110V DC needed

[Jim Fancher]

Have there been any head to head reviews done for 110V DCs? I have a garage shop where everything gets moved around. I only use one tool at a time. I don't have 220V in the garage and have no plans to add it.

I've been looking at everything from the Harbor Freight units to the ones offered by Grizzly and Penn State. Any favorites on the low end of DCs?

A cannister filter would be great, but I could add it later.

[Maurice Ungaro]

I have a Shop Fox (Grizzly) 1.5 hp which draws 1150 cf. Works pretty darn good, and cost about $179.

Maurice

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Try to find someone that has a contracter account at HF. If you do, they get 20% off of any purchase, the HFDC then becomes $120, pay $20 for a two year warranty and you are all set. At the same time order the cartrige conversion from WYNN and you have a great DC IMHO.

[Steven Wilson]

All of the 1.5hp bag units are roughly the same; equally bad. Anyhow, you'll need at least two 110V 15A circuits in your garage (preferably 20A) to run a table saw and your dust collector. If you don't have two circuits then you'll need to add some, and if you need to do that you might as well put in a sub panel and run some 220V.

[Jim Becker]

WOOD Magazine did a review of the 1.5hp 120v DCs a couple years ago. If I'm recalling correctly, the Delta and Jet were the shiners, but all of them pretty much performed the same overall.

[Jerry Olexa]

If budget is an issue, the HFDC is a viable option. Add a Wynn Cannister and your fittings/hose and you're up and running (adequate for one machine @ time) for under $300. The better cyclones (Oneida etc)basically start @ $1000. PSI has one starter cyclone @ about $500 plus shipping, fittings, etc

[Bob Reeve]

I hace the 1 1/2 hp unit from Penn State with the canister filter. Works great.

[Ron Jones near Indy]

I put 1 micron bags (top and bottom) on my Delta 50-850 along with a LV lid on a trash can. Sucks real good on one machine at a time.

[Curt Harms]

Hi Jim

I have the PSI DC250SE with a cartridge filter and it works well. As Steven pointed out, you'll probably need 2 120, one for the DC and one for the tool, TS, planer, jointer etc. so I'd want a MINIMUM of 40 amps 120 volts available. Just a thought.

Curt

[Dave Right]

I have the Jet 1100 which can be wired to either 110 or 220 and works great!

[Andy Haney]

Starting with the Wood Magazine review Jim mentioned, and due to a sale/promotion at a local tool dealer running concurrently with the Woodworking Show, I bought the Delta 50-850. It has met my expectations in a situation similar to yours (little electrical supply and no intention to make major modification). I may be mistaken, but I believe the performance curves in that WOOD test also indicated the Grizzly (1028, I think) also performed near the top of the group.

[Charlie Plesums]

Watch out for the finer bags on the dual bag dust collectors. When I got my Grizzly a couple years ago the standard bags (I believe 5 micron) just moved the dust to the far corner of the shop, then blew it out through the bags. I got the 0.3 micron bags which worked well for a few minutes, but as soon as I started sanding, the bags plugged and the airflow dropped. Spend an hour cleaning the bags, then they worked for 15 minutes. Not acceptable.

If you are creating dust (not just chips), then you need a much larger bag if you go to a finer filter material. I ended up with a custom bag that is about 6 feet tall and 3 feet in diameter. If I were doing it again, I would either get the cannister for a small DC, or get a cyclone for a big one.

[Jim Fancher]

I ordered the HF "2 HP" DC (45378-3VGA) for $149 this morning. It has a 14 amp motor and I'll be adding a cannister filter soon.

Thanks for all of the advice!

[Chris Padilla]

When I first read the subject for this thread I thought, "What the heck does someone need 110 Vdc for (as opposed to 110Vac)??!!"

:D

[Steve Stube]

So did I read it that way Chris. The answer is a 110 volt direct current motor. I have a few of them in my shop. Every time I see the DC mentioned on this forum it is automatic for me to think motors first off.