Recently, I have noticed that there has been a new style of cyclone dust collector on the market. Several different companies have marketed them including Laguna, Jet, JDS and others. I was curious about them so I gathered the information for three of them to make a comparison of the 3 HP models. They all look pretty similar with a relatively short cone and mounted on wheels. Below is a picture of the three collectors.
DC 3 HP Pics.jpg
I also put together a table comparing the three machines. They all are pretty similar but the JDS machine stands out from the others. The Jet and Laguna both have radial fans and the JDS has a shrouded radial fan. In addition, the JDS is heavier than the others by almost 100 pounds. Below is a pciture of the JDS fan.
JDS Turbo-Fan.jpg
But the big thing was the performance curve of the JDS. It is the best performing of the three especially at high static pressures. In fact, the curve shows 1000 cfm at 12” sp. This is pretty extraordinary for any 3 HP dust collector. In addition, they claim a max static pressure of 16.2”. I will have to note that I have no idea how they ran the tests. I have contacted them for that information but have gotten nothing. I did get the test procedure for the Jet and Laguna and the testing is done well.
If I had to pick between the three machines, the JDS would have to be the one based upon the performance data provided by JDS. However, I have not read any reviews in a forum of the unit and would therefore be hesitant. This machine does not seem to be available. The only reviews that I found were on Amazon. There were two reviews there that were verified purchasers but these were from 2009 and 2010 and were positive reviews. A similar machine is available in Europe by Axminster. It seems a bit strange that it was available years ago and in Europe and not now in the US.
It would be great for anyone who has one of these machines to run some performance testing to validate the manufacturer test results. This would be especially interesting for the JDS unit. If the claims are correct, this is the best dust collector that I have found. What I do not understand, if the claims are true, why would anyone the other similar ones. And, why is the JDS not available and so few comments on forums.
Below are the performance curves and the comparison table for these three machines.
Compare Curves.jpg Compare Table.jpg