Shop vac or Harbor Freight 1hp dust collector? w/ dust deputy

[Ryan Lee]

I've been using my shop vac with the industrial dust deputy. I use it for dust collection on my table saw, jointer, router table, lunchbox planer and a 20" planer(doesn't work so well) and also general shop clean up. My problem is that my shop vac motor just burned up.

I can get an aftermarket head for the shop vac for 88 bucks or I can get one of the harbor freight dust collector for $100 bucks. What am I going to be happiest with? I understand that I probably need both as they serve different needs, but I'm on a budget and both aren't an option right now. Maybe a better question is which first?

Thoughts???

http://www.oneida-air.com/inventoryD.asp?item_no=AXD000002&CatId={2C6BB449-99F9-4CB9-BC27-CAF1BB570002}

http://www.vacsrus.com/prod-714.htm

http://www.harborfreight.com/13-gallon-industrial-portable-dust-collector-31810.html

[Prashun Patel]

Save up and get the 2hp harbor freight. Its the right choice over a shop vac for tablesaw dust.

[Jerome Stanek]

I had that HF unit and liked it I had it hooked up to my older 4x8 CNC and bought a 2 hp unit from HF for my new CNC the 1 hp sold with the old CNC.

[William C Rogers]

Yes. The 2 hp would be a much better choice. I had a 1 hp one time and it would be marginal IMO.

[Robert Delhommer Sr]

I have that green 1Hp HF hooked up strictly to my scroll saw and like it, also have the 2Hp HF connected to a trunk line for the rest of the tools. Note:the green 1Hp with the induction motor is quieter than the red 1Hp with a universal motor which is as noisy as a shop vac.

[mark kosse]

No way to skip the DD and get the 2HP HFT collector? If you have to skimp I'd get the better collector and a dd later.

[Greg Peterson]

Shop vac and HF DC are designed for very different tasks.

DC is less about collecting chips like a shop vac and more about creating a jet stream of air that captures ultra fine particles.

[Ryan Lee]

I just found a 2hp Harbor freight unit on craigslist for $75 bucks. I'm going to get that and save up for the powerhead for my shop vac.

[Greg Peterson]

Good idea. Hot rod the HF DC unit with a Thein Baffle and a Wynn Environmental cartridge filter. As long as you just hook the DC up to each tool as you use it, the unit should serve you well.

[paul wiser]

definitely a dust deputy. have one for the large shop, and just bought a second on for my lathe. love them. will almost suck the wristwatch off your arm!>

[Greg Peterson]

I use the Dust Deputy with my shop vac and recommend it. It will not increase the suction, it will however eliminate frequent cleanings of the filter on the vacuum. Anything that reduces maintenance time is a plus for me.

[Joe Spear]

I had a Harbor Freight 2 hp for 9 years before the motor gave up. The only bad things about it were that the original bags were 5 micron filters--not nearly good enough--and the switch. So I got some felt 1/2 micron bags from--I think--Grizzly. And I used a Long Ranger remote to turn it on and off, so I had to turn the dc switch on only once. There are ways to turn it into a cyclone-type collector with homemade baffles, but I never bothered.

[Curt Harms]

If you go with a dust collector - which I too would recommend and for the reasons Greg mentions - and use a cartridge filter, a Thien baffle is well worth the time and effort. Cartridge filters work well but if they get packed with chips & dust they can be a task to get clean again. A baffle or other separator greatly reduces the amount of larger chips that make their way to the cartridge baffles. IME it won't eliminate all the fine dust such as sanding dust but it really cuts down on the cleaning frequency. I got the 100% spun bond filter from Wynn. It's very durable and can be washed out with a typical pressure hose. Even after vacuuming pretty carefully, I was surprised at how much dust washed out. Of course then it has to dry for at least a day.

[Al Snipes]

Clean filter more often?

[Michael Mahan]

I almost bought one of these he has 3 sizes
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cyclone-Separator-for-Shop-Vacuum-/280370956318?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item414769481e

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cyclone-Separator-for-Dust-Collector-/280840027122?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item41635ebbf2

they are said to work great with the 1hp HF

he has a larger one as well that would work with the 2hp & up blowers

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cyclone-Separator-for-Dust-Collector-/281067825681?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4170f2aa11
beats that plastic tiny DD ( I still have my plastic DD & shopVac I used that with my Festools cheaper that the GreenKoolAide Vac )

I myself got a ClearVue as these weren't big enuuf for me

[joseph f merz]

i have an ebay cyclone love it .to answer the question get both . if you go the vac route get the ridged ,for 100$ you can buy a big,much less loud model .if i read the question right- the dust deputy you have with a vac would not work the same with dust collector .

[Paul Williams 53072]

Hi guys. I just picked up the small plastic pail dust deputy and am looking for pictures of other portable shop vac systems that guys have put together in one unit. I have an extra set of caster I am just dying to use! Also I am looking for threads where guys have converted older 1100-1200 scfm dust collectors ie steel city, jet etc into dual stage cyclonic systems. My shop is in the basement so height is a limiting factor. I just saw that Laguna 110v unit that looks really nice but really want to make use of what I have already.

[John M Wilson]

Here are a couple of pics of my Dust Deputy / Shop Vac combo. I found the plans on the internet. It works great!

278971278972

[Justin Coon]

I've built the same one as John and it is a huge improvement over dragging the shop vac and dust deputy around only connected by a hose. Tip over city!