Grizzly 2 HP cyclone dust collector..... Should I or Shouldn't I ?

[Dave Gallaher]

I'm looking at a 2 HP Grizzly dust collector. Wondering if anyone has one and how it is working?

[glenn bradley]

I have one and have been very happy with it. If I could have shoe-horned one in, I would have gotten the 3HP.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Don't trust Glenn. There's no dust anywhere on that cyclone or ductwork - real dust collection is never that clean. Must be fake ;)

[Jaromir Svoboda]

I bought used one,no problems works nice.

[Rick Fisher]

Gotta agree with Dan.. My DC got dirtier than that just installing it .. Something is amiss .. Be suspect..

If you have room for a 3hp .. go 3hp .. 2hp is awesome for planers, jointers and Tablesaws.. if you move into Edge sanders or drum sanders.. 3hp works better..

The DC should be the most used machine in the shop.. bigger is rarely as disappointing as smaller.

[David Kumm]

You really need to look at the machine with the highest cfm requirement, where it is located, what pipe you need considering the bends and amount of flex hose and work backward to determine the cfm needed. I always look for a system curve and see what cfm is measured at 8 sp. That is the minimum size you need as you will generally be running between 8 and 12 sp and must size accordingly. Dave

[Jim Andrew]

My 2hp cyclone is barely big enough to operate with my 18" planer. Also have a small thickness sander, and, kindof wish I had gotten a 3hp. Know I have an extra door open when running the planer if chips come flying out. Hard to tell while using jointer or ts.

[Richard Shaefer]

I'm kinda working though this same question myself and leaning to the Oneida over the Grizzly since it comes with a HEPA filter. Grizzly is supposedly upgrading to HEPA in January, but they'll probably jack the price to match the Oneida, anyway. 3HP V series Oneida is smaller than the 2HP grizzly, too.

[Paul McGaha]

Dave,

Suggest you closely watch the price breaks between the 2 HP, 3 HP, 5 HP systems. Sometimes not a lot of $$ for more CFM. More CFM is good.

PHM

[Stan Mitchell]

My shop is not huge - approx. 20x20.

The Grizzly 2HP cyclone is plenty big for my needs.

I can leave 3 gates open at a time and still have plenty of suck.

Wish it were easier to empty is all - something common to most at-home systems.

[Jamie Buxton]

If you use Grizzly's stand, and hang the filter from it the way they suggest, the system eats a lot of floor space. In most shops, that's a significant consideration. With care and thought, you can shoehorn the components into a smaller space. You can hang the cyclone from the wall. You can put the filter elsewhere -- for instance horizontally near the ceiling. Glenn's installation looks like he has a really good shoehorn.

[Joe Angrisani]

A large part of the difference between a 2HP and a 3HP unit is the length of the runs. I went with the 3HP so I could place the cyclone as far away as possible. If your runs are shorter, the 2HP could be all you need.

And just a comment on Jamie's post: I would NOT put the filter in a horizontal position. The fines will collect at the bottom of the filter itself instead of falling into the bag, and the filter brushes won't be able to do their job.

[mreza Salav]

+1

As somebody who upgraded to a cyclone recently I second this. At the end I went with a Clearvue. Look at the cfm/static pressure curve, that's what matters most.

[Gary Chester]

I have the 2hp Grizzly in a 24 x 24 shop with 6" pipe running all the way to nearly every machine... and it works great.

Proper piping and dust hoods make a big difference.

[Jamie Buxton]

... The fines will collect at the bottom of the filter itself instead of falling into the bag...

My experience (with a vertical filter) is that while some fines may fall down, most of the stuff is trapped in the pleats.