Which 3HP Cyclone Dust Collector to Buy

[Larry Frank]

I have decided to get a new dust collector and looking at a 3 hp cyclone. But, there are quite a few choices. I do not have a space limitation so that is one thing that I really do not need to look at.

What features are important?

1. Price—of Course
2. Made in the USA
3. Bin Sensor
4. Roll Around - Portable
5. Customer Service
6. Fan Curve – CFM and Static Pressure
7. Filter area – most are similar but one advertises many times more square feet.


I found fan curves for 5 different cyclones and plotted the data for all of them on one chart. I cannot really verify the accuracy of the curves but took the data from the manufacturer’s website or magazine article. One could debate the accuracy of them but it is amazing that they all fell in a fairly narrow band. With them all being so close, is one really better than the other? Which one would you pick? Maybe pick the highest one on the graph?

The most difficult to evaluate is the quality of the cyclone. One can read lots of comments about them with respect to the fit of them and difficulty of putting them together. This is an important part but difficult to really evaluate.

I have contacted a couple of people who have certain cyclones and asked them questions. This seems to be one way of finding out about various models and brands and any problems they encountered.

Figuring the price is also not real easy as some include a stand, remote control, bin sensor and dust bin. The other price issue is the shipping costs. What I found for the 3 HP cyclones is that they range from around $1600-$2400.

If you were going to pick a 3 HP cyclone, which one would you pick and what things most influenced your decision?

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[mike mcilroy]

I picked The Grizzly 3hp. I had one more consideration: Delivery costs to Canada. I eliminated Penn State for customer concern issues. Onieda was eliminated because of cost and shipping.
My shop is about 26'x26' and 8 ft high. If your shop is quite a bit bigger hopefully someone with a similar size will weigh in. I can say I cold not be happier with the choice I made both for performance and customer service.

[Ben Rivel]

I just got done doing all my research and I went with the Oneida V-3000. Based on my findings and criteria it was by far the best option for me.

[Steven Wayne]

I bought a ClearVue on sale for about $2000 shipped. It is 5HP..

[Marty Tippin]

4. Roll Around - Portable


So you're looking for a *portable* 3HP cyclone? Wouldn't hold your breath on that one... If you're going to put in a big cyclone, you should be planning for permanent ductwork (and you should figure the cost of that into your budget, as it can nearly equal the price of the cyclone if you're not careful).

Personally, I'm quite happy with my 3HP Grizzly and plastic Sewer & Drain pipe ductwork. But I'm a one-man hobby shop, not a multi-person commercial shop. You didn't say what your intended use is, so it's hard to give any useful recommendations.

[Ben Rivel]

Oneida has a few good portable/roll around models.

[Wade Lippman]

What is important to me is probably different than what is important to you. I think most people will reply "I have a XXX and love it"; but that probably doesn't help you much.

[Steve Wilde]

I'll second what Ben said, I bought the oneida V-3000 last year and couldn't be happier! It's a great duct collector, but as was also mentioned be prepared for the ductwork, it gets expensive!

[Ben Rivel]

I'll second what Ben said, I bought the oneida V-3000 last year and couldn't be happier! It's a great duct collector, but as was also mentioned be prepared for the ductwork, it gets expensive!
Boy yea it does. Think Im around a grand already in just metal ductwork. Itll be nice when its all setup, but yet that stuff is expensive.

[David Kumm]

You need to figure out your layout, the machines you will be using and what type and size of pipe best fits the machines and layout and then size the impeller and motor to match. If you get the pipe and ports wrong, a 3 hp 14" impeller might not pull enough cfm at higher static pressure to deliver what you need. A larger system can somewhat overcome design errors, but a 2-3 hp system all ready limited by the pressure drop of a cyclone may not. Dave

[Bob Latourelle]

Jet and Laguna both have 3 hp clclones that are portable. They look identical to me. The specs on both seem good but they are not made in the USA. Woodcraft has a sale coming up on the Laguna on April 1. 10 % off shipped to a local store.

[Larry Frank]

I am sorry if I was confusing. I only mentioned the portable as a potential option and I really do not need it.

Yes, I have considered my duct layout and the machines on it. My layout will be pretty straight forward with about 25 feet of 6" duct and 4-5 Wyes. I have modeled this with the Pentz spreadsheet to see what I will need. All of the 3 hp cyclone collectors that I show in the graph have sufficient capability to handle this layout.

In several of the cases, the cost increase for going from 3 to 5 HP is only $100-150. It is something that I will consider and will discuss when I make some calls this week.

I have also looked at the costs of the duct for what I would initially like to have. The metal duct is not cheap and the plastic drain pipe is much cheaper (priced it at Menards).

[Mike Chalmers]

Jet and Laguna both have 3 hp clclones that are portable. They look identical to me. The specs on both seem good but they are not made in the USA. Woodcraft has a sale coming up on the Laguna on April 1. 10 % off shipped to a local store.I have some experience with the King labelled version of these short cone machines. To say that I was less than impressed would be an understatement.

[David Kumm]

in real world applications with 6" mains and a 6" port, a 3 hp 14" impeller will flow in the range of 800-1000 cfm, 15" 5 hp 1000-1200 cfm and 5 hp 16" impeller 1200-1400 cfm. These are generalizations but in the ball park from the testing I've done over the years. When the mains are reduced at the port and you also include the additional resistance of the machine hood itself, flow when operating the machine can be significantly less.

[Jim Becker]

My preference is for a dust collection cyclone system to be from a manufacturer/vendor that specializes in the same. There are way too many "me too" offers out there that are mass produced and not necessarily well designed. For me, that's Oneida for US-made pre-built and that's what's in my shop. ClearVue offers some nice products if you want to "roll your own". There are certainly others, but these seem to have a good reputation for US-made.

[Ole Anderson]

If made on the USA is a requirement, your choices narrow considerably to Oneida and Clearview. Any others?

[Joe Jensen]

Given your criteria I would get a Clearview. I have a 5HP Oneida smart which I prefer over Clearview but the Oneida is a bunch more money.

[Bob Latourelle]

Mike What was so unimpressive about the short cyclones?

[Mike Chalmers]

Mike What was so unimpressive about the short cyclones?


Poor separation. I was using a 2hp with a Super Dust Deputy before, and it performed much better. I ended up going back to it and returning the cyclone.

[glenn bradley]

Jet and Laguna both have 3 hp clclones that are portable. They look identical to me. The specs on both seem good but they are not made in the USA. Woodcraft has a sale coming up on the Laguna on April 1. 10 % off shipped to a local store.


I have some experience with the King labelled version of these short cone machines. To say that I was less than impressed would be an understatement.

I'm glad Mike spoke up. These JDS/Laguna/Jet machines really don't test very well. Separation is the primary weak point and that means filter clogging. The whole reason I got a cyclone was to avoid filter clogging as I have to send my return air into my shop. That means I need good filtration. Which means I can't tolerate clogging unless I want to become a filter cleaner instead of a woodworker.

[Jason Lester]

I just went through the same thing and decided on the Oneida v3000. If you haven't talked to them on the phone, you should. They really know their stuff. I hope to get it ordered on Friday. I'm going with 6" S&D pipe from the local plumbing supply house and blast gates from Clearvue. The S&D PVC is $18 for a 10' joint. I'm getting pricing on the wyes and elbows soon. Clearvue blast gates are $15. They also have a cool box that converts a 6" PVC to 2 4" flex connections with blast gates. They're spendy though. I think I'll be at $300-400 in ductwork for my 24*32 shop, with most of the tools on one side plus tablesaw and jointer in the center.

[Marty Tippin]

The S&D PVC is $18 for a 10' joint. I'm getting pricing on the wyes and elbows soon.

Be sure to check prices at your local Big Box before buying the S&D fittings from the plumbing supply house. I blindly assumed that, since S&D pipe was about half the cost at the plumbing supply compared to Lowe's, the fittings would be cheaper also. They're not, by a huge margin.

[Robert Engel]

My layout will be pretty straight forward with about 25 feet of 6" duct and 4-5 Wyes. With a 3HP blower you might want to look at 8" ducts. Check it out depends on the specs but I've seen Pentz and other recommend 7-8" ducts for 3-5 HP units.

[Jason Lester]

Be sure to check prices at your local Big Box before buying the S&D fittings from the plumbing supply house. I blindly assumed that, since S&D pipe was about half the cost at the plumbing supply compared to Lowe's, the fittings would be cheaper also. They're not, by a huge margin.

Good tip, I hadn't thought of that.

I'm also pricing it out in 26-gauge snap-lock too. I'm still debating between the two. PVC pipe is cheaper per foot, but the metal fittings are cheaper than PVC in most cases. It might equal out, I would go with metal in that case.

[John Sanford]

Which means I can't tolerate clogging unless I want to become a filter cleaner instead of a woodworker. Yes, but if you become a filter cleaner, you get to do this: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I-b_GJ4ltk)

We will want video.

[mike mcilroy]

Good tip, I hadn't thought of that.

I'm also pricing it out in 26-gauge snap-lock too. I'm still debating between the two. PVC pipe is cheaper per foot, but the metal fittings are cheaper than PVC in most cases. It might equal out, I would go with metal in that case.

I did this 2 years ago and found 26g at the Big Box HD, at the time was the cheaper way to go. The wyes , elbows and reducers made the difference. As an added bonus the 6x6x4 wyes were crimped in the right orientation too. The 8" is a good idea until you have to find and price the 8" wyes to run drops. I did run the first few feet to the cyclones intake at 8" but the rest was too costly. I have a 26'x 26' shop and am extremely pleased with a 3HP cyclone using mostly 6" ducting. I honestly don't know if the first 8" section on my set up makes much difference but if you can do it affordably I'm sure that 8" mains throughout would be a huge plus.
BTW I found it that buying from the US big box was cheaper and I could get fittings I couldn't get up here. The $ was a lot closer to even then but I did have to pay Canadian taxes at the border... I'm always jealous of your selection and prices on my hobby stuff. Golf, guitar and woodworking all cheaper and better selection.:mad:

[mreza Salav]

Chances are you'll be running in 6-10 SP and you want to have enough CFM (ideally at least 1000) in that range.
Look at the fan curves and if they are true, pick one that delivers the highest CFM at high SP's (like 10 or so). Dave has given you good estimates.
Another important factor is to have good quality filter AND larger filter area. Larger filter means less SP added and better flow for longer times before you need cleaning. I'd stay away from short cyclones.