drum sander owners: dust collection help

[jim sauterer]

how big of a dust collector do you run on your drum sander .i have a woodtek 25 inch double drum.i hooked it up to my 1100 cfm jet with a 4 inch wye with less than stellar results.i am thinking bigger dust collector.any input appreciated.

[Gilbert Vega]

I have the Supermax 37*2 drum sander that I originally used the Delta 50-851 rated at 1200 cfm. It really didn't do a good job at collecting the dust even though Supermax recommends a collector rated at 1200 cfm. I ended up getting a Powermatic 1900 cfm rated unit that does the job.

Gilbert

[Bruce Page]

I have a 26" Woodmaster that I hook up to a Delta 50-850 with a claimed 1200CFM...:rolleyes: It works pretty good but it could be better. If I'm using a aggressive grit and taking a heavy cut (by DS standards) I get a fair amount of dust still on the board as it exits the sander.

[Chris Padilla]

Jim,

In a nutshell, you'll want a DC with an impeller in the range of 14"-16" pulling through 5"-6" metal or plastic duct.

The motor power is likely to be in the range of 3-5 hp but it isn't the most important number to worry about.

I also moved this question to the Shop forum where DC reigns king.

[David Kumm]

3 hp double bagger. dual drum needs lots of cfm and ratings mean nothing on the units. Two single bag 2 hp would work if you just want to add. Get good Beane or Am Fabric Filter bags or you will be eating dust. Good bags will work with a sander though. Dave

[Mike Heidrick]

I have both the 5hp single stage and a 5hp cyclone from Delta. No more problems on the 26" DD sander from Grizzly. Had a 2hp HFDC and the DD was not very kind to it.

[William C Rogers]

I am using a 1900 cfm and that works well. I have a 1100, but have not tried it with that one and don't think it would be near as good.

[jim sauterer]

powermatic is 1900 cfm that is on sale.those that have the 1900 do you run it with 2 4 inch connections or like chris says with 6 inch connection.this sander will be a dust machine without proper dust collection.really did not want to make another purchase at this time.thanks for your input.

[David Kumm]

powermatic is 1900 cfm that is on sale.those that have the 1900 do you run it with 2 4 inch connections or like chris says with 6 inch connection.this sander will be a dust machine without proper dust collection.really did not want to make another purchase at this time.thanks for your input.

Generally you want to run 6" until you pantleg wye off to two 4" ports. Their are two PM 1900 collectors. One has 30 micron bags and the other cartridges. I would not put either on a sander. Cartridges are too hard to clean and 30 microns is too little filtration. You want 2 micron bags that you can bang with a broom to release the dust cake. Dave

[jim sauterer]

the cartridges on the 1900 have a handle to shake it loose.do these not work as advertised.they are 2 micron also.thanks jim.

[David Kumm]

the cartridges on the 1900 have a handle to shake it loose.do these not work as advertised.they are 2 micron also.thanks jim.

You would be better off speaking to a guy who sells cartridges. I've heard stories that the brushes eventually damage the fibers and erode the effectiveness to avoid them. It may not be relevant to a hobby guy but cartridges are seldom used in a commercial setting for sanding dust unless in a confined area with a pulse jet blower cleaning them from the inside out. Big chips can get stuck in the pleats and cause problems in cartridges too. I stick with cartridges on a cyclone and bags on a direct unit to the sander. For whatever that is worth. Dave

[jim sauterer]

thanks dave.the bag filter unit is cheaper but only 30 micron bags.i guess i could upgrade the bags and be money ahead.shop fox has a 3 horse rated at 2800 with 30 micron bags.i am sure that is not an actual rating only 665.00 dollars.cant find much info or reviews on that unit.thanks for your knowledge on dust collection.

[David Kumm]

thanks dave.the bag filter unit is cheaper but only 30 micron bags.i guess i could upgrade the bags and be money ahead.shop fox has a 3 horse rated at 2800 with 30 micron bags.i am sure that is not an actual rating only 665.00 dollars.cant find much info or reviews on that unit.thanks for your knowledge on dust collection.

Impeller size and motor are about the only variables. I would buy either a used or what is reasonably priced and put aftermarket bags on them. They aren't that expensive and will be much better than original. The only baggers I know of with really good bags are commercial ones. A good bag runs 50-100. Dave

[jim sauterer]

chris said impellar should be in the 14 to 16 inch size the powermatic has 14 inch and i found shop fox has 13 inch.craigslist has a 1900 cfm blue jet and the guy wants 1000 dollars.i can buy powermatic cheaper not much else on craigslist.

[David Kumm]

chris said impellar should be in the 14 to 16 inch size the powermatic has 14 inch and i found shop fox has 13 inch.craigslist has a 1900 cfm blue jet and the guy wants 1000 dollars.i can buy powermatic cheaper not much else on craigslist.

You want a 14" impeller with a 3 hp motor. About 1/2 new is the right price for used. Dave

[Rick Markham]

My 5HP ClearVue gets damn nearly every speck of dust my Jet 22-44 Oscillating drum sander can create :) I'm super pleased with the Clearvue... it REALLY SUCKS!!! (In a good way)

[jim sauterer]

thanks all .i think i will go with the powermatic 1900 cfm with bag filters dont really like the plastic bags.they are not cheap.

[David Helm]

I have a 2 HP Jet hooked up with cartridge filter and cyclone. The main run to my drum sander (and all other tools) is 6 inch metal with 4 inch drop to the tool. My 18/36 Grizzly drum sander (single drum) is fully scavenged by the dust collector.

[Sam Layton]

Jim, I have a 37" double drum sander with two 4" ports. I enlarged the two ports to 6", and I have an 8" duct wye off to two 6" ducts powered by a 3 hp cyclone. It gets every bit of the dust. Going from two 4" to two 6" ports did the trick.

[jim sauterer]

sam did you actually cut the top of the drum sander to install 6 inch.

[David Kumm]

The 37x2 does need more cfm than most systems can pull through 4" ports. The 25" can manage with two 4". If you spend for the full system the clearvue separates probably better than any but dust will end up in the cartridges. The good news is the nanofiber is surface loading and pretty easy to clean with compressed air.. Different than using cartridges directly on a bagger. Dave

[Sam Layton]

Jim, Yes I did. I cut out the 4" ports, and installed the 6" ports. It really improved my dust collection.256646256644256645

[Mike Wilkins]

I have that same Woodtek sander and have the same problem; less than stellar performance with my Delta 1.5 HP single stage DC. I tried several hook-up variations to improve dust removal with crappy results: individual hoses on each port; Y-connector; T-connector. Same outcome. I finally figured that the only improvement will come with a decent cyclone system. As soon as some funds become available.

[jim sauterer]

sam my top crowns i could not do what you did no room.mike i did like you with no better results.bigger collector is the answer.

[Larry Craft]

PM 1900 works great on the General International 25" dd sander. The unit has the cartridge filters and I have much less clogging since adding the alternative "vortex cones" (i.e. Julie Chen 14" wok lids from amazon, 14.95 ea.) I do use 2 4" hoses from the dd to the dc. Absolutely no chips or sawdust in the filters now.

[jim sauterer]

larry what are the vortex cones.

[Ted Miller]

Jim, Vortex cones are sorta like adding a upside down wok to just below your intake on a single stage DC.

I just added to my shop a 3hp cyclone due to my Woodmaster 2675 drum sander needed a lot more CFM. My old 2hp single stage DC, 110v with baffle and chimney could not pick up the fine cake flower coming off the boards. Plus constant filter cleaning was driving me crazy. I have the Drum Sander drop from the 7" main line about 6' from the intake of the cyclone, on a 6" gate with approx. 5' of 6" flex. No filter on my cyclone and now I would guess 95% of the flower is now gone from the boards as well as the belt when sanding...

[jim sauterer]

does anyone have a picture of this vortex cone installed.thanks jim.