Harbor Freight Dust Collector Impeller Upgrade

[Heath Fitts]

I have a Harbor Freight "2HP" dust collector. I haven't fully integrated it with ducting and a permanent housing yet, but I've made some modifications such as a Thein baffle and a 55 gallon drum for chip collection. I'm venting outside, so don't need a fancy filter.

In my research, I've seen a lot of talk about upgrading the impeller with the Rikon part number P60-200-22. It's a 12" impeller with reverse vanes while the stock HF impeller is 10" with forward vanes. But, it's out of stock for 3 more months and costs $120 (plus shipping). I'm cheap and don't want to pay that much. That's why I bought a Harbor Freight unit to begin with and I didn't pay much more than that for the whole dust collector.

I've watched several videos, particularly from Matthias Wandel, regarding shop-built impellers. I'm just wondering if anyone has built their own impeller for the HF dust collector and what kind of success or failure they had or if there were any lessons learned to be shared?

[Bill Dufour]

I think you have to have good metal working skills to make a safe 3600 RPM impeller. Any imbalance of weight or geometry with such a long lever arm can make bad things happen fast. I bet simple things like rounding over leading and trailing edges can make a big effect on noise and efficiency.
Bill D

[Peter Kelly]

https://youtu.be/1D958u-ZLNs

[Bill Dufour]

Hate to think what would happen to the balance of that if the humidity changed while it was not running.
Bill D.

[Peter Kelly]

Having purchased the Rikon impeller for my HF setup, I'd say it was well worth the $120 and wait time.

[Roy Petersen]

Having purchased the Rikon impeller for my HF setup, I'd say it was well worth the $120 and wait time.
In what way(s)? Far greater air flow; quieter; more efficient; less electricity, or...?

[Mike Turner]

I have the HF dc also.I had never heard about the Rikon impeller.I am considering this for the future!Il continue watching this thread.

[Peter Kelly]

Certainly improved airflow performance with my setup.

[Brice Rogers]

I wonder what the difference is between the Rikon impeller and the HF one - - besides the reverse vanes. Is the diameter larger also?

If it is primarily the direction of the vanes, I think that the following is possible: cut a mirror image hole (on the otherside where the inlet shroud is). Attach a sheet of metal to cover up the original hole where the inlet shroud was. Relocate the motor and vane so that they are now mounted on the other side of the housing.

I think that this changes the direction of the vanes on the HF DC. If the direction of the vanes is the primary reason why the Rikon impeller works better, this would accomplish that If there are other differences, then this change wouldn't address them.

[Peter Kelly]

https://youtu.be/8v5079FPCsY

[Peter Christensen]

I wonder what the difference is between the Rikon impeller and the HF one - - besides the reverse vanes. Is the diameter larger also?

If it is primarily the direction of the vanes, I think that the following is possible: cut a mirror image hole (on the otherside where the inlet shroud is). Attach a sheet of metal to cover up the original hole where the inlet shroud was. Relocate the motor and vane so that they are now mounted on the other side of the housing.

I think that this changes the direction of the vanes on the HF DC. If the direction of the vanes is the primary reason why the Rikon impeller works better, this would accomplish that If there are other differences, then this change wouldn't address them.

It would put the air coming off the tip of the impeller going away from the outlet of the housing so it would make a lousy DC even worse.

I fail to understand why anyone would spend money upgrading impellers, filters, ports, et cetera only to end up with a barely adequate machine instead of buying a good machine in the first place.