Results 1 to 15 of 17

Thread: Entry level dust collector

Hybrid View

Previous Post Previous Post   Next Post Next Post
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Lindsborg, Kansas
    Posts
    62

    Entry level dust collector

    I have a shopvac with dust deputy, but am considering an upgrade to a dust collector and doing the ol PVC run with drops. All the dust collectors look the same save price and color. I noticed that the grizzly catalog labeled all of theirs as made in Vietnam so I figured they probably all are.

    What are folks opinions on the matter? Is there any difference in quality or performance or is it just color?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Toronto Ontario
    Posts
    11,284
    Hi Matthew, it really depends upon what you need.

    Perhaps telling us a bit about your shop and machinery would help............Regards, Rod.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    Posts
    968
    I see little variation in the single stage dust collectors, like the Harbor Freight. It's a fairly simple machine, essentially a motor with an impeller. I would not be surprised to find that they all come from the same factory, and get rebadged. The big thing to be aware of with the single stage collectors is that they might act as dust pumps until the bag is "seasoned", at which point there have been reports that they are better than some of the sub-micron filters. If I was looking at a single stage collector, I'd probably get one with a sub-micron filter on top, or buy the HF unit, and add the Wynn.

    For cyclones it starts to get much more complex, and you'll get a lot more variation.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Columbus, OH
    Posts
    3,065
    Hi Matthew, I had the same dilemma a while back. There was a dust collector study in one of the wood working magazines that convinced me to buy the Delta 50-760. 1/1/2 HP. 1 micron bag on top. It had the best static pressure curve of all those tested. It has 2 4" inlets. I have 2 runs of spiral pipe down the walls of the shop and then flex to the machines. Don't know if this machine is still available but I recommend it if it is. I spent about $300 on it 7-8 years ago.

    It's not a high end solution in any way, shape, or form. But it does fine enough for me in my basement shop (along with an air filtration unit.
    Brian

    "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger or more complicated...it takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." - E.F. Schumacher

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    9,497
    Quote Originally Posted by Matthew Carver View Post
    I have a shopvac with dust deputy, but am considering an upgrade to a dust collector and doing the ol PVC run with drops. All the dust collectors look the same save price and color. I noticed that the grizzly catalog labeled all of theirs as made in Vietnam so I figured they probably all are.

    What are folks opinions on the matter? Is there any difference in quality or performance or is it just color?
    Matthew, a dust collection system ideally needs to be matched with the equipment to ensure it will work as desired. More machines create more dust, as well as the need to run more channel and drops. A single, small machine may not require a more than a small, lower powered DC, say 1 hp. However, long runs need more hp. Then you have to consider the size of the PVC you will run. 4" pipe has half the capacity of 5" pipe, which in turn has half the capacity of 6" pipe. The net effect is that a 1 hp DC running on 4" is likely to be totally ineffectual. Frankly, a half-assed DC system is a waste of money. So, to get a better idea, tell us about the machines you plan to use.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Central Missouri, U.S.
    Posts
    1,263
    My opinion, stay away from anything that exhausts through a bag. I started out with one and got tired of just redistributing dust from the machine to everywhere else in the shop, including my lungs. I'm leary of the idea that the bag becomes "seasoned" with dust and becomes better. It just gets clogged up until you clean it, then the process starts over.

    I'm currently using a modified Harbor Freight unit with a Wynn filter and, for the money, am pleased. It doesn't service the whole shop, though, just one machine at a time.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    Posts
    968
    Quote Originally Posted by Nick Decker View Post
    My opinion, stay away from anything that exhausts through a bag. I started out with one and got tired of just redistributing dust from the machine to everywhere else in the shop, including my lungs. I'm leary of the idea that the bag becomes "seasoned" with dust and becomes better. It just gets clogged up until you clean it, then the process starts over.
    It's been tested, and shown to be a real thing, via a Dylos meter. https://woodgears.ca/dust/dylos.html

    However, I agree with you, the filter is the better approach.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Lindsborg, Kansas
    Posts
    62
    Thanks for the responses. I have a 12x20 shed workshop. I'm running bench top level tools and looking to run a length of 4" pipe with drops to table saw, jointer/planer, and miter saw. I was eyeing the HF unit and the Grizzly one HP unit with the upper and lower bag. Didn't know if it made any difference compared to the wall hanging units. I don't think I'll get anything bigger than that. I'm trying to keep it under $250 ish

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    Posts
    968
    Honestly, if that was my budget, I think I'd stick with the shop vac, and buy/build an air filter. You're basically going to get chip collection, and that's about it.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Lake Gaston, Henrico, NC
    Posts
    9,116
    If you're going with bags, I like the Woodtek ones better than the others. I also own a Grizzly, and a Delta, but no experience with the HF. The Woodtek thick bags are better than the others BY FAR. It's the only one I'll use in finished houses. Woodtek is the store brand of Woodworkers Supply. The Woodtek stuff looks like it comes out of the same Taiwanese factory as a number of other brands, but I've never seen the thick bags on other DC's.

    I own, and have owned other smaller ones, but in my experience, anything less than 3hp is wishful thinking. No room for one in a 12x20 though, but it does roll easily through regular sized doors.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Central Missouri, U.S.
    Posts
    1,263
    Just to be clear, the only parts from the HF unit that I'm using are the motor and fan. Didn't ever even try out the bag, looked like pure junk.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Lindsborg, Kansas
    Posts
    62
    Thanks for all the perspectives. I just looked at Woodtek and it only reinforces my questions about the differences between these brands. It it just the bag?

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Lindsborg, Kansas
    Posts
    62
    Nick, do you use blast gates or move the hose from machine to machine?

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Central Missouri, U.S.
    Posts
    1,263
    No blast gates, I move the various machines (SawStop PCS, 1632 drum sander, benchtop planer, jointer, router table, bandsaw) to the DC. It's only a one car garage, so they don't have far to go. I've shortened the connecting hose since this photo was taken.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Matthew Carver View Post
    Thanks for the responses. I have a 12x20 shed workshop. I'm running bench top level tools and looking to run a length of 4" pipe with drops to table saw, jointer/planer, and miter saw. I was eyeing the HF unit and the Grizzly one HP unit with the upper and lower bag. Didn't know if it made any difference compared to the wall hanging units. I don't think I'll get anything bigger than that. I'm trying to keep it under $250 ish

    You have two choices: use what you have and keep saving for something better or DIY something. I never had allergies in my life --until I bought a HF dust spreader on Craigslist. Since then I've started seeing an ENT and (I think it's total BS, just the wood dust) getting allergy shots. Either way, when that HF dust spreader was turned on, I'd wake up the next morning hacking up a lung and feeling like crap on my daily run with the dogs.

    The only thing "two stage" does is separate out the big chips from the fine dust. So really a 2-stage 5-micron isn't going to be any different (for your lungs) than the single stage HF dust spreader single stage with a bag. With a 12x20 shop I'd think getting a better quality shop vac or maybe keeping same vac but upgrading filters would be most economical. Or open the doors/windows and wear a respirator.

    I bought a HF on CL for $60 with the Rikon impeller upgrade. My new setup (in 25x25 insulated, semi-heated but very finished garage) is going to cost me about $550-$600. I've got a little over $100 in truck filters, we have solar so free but I meter power usage, I'm up to about $78 in power use from welding and metal work, I think I paid $25 for the metal at the scrap yard (like 3 years ago), nails, screws, paint, other consumables, etc. ($25) plus making the blast gates and buying the wired window alarm sensors & on/off DC relay contraption --I told my wife that was about $100 but probably closer to $200. When I'm done I'd bet that my setup would compete with a $3,000 system, but I've also got about a month's worth of time into it.


    If I had to do it all over again, I would have bought like 15 shop vacs on Craigslist for free/$10/each and then put decent filters on them and hooked them to each machine in my shop. All that HF bag thing was put dust into the air to the point that I had to go to an ENT/allergist.

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •