Can a dust collector be used as a shop vac too?

[Mike Dowell]

I got a large dust collector from Harbor Freight - it was on sale for a couple hundred bucks. Anyhow, I haven't hooked it up yet because I can't decide how I want to route the pipe and make connections to my various tools. I do need to hook into my dewalt random orbit sander and I've read that dust collectors aren't that great at small connections like that.

My shop vac is almost dead and I was thinking of getting a new one but I wanted to ask if my dust collector can double as a general vacuum?

If not, does anyone have a Home Depot recommendation for a good shop vac and how to keep the filter from clogging every 5 seconds? Thanks!

[Myk Rian]

I use mine as a vacuum all the time. Same DC you have. Just plug a shop vac hose into an adapter.
I also installed a floor sweep in the line. It all goes to a trash can separator before getting to the DC.

[Prashun Patel]

I like the Ridgid shop vacs because they are fairly well built and cheap.
You can add a Dust Deputy to it to prevent the filter from clogging. It's a great set up.

A 4" DC can be used, but it's sometimes unwieldy. Also, I've read that if screws and metal hit the impeller, you risk a spark which can be bad in the presence of the static electricity that these units tend to generate. DC's with exposed impellers are designed for wood chips and dust. You can also damage the impeller if you suck up metal and heavy things.

A shop vac does not have this issue.

[Wade Lippman]

No. A dust collector won't draw much through a 1" hose. And the little dust it does pick up will just pass through the bag.
You are probably better off using the dust bag that comes with the sander.

[Robert Parent]

Well, they will both pick up things but are really different tools designed for different jobs. A dust collector is designed to move large volume of air at a low static pressure. The main purpose is to remove small dust particles from the shop air or a tool connection. Large pipe diameters help with the air movement, a small diameter (like used with a vac) restricts air movement. A dust collector is not really designed to pick up large particles. A shop vac is designed to have a large static pressure and lower volume of air movement and it designed to pick things up.

The Rigid vac that sells for about $80 is a great deal.


Robert

[James Nugnes]

I guess it depends to some extent on the type of vacuum work you intend doing with it. If the job is to pick up the dust that escaped the tool dust port, maybe dust produced right at the blade that does not exit out the dust port then I think you can use your dust collector with vacuum attachments for that. However I would not do more than that with it unless you have an inline collector for the big stuff....stuff you don't want getting to the impeller. Even with that you want to be careful not to be vacuuming in areas where there might be screws and nails lying about on the floor. I think the 4" vacuum attachments that you can buy are really designed as just another way to pick up dust and not much more than that.

[Mark Bolton]

I'm with Wade. The answer is no although it can be a yes/no. Of course it will suck up some stuff but even a 5hp cyclone will not perform as well as a shop vac when you put several feet of hose on it.

The real issue is the fact that you want to have a multifaceted approach in that why would you start a large motor and deal with its wear and tear and operating costs when you could run a smaller more efficient motor to do the task. Its like running a 25hp whole house genset to power the light bulb in your fridge. No sense. There are of course overlaps but the dc will not do the same work as the vac and vice versa.

[Lee Schierer]

I use my 1 Hp DC all the time with a 2" hose with two rigid sections and a floor nozzle left over from an old shop vac to sweep the floor in my shop. It does a pretty good job. You get more suction with a shop vac, but in the chase of cheaper units, you also get a lot of noise. Hand plane shavings and sawdust that escapes from the router and TS are easily picked up.

[Robert Delhommer Sr]

I use my 2Hp HF DC as a vacuum all the time when cleaning up the shop. Works pretty good.

[Wade Lippman]

I use my 1 Hp DC all the time with a 2" hose with two rigid sections and a floor nozzle left over from an old shop vac to sweep the floor in my shop. It does a pretty good job.

And if his sander had a 2" port on it, your reply might be right. But sadly a 1" is one quarter the size of a 2".

[Lee Schierer]

And if his sander had a 2" port on it, your reply might be right. But sadly a 1" is one quarter the size of a 2".

Actually, I connect my Porter Cable random orbit sander to the eight feet of 2" hose with about a 6 foot length of 1-1/4" shop vac hose and it works just fine taking the sanding dust off the work surface with the help of the sander's internal fan that normally fills the attached dust collector. When I finish sanding a piece, there is just a very slight coating of sanding dust adhering to the surface.

[Jim Becker]

If you have a cyclone or other pre-separator, you can safely use the DC to pick up debris in the shop, usually with a floor sweep vent at floor level. (I actually have three in my shop) The pre-separator is absolutely necessary for safety to prevent any nails or screws from hitting the DC's impeller and causing sparks. That's great for getting the larger piles of chips and shavings, etc. BUT, because of how a DC works as compared to a shop vac, performance with a smaller hose for general vacuuming is not going to be very good. Dust collection systems run with high volume of air moving at low pressure. (air volume movement focused) Shop vacs work by moving a relatively small volume of air at high pressure. ("suction" focused)

[Mike Dowell]

Thanks for all these replies!

I see. Ok, well to keep it simple, I'm just going to grab a new shop vac to vacuum the floor and all the junk that accumulates on it. I don't have space in my shop to build onto my DC for vacuuming purposes with a trash can collector, etc....

So, I'll use the new shop vac to vacuum my floor and with my random orbit sander. Hey - any suggestions on keeping the filter from clogging all the time?

[Mark Bolton]

Beyond any of the system dynamics why would anyone in their right mind run the equivalent of a diesel tractor and trailer motor to suck up dust from a single sander or floor nozzle (hose and nozzle) when they could be running the eqivalent of a weedeater motor. It would speak to inefficiency and waste of the highest order.

[Ole Anderson]

Beyond any of the system dynamics why would anyone in their right mind run the equivalent of a diesel tractor and trailer motor to suck up dust from a single sander or floor nozzle (hose and nozzle) when they could be running the eqivalent of a weedeater motor. It would speak to inefficiency and waste of the highest order.

Not anything close to the highest order compared to letting your 3 hp dust collector run to filter the air in your shop when a 1/6 hp ambient cleaner would do the job better.

[Mike Dowell]

I like the Ridgid shop vacs because they are fairly well built and cheap.
You can add a Dust Deputy to it to prevent the filter from clogging. It's a great set up.

I like that dust deputy. Very neat little contraption. So I guess the dusty deputy hooked on to a medium sized shop vac would work quite well for a hand sander and general floor cleanup. I think I'll go that route and then leave my DC for hookup to the table saw, band saw, etc..

Thanks guys! This was just the input I needed!

[Curt Harms]

Thanks for all these replies!

I see. Ok, well to keep it simple, I'm just going to grab a new shop vac to vacuum the floor and all the junk that accumulates on it. I don't have space in my shop to build onto my DC for vacuuming purposes with a trash can collector, etc....

So, I'll use the new shop vac to vacuum my floor and with my random orbit sander. Hey - any suggestions on keeping the filter from clogging all the time?

I use a combination of a bag and cartridge filter. The bag gets 95%, the cartridge filter gets the rest.

[John Donhowe]

Hey - any suggestions on keeping the filter from clogging all the time? Dust Deputy or Thien separator.

[Mike Dowell]

If I'm going to be using a dust deputy and hardly and dust even enters the vacuum, do you see any reason not to get a smaller, more space-saving shop vac model like http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-4-gal-Wet-Dry-Vacuum-WD4070/202077241? That's a 4 gallon and is much smaller than the rest of them - I like small/space-saving tools. Otherwise, I guess I'll just get this guy - http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-14-gal-Professional-Wet-Dry-Vacuum-WD1450/100081216

[Wade Lippman]

If I'm going to be using a dust deputy and hardly and dust even enters the vacuum, do you see any reason not to get a smaller, more space-saving shop vac model like http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-4-gal-Wet-Dry-Vacuum-WD4070/202077241? That's a 4 gallon and is much smaller than the rest of them - I like small/space-saving tools. Otherwise, I guess I'll just get this guy - http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-14-gal-Professional-Wet-Dry-Vacuum-WD1450/100081216

I actually use a Dyson with my dust deputy. Works great. But yeah, use the physically smallest vacuum you can find, as little dust will get to it.

The thing about using a 3hp DC as an air filter was pretty silly. No one would be dumb enough to even think about doing that. (6 year old questions aren't still available are they?)

[glenn bradley]

I've read that dust collectors aren't that great at small connections like that.

True. DC's and vac's are different animals.


does anyone have a Home Depot recommendation for a good shop vac and how to keep the filter from clogging every 5 seconds? Thanks!

I happened to buy this version a decade ago or so:

https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/16-gallon-wet-dry-vac-with-detachable-blower

And recently modified it like so.:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?220074-Dust-Deputy-Shop-Vac-Modification&highlight=

[Mike Dowell]

That's a neat setup!

True. DC's and vac's are different animals.



I happened to buy this version a decade ago or so:

https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/16-gallon-wet-dry-vac-with-detachable-blower

And recently modified it like so.:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?220074-Dust-Deputy-Shop-Vac-Modification&highlight=

[Ole Anderson]

I have both and tend to use the DC (2 hp Super dust gorilla) with a 4" slinky style flex hose and DustRite quick connect normally reserved for my router table for miscellaneous cleanup as I use a broom on my floors. The shop vac gets used for dust extraction with my sanders and track saw. And to clean the felt on my pool table and suck the water out of the spa in the fall. If it is major clean up time I turn on my DC and open the blast gates, fire up the my ambient cleaner, close the doors, put on a dust mask and get out the compressed air hose to clean wall hung tools and flat surfaces with lots of junk, let the dust settle then go to work on the floors with the vac. (a new 12 gallon Craftsman).

[Art Mann]

The little dust deputy cyclone works well with my Ridgid shop vacuum. There is one problem you might have to deal with. The dust deputy won't accommodate the normal 2.5" dust collector hose you get at woodworking stores. You have to buy a special adapter to do that. It works fine with the long vacuum hose commonly available at big box stores. Oneida chose not to share that information in their advertising.

[Lee Reep]

The little dust deputy cyclone works well with my Ridgid shop vacuum. There is one problem you might have to deal with. The dust deputy won't accommodate the normal 2.5" dust collector hose you get at woodworking stores. You have to buy a special adapter to do that. It works fine with the long vacuum hose commonly available at big box stores. Oneida chose not to share that information in their advertising.

I also have the Dust Deputy on my Ridgid shop vac. I took the connector off the accessory Ridgid hose I bought (not cheap at $35, but it is really flexible ... and it is orange!), and I slipped the hose over the port on the DD, and added a hose clamp. This setup is only used on my radial arm saw and for lathe cleanup, so I just plug the hose onto an elbow on the back of the dust shroud on the RAS when needed. I now have a big cardboard box full of shop vac connectors and adapters that seem totally useless for connecting any tool or any other hose. Seems like the only way to figure out how to connect all these items is to drag them into the store and try plugging them together ... :)

On a happy note, I am amazed at how little dust ever works its way into the Ridgid vac. Assuming the suction was adequate, a smaller capacity vac would be a definite advantage to save some space.

[Mike Dowell]

I grabbed a dust deputy and a nice new shop vac - here's my rig:
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[glenn bradley]

Such a deal. You will be happier with that for sure.

[Mike Dowell]

Works like CRAZY too. I had used the new shop vac with a filter cover wrap when I first got it and it was clogged right away. I took it apart and blew the filter out, hooked this thing up and boom. Crazy suction - vacuumed my whole shop!

[Steve Peterson]

I have a 4" dustright expanding hose from Rockler connected to a ClearVue dust collector. I use it to pick up random sawdust that gets all over the shop. I think it would work great with a HF dust collector that already has a 4" port. Buy one of the kits that includes a floor sweep and a small handheld port. Also, upsize the hose length. The 21' hose is only convenient out to around 15-16', so you would want to get the 28' hose even if your shop is only 20' long.

Steve

[Garth Almgren]

I grabbed a dust deputy and a nice new shop vac - here's my rig:
304384
Nice - Those moving dollies come in really handy don't they? I've built several things on top of cheap HF moving dollies.

[Dennis Aspö]

I bought a DD knockoff for 25 euros from aliexpress and built my own shop vac from an old vacuum motor I had (got inspired by mr wandels dust collector), seen in background here. I've probably dumped dozens of full containers of sawdust in the woods behind my house. I am considering remaking the whole thing and building it straight up, no extra bends and less distance for the air to go = better effect.

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[Jerry Olexa]

I also use mine all the time to "sweep"shop floor..With a sep-arator