Best Wall-Mounted 120V Dust Collector?

[Jack Burgess]

Greg, is the 8' of 5" hose attached to the wall or permanently mounted or do you pull it around and hook it up each time you use a separate tool? Also is the hose really 5" or 4" I have not seen any 5" hoses unless it is tin. Also the new DeWalt portable vac has a HEPA filter and collects down to .03 micron. This rating is better than the air purification system I purchased for overhead room circulation which is only 5.0 microns.

I tried the wall types but all of the bags as originally purchased were 30 microns. You can purchase the 5 micron bag from Rockler for their DC but I still had a shop covered with fine dust and also my wife's car and ON THE OTHER SIDE of my shop wall. I am still not sure what to try now. Have not hooked-up the shop vac {.03 micron) yet. Need to take everything out of shop, clean and start over. Shop is only 8 x 15.

Most of my problems are coming from dust created from radial arm, drill press, and table saw. Do not have any type of suction apparatus hooked up to those tools. Looking for plans or ideas. Appreciate you feedback.

PaPa Jack

[Ole Anderson]

Wall mounted cyclone.

My recommendation also. 2 hp in a small shop will work fine, 3 hp better, but 5 hp is, IMHO, overkill unless you are using 2 machines at once. The Oneidas come with a fine particle filtration (HEPA) filter.

[David Kumm]

Tough to make recommendations as to cfm as it is very dependent on the machines and their design. Any time the port or hood is more than a few inches from the cut the cfm needs go up exponentially. Radial arm, SCMS and shapers make dust and chips so far away from the port that cfm recommendations go down the drain. Even with high cfm and good filters you will find a Dylos goes way up when using most machines. Shapers at least make big chips and even most sawing dust is fairly large so the trade offs aren't as bad as with very fine sanding. I would get as large an impeller as I could afford even if it meant I compromised on the filters. Filters can be upgraded and putting more air through a 2 micron filter might still beat a fine filter that needs much longer to clear the air. Life is a compromise and sometimes wearing a mask is the compromise for what you can reasonably collect with a filter.
Dave

[Greg Peterson]

Jack - Yes, the hose is 5 inches. Wynn Environmental carries them. I roll the DC unit over to the tool.

A 5 micron filter is not providing the level of filtering you need. Wynn Environmental has all the filters you could want. Good prices, fantastic service.

[Brody Goodwine]

This thread has been incredibly helpful!!

The new plan is to buy the HF "2hp" dust collector and mount just the blower over the "eastcaroga" cyclone you can find on eBay, connected via 5" hose. That cyclone is 12" dia and can fit between my garage door rail and wall. The blower will mount up high and vent directly out the wall via a blast gate so no space is taken by filters and there is less worry in general about what escapes the filter.

I'll drop a 5" PVC to the floor and connect about 10" of flex to it which should reach my machines since the whole shop is mobile.

Under the cyclone will be an MDF square box to fit against the wall with a lexan window.

I'm guessing this will give me ~800cfm with a cyclone and only a 2sq foot footprint.

This project was a basic design inspiration: I'll use more rigid pipe, different cyclone, and a much smaller box.
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/54258

Better idea?

Current Questions:
- How to muffle sound outside since I don't want to annoy the neighbors? A big filter outside won't work.
- Who sells a good remote wall switch that can handle the big loads of a DC?
- How to build the MDF box that lies under the cyclone and can be emptied easily. I need a 2' x 1' footprint and almost all designs are cylinder shaped.

[Bryan Cramer]

That is a great idea although I wouldn't exhaust the blower outside because unless you have a air return from the outside into your shop you will build up negative pressure inside the shop. Also you will have to bring in cold air. I personaly don't need a remote so I would save the $ and install an outlet controlled by a light switch and plug the motor into it if the stock switch is not reachable.

[Brody Goodwine]

I think the remote switch would just be easier from both an install and convenience point of view.

Re: the air circulation, that is an interesting point since my garage is heated. Wouldn't the only issue be just losing your heat? I wish I could say my garage was sealed up so tight my ears would hurt, but it isn't.

[Bryan Cramer]

Loosing your heat is the main issue beacuse you will be blowing warm air out and cold air will be leaking back in. This set up is great for the summer or in a warmer climate. I have never needed a remote switch so adding one is your option.

[Brian Brightwell]

If I had it all to do over again I think I would go the Neanderthal route. Cheaper and I would probably have more projects completed.

[Leo Graywacz]

I have 39,000 cu ft of air in my shop. Not to worried about blowing/sucking the heat out. Part of doing business. Plus I thought I was going to swap back to the filter in the winter but having the noise from the collector back in the shop is something that keeps me wanting to lose the heat instead of my sanity.

[Jack Burgess]

Jim, Thanks for a simple quote. I am using two separate 5 gal HD vac - one on each side of the wall with 2 1/2" hose mounted to the wall and attached to each tool. I have each wall hose dumping into a Vortex collection Drum prior to the vac. I did purchase and install the Rockler air filtration (5 micron filter) I still have the fine dust over the entire shop. I did purchase the new DeWalt portable vac which is rated at .03 micron to address the fine dust (the kind that gets in our lungs) How do you think I can incorporate the .03 micron collector into my system. Or do you think I should just use it at each station and not use the collection system. I would sincerely appreciate any and all information you might be will to share. I have helpers coming in a few days to re-do my shop so I will appreciate any information you can give.

Jack

[Michael Ray]

I know that this is a very old thread but I wanted to say thanks for the idea of turning HF's 2 HP DC into a wall mount. HF’s 2HP, 1550 CFM unit for $182 after coupon and a little re-engineering. If you are going to do this you need to remove the HF units "inlet cover" then take out the hex screw that holds in the impeller. Pull the impeller. Take out the 4 bolts that attach the "fan housing" and turn the housing so that it will exhaust down when the unit is wall mounted. That's it - put it back together. Mount the unit to the wall with bolts through the motor base (notice in pictures that the mounts in the fan housing not point uselessly into the air.) Now get yourself the necessary accessories. I added Dust Right's 5 micron bag, 4" hoses and attachments. Works great - 2x the performance of Rockler or Grizzly wall mount units at a better price. I hope this helps. Thanks again

DC1.jpgDC2.jpg.

[Paul Lawrence]

Michael, yes this is an old thread and doesn't contain all the information about fine dust in the shop that you are breathing if you use a "5 micron bag."

Please read more recent dust collection information on this forum and on outside sources for health reasons at least.

[Jim Dwight]

Gray house studios and Tyler G both have good youtubes on upgraded HF DCs equipped with fine cartridge filters and arranged where floor space is minimized. Wood magazine sells plans for $15 for a cyclone you can make. A quick check indicates the metal might cost $100, however. I'm not sure making it for over $100 makes sense versus the oneida cyclone. The gray house studios design uses a cartridge you can get quite a bit cheaper than the Wyle cannister.

[Art Mann]

0.3, not 0.03 microns. Big difference!

PaPa Jack - forgot to tell everyone - I think the answer is the new DeWalt portable floor vac, HEPA Filter, filters down to .03 microns !!! Only one approved for use in musems ! I hear. Certainly better than my $300 air purfier system. Got mine at Rockler