Which cyclone to buy?

[Jerry Ingraham]

After seeing our tax preparer this morning and having a birthday coming up, SWMBO has suggested that I add dust collection to the shop :) . I had previously thought I would buy the Grizzly 1029 but now am considering stepping up to a cyclone. I have spent a fair amount of time on Bill Pentz' site and I still am unclear, does a cyclone improve air flow or does it simply separate particles? If I go with a cyclone, which would you suggest? I've looked at Penn, Griz (when they become available), Oneida, etc.
My shop is 24'x24' and when I roughly sketch it out, my longest run will be about 30'. Thanks for the help.

[Mike Linne]

In a nutshell the cyclone is strictly a particle separation device. From a woodworker's perspective the advantages of the cyclone over a single stage separator (G1029 type) are:
1. Performance stays relatively consistant as the bulk of the dust and chips are separated before passing through the filter media - i.e. longer periods between filter cleanings
2. Easier to clean the chips and dust - just wheel the underflow bin out when full
3. Typically outfitted with filter media with smaller absolute rating filter - although now many single stage collectors can be ordered with good cartridge filter media.

Cyclones are more touchy regarding correct design and operation. Too little air flow and the separation efficiency drops drastically. Poor duct design can also handicap a cyclone by increasing pressure drop (and therefore decreasing airflow).

Oneida and Woodsucker cyclone owners seem to be satisfied. Owners of the Pentz design kit/homebuilt also seem to be pleased with performance. Grizzly has just announced a revised line of competing cyclones, but as they are not yet shipping, the real world jury is still out on their offerings.

[Kyle Stiefel]

Jerry,

I have a Woodsucker which I am very pleased with. I built a simple enclosure with soundboard to quite it down and also tossed the compressor in there. It would have been great if I could have placed it outside of the shop but that wasn't an option. It is a quality unit with a 2hp motor that would probably be optimal in your size shop. I also found Bill Pentz's website to be extremely beneficial. I will try to attach a couple of pictures.

Kyle

[Fred Voorhees]

Well, I am partial to the Oneida. I purchased my unit used from Jim Becker. It served him well for years and it is doing the same for me in my shop. It sits happily in my garage below my shop and happily "sucks".

[Lance Alldrin]

Hey Kyle.
Tell us more about the plastic bag around the filter. Is that the filter housing? Seems like the pressure on the outlet side would blow it off...? Or is it your method of cleaning the filter?

I'm in process of acquiring a 3 hp motor and airfoil impeller to build a Bill Pentz cyclone and getting rid of the Griz 1029.

Lance

[Kyle Stiefel]

Lance,

The bag is actually to trap very fine particles that pass through the filter. To this day after 4 months of operation there doesn't appear to be any dust that the eye can see in the bag. From everything I have read and people I have talked to they don't need to clean the filter until they have filled the drum full a good 30-40 times. My only desire would be to have a bigger drum because it is amazing how fast you can fill it up when beginning to work rough stuff. Check out www.woodsucker.com (http://www.woodsucker.com) and Larry has more of the specifics on the machine (I am not affiliated with the listed website).

Kyle

[Greg Hairston]

Jerry,
I have a woodsucker also. I looked at all the others and narrowed my choices down to Woodsucker and Onieda. I had a few issues with the onieda price and I went back and forth talking to onieda and woodsucker. In the end it was Larry's one on one customer support that won me over. He took the time to answer all my questions and made me feel more comfortable than Onieda.

The woodsucker has performed flawlessly since installation. I am very pleased with it and highly recommend that you do your research. Talk to Larry and Onieda. See what suits your needs and your budget best.

Greg H

[John Miliunas]

Jerry, and yet another happy Woodsucker owner here, too!:) I really couldn't swing the Oneida at the time and, in hindsight, I'm glad I didn't! Don't get me wrong: Oneida is one heckuva' machine and does a great job. For me, though, the "swing vote" was that I could easily hang it outside my shop area, yet still route the return air (my *conditioned* shop air) easily back into the shop. And, using insulated flex duct (like Kyle has pictured), made it even easier, with the added improvement of further muffled noise. If electricity cost wasn't as much of an issue, mine would stay "on" the bulk of the time I'm in the shop! Good luck in your search!:) :cool: