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Raymond Fries
03-09-2008, 3:25 PM
I am finally getting dust collection for my work. I think I am going with a 1 1/2 HP Steel City Dust Collector as that should meet my current needs and I'll have the extra HP when I get my 13" thickness planer and a 13" Drum sander. Is everyone happy with their 1 1/2 HP models?

I was wondering how many of you also have the ambient air cleaners. Would you suggest purchasing one of these as well? Never having dust collection, I do not know how effective the one hooked up to the machines is and If I also need the ambient cleaner.

Thanks for your suggestions and advise.

glenn bradley
03-09-2008, 3:38 PM
Speaking as one who tried to start with a 1HP single stage, 1-1/2HP is the floor level entrance into gathering chips (IMHO). The planer will do pretty good. I wouldn't see 1-1/2HP having any 'extra' at a planer, but it should be adequate. This seems to be a one of those things where once you get to the right level, it all works out.

A 2HP with 6" ducting suddenly seems to have a lot more power than a 1-1/2 with 4". It's kinda like car shopping; you can't find what you want till you reach a certain level and then suddenly there's all kinds of cars to choose from.

bob cohen
03-09-2008, 4:08 PM
I agree with Glenn. I also started with a 1 HP unit, which is now relegated to a corner of the shop, hooked up to a router table. I currently have a 1 1/2 HP, 1100 CFM jet. It is hooked up to a cabinet saw, benchtop planer, bandsaw, combination sander, and an 8 jointer. Total ductwork (all flexible hose, 4 inch diameter, with blast gates at each machine) is probably 50 feet. From what I've been reading, I am way underpowered. I should probably have a 3 HP cyclone, and will probably upgrade in 6 months to a year. When i first got the jet I was happy just to be able to suck up most of the dust, but after awhile (it been 5 years or so), all the dust that you don't such up and that winds up in your lungs begin to bother you, more an more. If I was to do it over, I would definitely start with the cyclone, at least 2 HP. It is a big investment, but one I think you will be happy with long term. Really, what is more important than your health? A clean workshop is nice, too! There are lots of good articles on dust collection at finewoodworking.com. Also, American woodworker did a nice review of cyclone collectors in 2006. Explain the health hazard to your wife, she might be happy to have you spend the extra now. I think we all are so anxious to get the tools we need that we often forget about dust collection, and then under spend on it. I would bet that those here who did dust collection the right way have no regrets.

Greg Peterson
03-09-2008, 4:15 PM
Raymond, there are some good threads here about DC. Many of us use single stage DC units while others with more financial resources and/or requirements go with a cyclone system.

Cyclones offer premium performance and can usually service multiple machines. These units are hard plumbed into place and have dust collection drops at major machines (TS, Planer, Jointer, Sanding station, Router table....). Turn the cyclone on, fire up your tool, open the blast gate and away you go.

Single stage units can be adequate for single machines. Roll the unit over to the machine you plan on using, hook up the dust hose and proceed. Not as convenient as a hard plumbed cyclone.

It is worth noting that the defining principle of dust collection is the collection of fine particles, in the range of 1 micron to .5 micron. These are the particles that represent a health hazard. Single stage units typically come with polyester bags on top and bottom. These bags claim to capture anywhere from 30 micron down to 5 micron sized particles.

Some of the more popular upgrades or modifications include installing a canister style filter on the top to trap fine dust particles and using a heavy gauge plastic bag on the bottom to collect the larger debris. Wynn environmental produces a nice retrofit kit that adapts easily to many of the popular single stage units and will capture 1 micron down to .5 micron sized particles.

In order to achieve reasonable results it is important that the fine particles are captured at the point of creation. This means each tool that cuts wood needs to have some system in place to corral the fines so that the dust collection air flow can carry them away.

Collection chips and saw dust is relatively simple. Collecting the fines that are a hazard requires more work but it can be done.

Search for Phil Thien on this forum and Google Bill Pentz. That ought to keep you busy for a few days.

For the record, I have a HF single stage unit. I have added the Wynn Environmental spun bond polyester filter and plastic debris bag. The inlet is a five inch inlet and I am using a Wynn Environmental five inch flex hose. I reduce down to four inches at the unit. I am currently working on hooking up the five inch hose to my router table and contractor saw. My downdraft table came with a four inch port so I am stuck with that.

Ambient air scrubbers are very handy. I currently have a Delta AP100. It captures the bigger particles (5+ micron). I will be adding a unit that captures .3 micron particles soon. These should run while you are in the shop and for a period time after you leave the shop until the particle count comes down to safe levels. There was a group of us at SMC that went in a group by of the Dylos particle counter. The unit I purchased counts .5 micron and 2.5 micron particles. While the environment may not be ideal for scientific purposes, I now have a meter that tells me how good or how bad the air in my shop is and how effective my efforts of capturing fine dust. I can track the decline of particles and have a much better idea of when I can turn off my ambient air scrubber.

Good luck. DC brings out many passions.

Wilbur Pan
03-09-2008, 8:17 PM
I would say that having an ambient air cleaner is a must. Ideally, the best thing to do is get all the dust at the source. Problem is, even with the best cyclone systems, that seems to be very difficult to do. Therefore, you need a backup method of dealing with the dust that your dust collector misses, which would be an ambient air cleaner.

The nice thing about an air cleaner is that it's relatively easy to add capacity to your air cleaning system -- just buy and install additional units. Conventional wisdom is to get enough CFM in your air cleaner set up to allow 6-10 air exchanges per hour in your shop. I went for 25-30 exchanges per hour, which will bring down the dust levels much more quickly.