Laguna C-Flux DC's

[Robert Hayward]

Does anyone have one of the new design DC's from Laguna ? The specs on the C-Flux 3hp look pretty good. I know the prior model DC's from Laguna have a bad reputation. These C-Flux models looks like Laguna has got it right this time.

I currently have no DC at all. Okay I have two shop vacs, but I call them not having DC. My little shop is probably hazardous to my health, everything in there is coated with a powder fine dust, thick to boot. The 3hp C-Flux is 10% off with $75 shipping this weekend. I think I will try one.

http://www.lagunatools.com/Industria...ust-Collectors

[Mark Furjanic]

I can only pony up for and fit the 1 1/2 hp c/flux and I'll have it on order this evening, I hope they got t figured out. There's a post around here concerning last years 1 1/2 hp and the owner is very happy with it. At this time the thread is right below this one.

[Robert Hayward]

From what I have read since my initial post they say the cyclone length is short compared to an Oneida or Clearvue. Most likely true that the Oneida or Clearvue are more efficient. However, the Laguna C Flux line of DC's has the specs and size that I was looking for. Already put my order in for a 3hp C Flux. The web site I ordered from said a 5-7 day wait until it ships. That is okay as it will give me next weekend to run the 30 amp 220 circuit and outlet. Also make up a 30 amp extension cord so I can move the machine around my shop.

[Brian Glendenning]

Please post your experiences with your 3 hp CFLUX when you have it in hand - I am very interested in buying the same unit!

[david salonen]

+1

I would love to hear more about cflux and/or pflux dcs

[Mark Furjanic]

My 1 1/2 horse is scheduled for delivery on Tuesday so I'll have first impressions soon. I pulled up the online manual today to see what I needed for a breaker and I found out that for me to convert the unit to 220 I'll need to get a new switch and cover. I called Laguna today because I can't find anything for sale anywhere but haven't gotten a call back yet.

[Robert Hayward]

You are ahead of me Mark. Mine has not even made it to the point of them notifying me of a shipping date. I do not have the 30 amp 220 circuit run yet anyway. If I can muster the ambition maybe tomorrow. It will be cool tomorrow in my neck of the woods so it should be a good day to crawl around in the attic.

Yes, I will post my experience with the 3hp model. Not sure how useful my information will be as I have never owned a DC before. Been around a couple of big commercial ones and that is it. The C-Flux 3 info I have read looks like the 8" inlet will give the best performance. I looked online a couple of different places at a 10 ~12' length of 8" flex with a smooth bore and got sticker shock- extreme. There has to be a cheaper way to get a few feet from the DC to my various machines.

[James Gunning]

There are lots of cheaper alternatives to the smoothbore flex pipe. PVC, metal ducting, snap lock, etc. The piping for a shop can be a significant expense and also be a liability to proper operation of the DC. The duct system needs to be properly designed. There is lots of discussion on this site and there are firms like Oneida that will design a duct system for you.

Those who are buying their first proper dust collector, there is a reason the inlets (and outlets) are so large. Dust collectors operate on very large amounts of air flow and low static pressure, (another way to characterize static flow would be restrictions to airflow) the opposite of vacuums. That's why using 4" pipe in the ducting going to the machines (and 4" or smaller pickups on the machines) is a very bad idea. That size pipe, even though it has become sort of an industry standard, is simply too small to work properly with a DC. The airflow through the DC will be choked off and you will waste the available power the DC has. Using 4" pipe, the DC will pick up some chips and dust, so it seems to work properly. Not really, when compared to how it will work with properly sized ducting. You only need to try a 4" inlet then a 6" inlet on your DC. You won't need any meters to tell the difference. The minimum size for ducting and collection ports should be 6", not 4". In larger systems, the main trunk lines may be up to 8".

The idea here is to create the largest airflow where the chips and dust is being generated. On a lot of machines, even a shop vac will get most of the chips, what we are trying to catch with a DC is the smaller particles (< 1 micron) that can be harmful to health.

[Larry Frank]

As I read this thread, I thought that the following information might be useful. I had posted it elsewhere but thought it might be good for the current discussion.

Recently, we have seen a new design dust collector and has shown up as a Laguna, Jet and a couple of others and they all look very similar. I was looking for some performance data and ran across some confusing data.

On the Jet Website, the max CFM for the JCDC-3 Cyclone Dust Collector Kit, 3HP, 230V was listed at 1240 CFM with the US method and 1963 CFM for the EU method. I had no idea how they came up with the higher number. So, I called them and found that the EU method is done with no filter on the machine. This is really a misleading way of testing and presenting numbers.

There may be some difference in the performance of the Jet version versus the Laguna one due to difference in air filters and other minor components but do not expect the differences to be large.

The data that Jet sent me also included how they tested the unit and it was a well done test done with good instruments.
However, I was able to get a performance curve for this unit from Jet. I expect that the data will be very similar for the Laguna version of this dust collector. I took the data from Jet and put it into a graph along with data for several other 3 HP cyclones. These included from Oneida the Super Dust Gorilla, the V series and Pro Series. Also, included are a Penn State, Grizzly, and the Jet.

I hope the information is useful to those looking at dust collectors.

[James Gunning]

Just noticed something I hadn't seen before on the Laguna machines. Looking at the specs, Laguna uses surprisingly small filters on the 1.5 HP C/flux machines. Just 48 sq. ft. and a MERV rating of 12. The 2HP and 3HP machines get a 109 sq. ft. filter with the same MERV. The P/flux machines are the same except a claim of 16 MERV. They also claim HEPA standard which I recall from my discussion with Wynn environmental, is not possible to meet with the types of filters used. I wonder if it was strictly a money saving choice. With the design, at least a larger filter could be fitted if desired.

For comparison, the Wynn filter I use is their 9L300NANO and has 300 sq. ft. of filter area and a MERV rating of 15.

[Robert Hayward]

For comparison, the Wynn filter I use is their 9L300NANO and has 300 sq. ft. of filter area and a MERV rating of 15.

What machine do you have that takes a 300 sq foot filter ?

BTW, what I have is a small home hobby / craft shop in my garage. I will be using the DC on one machine at a time and moving the suction line from machine to machine as needed.

[Todd Hyman]

Robert I have a question about the remote control. I bought the 2hp Cflux and its a great unit but I'm having issues trying to get the remote control to work. The directions on how to program it aren't very good. I too have contacted Laguna Customer Service and Adam has been great with this issue but it still isn't working. They sent me a replacement remote and i just received a replacement motor switch assemble. I haven't swapped this out yet but just curious if anyone else has had an issue with this.

[Mark Furjanic]

Todd - I'm not Robert but I did get my C Flux remote programmed and the directions weren't very good. I held the button on the control box until I got 2 beeps and continued holding while I pressed the program button on the remote until I got the 3 beeps. It works like a charm.
I had to get a 220 switch from Laguna for my 1 1/2 hp and it turned out to be the entire control box, not just a switch. I just finished getting my Sawstop put together so I haven't had a chance to check the performance on my DC but I did put a 10' flex hose on it to see how it felt and it almost pulled my arm through the hose.

[Todd Hyman]

Todd - I'm not Robert but I did get my C Flux remote programmed and the directions weren't very good. I held the button on the control box until I got 2 beeps and continued holding while I pressed the program button on the remote until I got the 3 beeps. It works like a charm.
I had to get a 220 switch from Laguna for my 1 1/2 hp and it turned out to be the entire control box, not just a switch. I just finished getting my Sawstop put together so I haven't had a chance to check the performance on my DC but I did put a 10' flex hose on it to see how it felt and it almost pulled my arm through the hose.

Thanks. the directions say to turn on the unit, but you cant here the beeps when you turn it on. Am I missing something?

[Mark Furjanic]

Thanks. the directions say to turn on the unit, but you cant here the beeps when you turn it on. Am I missing something?

Yep...don't turn the unit on. Sorry I forgot that part. Power to the machine but blower off.