Replace a big shop vac with a 1 HP dust collector? How big a deal?

[Doug Hobkirk]

I've had a DC sitting in a shed. I've been too lazy to run new wiring circuits to the shop, too cheap to buy hoses and adapters, etc. But it might be time.

My Craftsman 16G (IIRC) shop vac sits under a roof outside my shop, the 7-foot 2.25" hose runs into a Thien separator (maybe a 20G metal can). For DC on my saw table, I connect a ten foot 1.5" hose to the separator that connects to the fittings on my saw and plunge router. For DC on my planer, I connect a 14 foot 2.25" hose. Etc.

It doesn't work very well!

Would everything be automatically improved if I simply replaced the shop vac with the DC and ran the 4" hose to the separator (with a new fitting)?

Thanks

[Jason Beam]

I think you'll find it's worse. You don't say how long all your hoses are, but....

Dust collector impellers are not the same as shop vac impellers. They are not designed for nearly as much static pressure - which is what you're causing by reducing below 4" for much of any length (even a couple feet kills all the airflow). You'd do better to keep your shop vac - provided you keep your filter clean.

[Doug Hobkirk]

I think you'll find it's worse. You don't say how long all your hoses are, but....

Dust collector impellers are not the same as shop vac impellers. They are not designed for nearly as much static pressure - which is what you're causing by reducing below 4" for much of any length (even a couple feet kills all the airflow). You'd do better to keep your shop vac - provided you keep your filter clean.

Oops! Good point. I added the length to my original post.

And my filter stays clean. The separator works like a charm.

Thanks for the depressing info...

[Curt Harms]

If you're mostly collecting swarf from table saws, planers, jointers, band saw and such, a dust collector is going to work better than a shop vac in my experience. If you want dust collection from a hand held router, sander, jig saw that sort of thing, a shop vac works better. I liken them to high pressure washer that puts out a couple gallons/minute at 1000+ psi. vs. a large hose that puts out 50 gpm at 40 psi. I have a Thien baffle in the metal funnel of a 2 h.p. dust collector and it works well with machines that benefit more from CFM and less from static pressure.

Another consideration to dust collection is that even if a high vacuum low volume stream gets most of the chips, there's no way to know - unless you have a particle counter - how much fine dust which isn't staying in a nice stream like the heavier chips but is making its way past the narrow high velocity air stream of a shop vac. That dust goes into the air - and some of it into your nasal passages and lungs.

[Jim Dwight]

I used to use a 1 hp Delta DC in my old shop. It was connected with 4 inch S&D pipe with a gate at each tool and flexible pipe where I had to use it to connect. It worked fine on my BT3100 table saw (cabinet only), OK for the RAS/CMS connection, and fair at the router table (4 inch inside the cabinet and 2.5 inch on the fence on a Y). It helped some with the jointer but really couldn't keep up. I never got it connected to the planner.

Currently I use a pretty small rigid shop vacuum with a HEPA filter and a dust deputy cyclone on a cart based upon a design from Woodsmith. I use a 2.5 inch hose to my table saw and a Bosch 5 meter hose to my CMS, RAS, fence of my router table, track saw and sanders. I have an auto-on switch but have to do a fair bit of swaping electrical and hose connections. It sits where I don't have to move the shop vacuum much. I will probably rig up a connection so I can leave several tools plugged in electrically and only move the hose but I like this setup. The filter does not need cleaned very often at all. Almost everything goes into the drywall bucket below the cyclone. I don't have a good setup for the router table yet but I think I will change it to two 2.5 inch connections, one into the table and one on the fence. When edge routing I will suck off the fence. When plowing a dado or something like that, I will suck out of the cabinet. Should work.

I may eventually rig a DC but if I do, I think it will be the HF 2hp with a super dust deputy. One of the things I did not like about my 1hp DC was the cartridge filter needed cleaning a LOT. A thien separator helped some but the cyclone works a lot better. I like the price of the HF and I also like the fact that it uses hose type connections at the inlet and outlet. Should make it easier to connect to the cyclone. I would discharge outside (no filter). That setup would have some advantages over my shop vacuum. But I do not see at least my old 1 hp as much if any better. I use the track saw almost as much as the table saw and I don't think the DC will work well with it. shop vac works great. And it also works fine with my Ryobi tablesaw.

[george wilson]

I'd get at least a 2 H.P. dust collector. They are LOUD!! I have a Dust Gorilla which I wish was outside!!

[Mike Chalmers]

I think it will be the HF 2hp with a super dust deputy.

In case you do not already know, the SDD outlet to the DC is 6". I do not know what size the HF Collector has under the two 4" connectors.

[David L Morse]

In case you do not already know, the SDD outlet to the DC is 6". I do ot know what size the HF Collector has under the two 4" connectors.

It's a 5" port.

[Bill Ryall]

FWIW: I used to use a 16 gallon shop vac with a cyclone lid on a 30 gallon can in front of it for everything. A year ago, I got a 1hp, 2 bag DC. That is connected to a cyclone lid on a 30 gallon can in front of it. The input to the cyclone has a Y with a pair of blast gates. One side is permanently connected to the table saw, and the other branch alternates between jointer, planer, band saw, and floor sweep. All are connected with flex since all the tools are mobile. The original shop vac/cyclone still handles portable tools and bench top sanding machines. Not the "textbook proper" way to do things, but it works exceptionally well in my small shop.

[Doug Hobkirk]

FWIW: I used to use a 16 gallon shop vac with a cyclone lid on a 30 gallon can in front of it for everything. A year ago, I got a 1hp, 2 bag DC. That is connected to a cyclone lid on a 30 gallon can in front of it. The input to the cyclone has a Y with a pair of blast gates. One side is permanently connected to the table saw, and the other branch alternates between jointer, planer, band saw, and floor sweep. All are connected with flex since all the tools are mobile. The original shop vac/cyclone still handles portable tools and bench top sanding machines. Not the "textbook proper" way to do things, but it works exceptionally well in my small shop.

Wow! Another spectacular example of a response that is 100% on point. Thanks.