Dust Collector

[Aaron Kline]

I NEED a dust collector soon. I have been looking around and see that craftsman sells some nice dc's. I'm leary of them though because of a past planer experience. Maybe they've gotten better though. Anyway, if anybody has one, I'd like input please. Also, what size dc should i get? I have a contractor's saw and a 13" planer. I'm hoping to upgrade to a 15" planer eventually, so I would factor that in. Also a router table soon. But only one machine running at once. Thanks.

[Dwayne Payne]

I do not own one of these but I want one. It is based on the Bill Pentz design.

http://www.clearvuecyclones.com/

Dwayne

[Jim Becker]

1) The bigger the impeller, the more air the machine can move
2) The more air it can move, the better it will be at collecting the chips and fine dust at the source
3) Dust collection is a matter of your personal health. Invest in the very best you can afford...and you do get what you pay for

Read the Bill Pentz site to learn a whole lot in one concentrated place.

[Jim DeLaney]

If you're not going into a full-on cyclone, you might consider Penn State. I've had two of their collectors over the past fifteen years, and have gotten good service out of both.

My current one is a 2 hp, with the 1 micron cartridge filter, and I have it plumbed via 4" PVC on two branches to opposite sides of my 26 X 32' shop building.

A cyclone would be nice, but this was much more affordable.

[Joe Chritz]

Unless you collapse the walls you won't go to big for a DC.

As has been stated already.. it is to important to not have a quality unit. Read the Pentz site and buy the best you can.

FWIW I run a 2HP Oneida cyclone and it is one of the best purchases so far.

Joe

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Aaron,
My suggestion is: 2hp single stage dust collector with felt bags. The unit should have a 12" radial steel blade wheel with a 6" dia inlet. If you purchase a unit with woven canvas bags, I strongly recommend upgrading to a felt bag with a steel band clamp to fasten it to the machine's bag tree. However, many companies (Grizzly, Penn State, etc.) offer their unit with low micron felt bags. These units will more than adequately handle any home woodworker machine except perhaps a large stationary belt or dual drum sander.

This unit will handle a ducted system which is how most woodworkers eventually go. The unit can also be 'upgraded' to a cannister type filter, however, I have no experience with these filters and have seen mixed reviews regarding clogging. The 2 hp single stage collectors are relatively inexpensive, powerful, light weight (for shipping and handling purposes) and quiet. If you should ever decide to upgrade to a cylcone dust collector, the single stage system can be easily sold or dedicated to a high chip-making machine like a planer.

Most 2hp single stage dust collectors are dual voltage (110V or 220V). However, they are best suited for 220V operation. 110V operation will really peg the amperage, especially on startup. A dedicated circuit is a must. JET tools offers a 1-1/2hp unit that has essentially the same fan as the 2hp models and many folks stated that it runs fine on 110V.

For me, the biggest downside to a single stage machine is emptying the bags which is messy. Some folks use a clear plastic garbage bag for the lower bag but this reduces valuable filter area. One possible solution is to go with a cannister and plastic bag combination since cannisters have a lot surface area due to the filter pleats. But, as I mentioned above, the cleaning and care of a cannister filter has been a problem with some folks. :)

cheers, Jeff

[tod evans]

I do not own one of these but I want one. It is based on the Bill Pentz design.

http://www.clearvuecyclones.com/

Dwayne

welcome dwayne! first post and an excellent recommendation! i think this is probably the best unit for the home shop on the market....02 tod

[Tom Jones III]

3) Dust collection is a matter of your personal health. Invest in the very best you can afford...and you do get what you pay for

Read the Bill Pentz site to learn a whole lot in one concentrated place.

I want to emphasize what Jim had to say. I really discounted the health portion until LOML pushed me into cleaning up my shop to help with my allergies. I got Oneida's dust gorilla mainly because of a good filter combined with decent power. I've never felt better since I've cleaned up my shop. I haven't gone crazy with the DC either, simply some cheap duct work to the machines that have dust ports and wearing a mask when sanding. Results have been so good, I plan on really attacking the dust situation soon.

My suggestion, buy or build one with a quality filter. Get the most power you can afford. Then hook it up! Actually use it.

[Aaron Kline]

Thanks for the replies guys. If I had the money I'd get a cyclone collector, but at the moment, it's just not feasable. I looked at grizz and shop fox collectors but didn't see where you can get felt bags? Thanks

[T.J. Mahaffey]

I'll chime in here about my own recent purchase of the Delta 50-760. It comes with 1 micron felt bag right out of the box. 1 micron is a widely recommended standard of filtration. From what I've read, 1 micron or finer should be your goal.

Here's a link to the Delta:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00078V9KA/qid=1140621024/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-5202723-6540655?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=228013


This unit came highly recommended to me by Bob Dodge here at SMC. I'll admit that since I haven't had dust collection at all until now, it wasn't hard to impress me. But its just amazing the difference this unit has made. I'm currently using it as a big shop vac and also directly connected to my lunchbox planer. Once I get my table saw and router table enclosed, I'll run duct work for all so that the DC can stay stationary.

I'm not sure I would recommend buying this unit from Amazon like I did, though. It arrived from Amazon with a completely trashed box with some cosmetic damage, although I was lucky and ended up only paying $200 for it, thanks to Amazon's customer service.

I hope this info helps in some way. Everyone else sure helped me with this.

[Barry Beech]

I'll throw in my .02. I'm shop is a two car garage that I have to move everything to one side when I'm done. I really want a cyclone but space just doesn't allow right now. I bought a Harbor Freight and put a wynn filter on it. I bought the HF because it was inexpensive, had good reviews, and would fit into my small space.

The main reason that I went with the HF is because I know that when I have more space (bigger house and garage/shop) I will get rid of the HF and buy a cylcone. I will probably give the HF to my brother.

I've been very pleased with the harbor freight so far and I'm running a 13" planner, an 8" pm60B, a unisaw, 14" bandsaw, and router table on it without a hitch.

Again, just my .02.

Barry