Delta AP400 Dust collector at lowes

[Jason Scott]

Hey is this a good dust collector? I have the mini HF one and I am tired of rolling it around all over the shop, plus it fills up fast when I'm planing. The have this on sale for 179.99 which I thought was a pretty good price, but not sure of the quality. Anyone know anything about it? Thanks,

Jason

[Monroe Brown]

Jason,

I've had one for about 4 years now. It's a fine unit, but you will still need to wheel it around to one unit at a time. At 650 cfm it doesn't have the power to handle duct work or really long hose length. I have about 8 feet of hose on mine and can use it on all my machines with only a little wheeling around due to my shop setup. However, with 8 feet of hose sometimes my planer will clog up. If I chop it down to 4 feet it doesn't clog but I do have to move it closer to the planer.

For the money it has been a very good investment despite the limitations of only 650 cfm. In a year or so I'll be getting a bigger 3 horse unit and installing duct work, but the AP400 certainly earns its keep in my shop.

Regards,

MB

[Jason Scott]

Thanks MB, sounds like except for the extra waste capacity it would be more of a lateral move then. I don't want to have to upgrade again, so can someone recommend a good one that I can use without having to roll around to every machine? I don't want to spend a fortune, so could someone point me in the right direction?

Thanks,

Jason

[James Wellman]

Jason,
If you are near Lexington you can try Manny's Woodworking, they have the full line of Jet units.

I am in the same boat, my Delta shopmaster AP300 is OK for wheeling around but I am looking for something a bit more permanent.

Does anyone have the Craftsman Professional unit by chance?

Of course I have also looked a the Harbor Freight 2HP unit but I am not sure I trust the write up on it.

James

[Jason Scott]

What about this one from woodcraft, it is "steel city" which I know nothing about, seems like a good price and comes with a washable, 1 micron bag!

http://woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=20300&mode=details#tabs

[David Parker]

I'm starting to set up a very small shop and also have been researching rolling, one machine at a time, dust collectors, since I have no room or need for a large cyclone unit. Any small dust collector (or even shop vac) can do an adequate job at collecting the visible "sawdust". My concern, however is the invisible micron-sized dust particles that produce the most health effects. To deal with these microscopic particles, you need high air flow at your intake point to "sweep" these particles into your collection port. From what I've read, such high flow can only be achieved by using 5 or 6 inch diameter ducting.

The problem is that there are few mobile dust collectors that can maintain adequate flow with 5 or 6 inch ducts. I've read that the CFM advertised by the various vendors has little correlation with the actual "real world" air moving ability once you have the bags and ducting in place. The recent issue of Wood magazine has a good review of several such dust collectors. They performed real-world measurements of air flow and static pressures. The two best ones were the Delta 50-760 and the Grizzly G1029Z. The Penn State DC2000B also was not far behind. It's important that you have a 1 micron bag (or even better, a sub micron filter cannister) to filter the exiting air, otherwise you just blow the small particles back into your shop.

As an aside, I've read with interest about the cyclone-type separator lids that have been made (particularly the one by Phil Thien) and hope to experiment with these, probably in the form of a "pre-collector" inserted in-line before the blower assembly. This should keep most of the "bulk" sawdust from entering the collector.

Good luck with your dust collecting!

Dave

[Darren Fast]

I have the delta unit you mention in my basement shop and it is really not sufficient. It doesn't have the airflow needed to clear the chips. I'm trying to justify a cyclone or at least a more powerful unit with the 1 micron bags. I've complimented the dust collector with a 3 stage air filtration unit that hangs above my saw to get the small stuff.

[Mike Langford]

Hey Jason,

I've got the Delta AP400 and I have it plumbed with 4" PVC.....works great for my small shop!

I use it on a 3HP Table saw, a 22-44 Performax sander, and my router table with no problem....I don't own a planer (yet;)) but I think that if you just ran a short piece of hose that it'll work fine!

Here's a link to the SMC thread with pics......I'm reply #12
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=69842

[Joe Vee]

Jason,

I just picked up a 2HP 220V 1600CFM at Harbor Freight for $169, that works well and I paid $19 and have a 2 year bumper to bumper warranty. I would prefer to buy American only but just don't have the extra cash now.

Joe

[glenn bradley]

I've had one for about 2 1/2 years and it is "OK" for one machine at a time; not fabulous, but OK. I plan to dedicate mine to the jointer once I upgrade if it will handle it. It does a decent job for a small machine and moves about easily enough. However, above and below the TS or RT at the same time is a little taxing for it. It can 'almost' keep up with my planer when running wide boards. In a nutshell it has done a good job for me for what I paid (got a great deal on a closeout). At $179, I might consider the HF and earmuffs. ;-)