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View Full Version : combining two Harbor Freight DC collectors?



wallace chapman
09-20-2005, 3:16 AM
After reading through posts about dust collection, I came across this reply by Nic Obie.

"I also would like to thank Mr. Pentz for the time and trouble it took to develop such a great DC unit.

The one I built that's powered by two HF blowers works great. It's been over a year now, and I haven't yet had to clean my filters.

Thanks again Bill.

nic"

Nic, can you tell me how you arranged this setup and how much more of an increase was noticed.

If anyone else can shed some light on a dual arrangement of this type, please reply as well.

Thanks,

Wallace

Jeff Sudmeier
09-20-2005, 8:28 AM
I had never heard of doing this!! Some details about how it works would be great. I assume that two DC's doesn't equal twice the suction...

Tyler Howell
09-20-2005, 8:33 AM
Sure would like to see some Pix of this one.

Steve Clardy
09-20-2005, 10:32 AM
Jim Halbert used to have a dual system. I haven't talked with him in ages.

nic obie
09-20-2005, 3:36 PM
I just Y'd the suction side of the blowers to the top of the cyclone. The output of the blowers went to a simple bag house I made out of wood. Because I exhaust to the outside I just sewed the HF bags together to make two long ones.

This worked out well for me as the whole thing had to fit under the eves. I didn't worry about heat loss as I live in CA.

From the outside of my 'shed' and about 10 feet from the blowers I get a reading of 67 on my dB meter and NO complaints from my neighbors.

My friend has a 2 hp commercial Oneida unit and he thinks mine works quite a bit better. I think so too, but remember, these are just opinions. ;)

It might not be the best looking set up, in fact its kinda ratty looking, but when you factor in the cost. (less than $550 including the cyclone and all the duct work) it starts looking like a thing of beauty. :D

If I can help out with any more info or better pics, feel free to PM me.

wallace chapman
09-22-2005, 12:46 AM
Thanks for the information and quick response. What percentage increase does that give you? Would you say two 2hp blowers are bringing you closer to the CFM of a 5hp unit?

Also, what filters are you using?

Wallace Chapman

nic obie
09-22-2005, 2:50 PM
Thanks for the information and quick response. What percentage increase does that give you? Would you say two 2hp blowers are bringing you closer to the CFM of a 5hp unit?

Also, what filters are you using?

Wallace Chapman

That's a hard question to answer as there are all kind of 5 hp units out there. I think impeller size is more important. But if forced to answer, I'd say my DC is at least as good as a Pentz design 5 hp cyclone unit with a 12" impeller.

As to the filters, they are just the HF ones that came with the unit sown together. Remember my filters are outside. Don't even think about using 30 micron bags inside a shop.

JayStPeter
09-22-2005, 4:38 PM
Jim Halbert used to have a dual system. I haven't talked with him in ages.

Yeah, I think he ran 2 blowers in series. A search of the Badger Pond archives should hit some pretty good info from him. He used his blowers in a push through mode with his cyclone also. If I recall, he had test numbers to backup his unconventional setup. I think he eventually grew tired of being harassed (one way or the other) about his DC expertise and gave up on the online forums.
He had sent me some detailed instructions, pictures, and suggested improvements for making a portable cyclone system about the same footprint as my 2-bag DC. I had collected most of the parts I needed before moving to a bigger shop and changing my plan to a built in system. Nice guy.

Jay

Bill Pentz
09-23-2005, 11:00 AM
You can use a couple of blowers to power a cyclone, but then should always check the motor amperage to ensure you are not trying to move more air than the motors can handle. Mostly this means blowers in series will burn up motors, so we have to put the blowers in parallel. To do this go from your main to a wye, then to each blower, then back to a wye. Jim Halbert did this ages ago and it worked fairly well, but he did have some motor problems, so please check.

bill

Larry Blighton
02-05-2021, 11:55 AM
I just Y'd the suction side of the blowers to the top of the cyclone. The output of the blowers went to a simple bag house I made out of wood. Because I exhaust to the outside I just sewed the HF bags together to make two long ones.

This worked out well for me as the whole thing had to fit under the eves. I didn't worry about heat loss as I live in CA.

From the outside of my 'shed' and about 10 feet from the blowers I get a reading of 67 on my dB meter and NO complaints from my neighbors.

My friend has a 2 hp commercial Oneida unit and he thinks mine works quite a bit better. I think so too, but remember, these are just opinions. ;)

It might not be the best looking set up, in fact its kinda ratty looking, but when you factor in the cost. (less than $550 including the cyclone and all the duct work) it starts looking like a thing of beauty. :D

If I can help out with any more info or better pics, feel free to PM me.

I know this is a really old thread but are you still around and do you have more pictures of how you hooked both unites together. I have had some thoughts about doing this exact same thing.

Jim Dwight
02-05-2021, 12:27 PM
At one point Stumpy Nubs (youtuber) used two HF blowers in series. He monitored current to be sure things were not going wrong. I think he has retired that system now but might still use it in his home shop. He did some tests on it and thinks flow increased significantly. But he was concerned the two blowers might interact in a way that would overload them. But it didn't at least in his tests.

I use a 2hp HF but I have it on a dedicated circuit. To use two, I think you would need two dedicated circuits. Equipment would be less but power usage wouldn't seem less than using a single bigger unit. I use the super dust deputy with 5 inch connections. I think you would at least want to upgrade to the one with 6 inch connections if using two DCs. I think my airflow is OK with the one unit but if you had one and found you had insufficient flow I guess adding another could be a solution.