside of the shop and you're planning on using a pre-separator (I recommend doing a search on the "Thien Baffle" or "Thien Separator" if you haven't already), then don't get hung up on the bag vs. filter question.

I'd recommend just removing the bag altogether. Only really fine dust will come out of the DC if you use a decent pre-separator. This will improve your performance and save you some money. It will also save you some space because all you'll need is the motor/impeller assembly and the pre-separator.

If you're worried about dust escaping the closet and making a mess, consider putting some furnace filters on the outside wall of your closet.

This is what I would do if I were in your situation.

[Andre Cormier]

I was thinking of the thien separator in front. I didn't realize that they were so efficient as to allow me to use the DC without the bag (only in the closet of course). I guess I could just give the DC room a sweep up from time to time.

Great idea with the furnace filters on the vents of the closet!

Thanks

[Angie Orfanedes]

I use the HF 2 HP dust collector, which I have modded with a Thien separator, and no bag. I exhaust the fine dust to the outside world, and it works well. The Thien separator does such a good job, very few visible particles make it to the outside exhaust - but I think those nasty invisible particles are the ones you have to worry about, and these are the ones that it shoots outside.

The only downside to my version is that if you live in a cold climate, you could lose some heat in your shop through the DC suction and exhaust. But personally the convenience of no bag/no cannister/and no nasty invisible particles is worth it in my book.

Check out this post:http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=109166.

I later changed the outlet hose from flex hose to 4 inch PVC pipe - there's probably a picture of that in my posts somewhere, as well.

There are other similar designs that I liberally borrowed ideas from, so you should do a bit of research on this forum.

Good luck.

[Andre Cormier]

Angie what a great idea. I am picking up the HF unit and will mod it as you have. I was going to build a separate can Thien separator in front of the unit because I didn't realize how efficient baffle inside of the actual DC was. Your design allows for least amount of loss in the system.

Oh, and I am in Florida and my shop is not air conditioned. So sucking the heat out will be a good thing.

Thanks

[Andre Cormier]

Just looking on Craigslist I found a double bag 3hp DC for 150$. If I was going to do the same mod as Angie did using only one side of the separator, would it be too much? Would I need to use both sides and have 2 cans?

[david brum]

Hi Andre

I'm going through the same process. I recently got a 3 hp DC on Craigslist. I thought of modifying to something similar. After a bit of research though, I realized that a 3 hp DC will not move any more air than a smaller DC unless it's hooked up to at least 6" ducting and AMPLE filtering. If you are sending dust outside and not filtering, that's great. I'm guessing that you'd still need two Thien separators though. Since the priciple of a separator is to stall the air enough to allow dust and chip to fall out, I think that a 3 hp DC will move enough air to defeat a single separator. I don't have any evidence or math to support this but it seems right.

If you're going with 4" duct, you could definitely get away with a single separator. You do lose a significant amount of airflow though. You also will have to contend with a really big,heavy motor that you're not benefitting from.

I eventually decided to just keep the original format with two bags, two Wynn filters, two Thien separators and 6" PVC ducting. I should have it hooked up in a week or so. I'll post pictures after I get it hooked up.

Personally, if I were going to vent outside, I would have a collection box, thereby eliminating the need for bags or trash cans. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=53504

[Andre Cormier]

Thanks David

I'm having also having second thoughts about modifying the dual 3hp system. Seems like more work than what I need. And I think I may get that HF before the sale goes out. My shop is very small and I will almost never run more than one machine at a time so I think the HF will do just the trick.

That chip box looks very interesting. But I think for my purpose I would like to retain a little bit of filtering because the outside DC room is vented under the carport and I sometimes work in that area. I'm going to see how this combination works : Thein baffle/no filter bag/inside the little room with large furnace filters over the vents.

If that does not work I will just add filtration steps until I'm happy with the results

[david brum]

Hi Andre

One thing to keep in mind are what your future needs will be. If you get serious about dust collection, you'll find smaller DCs like the HF unit pretty limiting, DAMHIK. There are very convincing arguments in favor of larger airflow and it's ability to remove very fine dust.

It's true that a 3 hp DC is more of a pain to install; bigger footprint, 30amp circuit, etc. The upside is the ability to run lots of larger diameter ducting which will move significantly more air, providing more future options. Just sayin'.