Harvey Dust Collector

[Michael Ignatowicz]

Ladies and Gentleman,

I have asked before about dust collectors and it seems like the preferred models come from Oneida or ClearVue, with some others being recommended as well, so long as they are of sufficient horsepower, and the taller cyclone design.

Something I recently came across is a Harvey G700 Dust Collector:

https://www.harveywoodworking.com/pr...31590632751219

It appears to be quite a unique design and the biggest drawback I could find online was the price, which was originally at the $4000 mark! They are currently running a sale and the unit is marked down to $2295, which puts it in direct competition with a lot of other traditional cyclonic dust collectors:Oneida V3000: $2495 and ClearVue 1800: $2300-2500 depending on accessories.

Obviously this unit takes up more space horizontally which isn't much good for a lot of people, but I was thinking you could incorporate this under a workbench and it wouldn't be so bad. I'm still in the planning/mobile stages of my woodshop and nothing is set in stone so it wouldn't be much of an issue to me.

[Mark Carlson]

Weird that its still $4200 on rockler and woodcraft. The G700 has started to popup on woodworking youtube channels that I watch, Next Level Carpentry and Bents Woodworking. Bents just installed his but the Next Level Carpentry guy has had if for over a year and likes it a lot. Things I liked were the dust bin, sound levels, clean out ports and the horizontal layout works in my shop with lower ceilings. Cons, would be the non sale price of $4200, is 2hp motor big enough, size of filters, reliability/newness.

[Frank Pratt]

That looks like a nice machine. HP, cyclone separation specs, price, included accessories, and HEPA filter are all very close to the Oneida V-1500. The Gyro Air does have variable speed control, which is very nice.

But there's a problem with the Gyro Air in that they don't publish the fan curve. There are a couple CFM ratings listed in the specs, but those are completely meaningless without a fan curve. With only a 1.5 kW motor it (and the V-1500) doesn't have enough power for more than a short connection to a single machine.

The G800 would be much better suited with a 3 HP motor, but it's over $5500 more than the G700. The 3 HP V-3000 is only $100 more than the V-1500. So, given the choice between the G700 as $2300, & V-3000 at $2500, I'd go for the V-3000. Easy decision. If only the G800 was more reasonably priced & had a fan curve.

[Billy Merrill]

Have the G700 for about 6 months now.

Its a beast of a machine. Does a nice job with my power tools; SawStop 3hp Cabinet saw with router, 14" Rikon Band saw, Dewalt Planer, track saw, ROS sanders.
Its footprint is 5'x2'x33". It fits under my worktop and out of the way.
For me the horizontal and compact design was what sparked my interest first. Didn't have the space for wall mounted installation in a shared garage space. Its quietest dust collect I've been around, fairly easy to use, easy to empty and clean, remote works well, very mobile, Hepa 0.3 Micro filters. Can be throttled down when using small tools like a sander of track saw or opened up when using the planer or table saw. All of the advertised features and specifications are what you get.
At the current sale price it a bargain.

What I don't like and I'm nitpicking here.
1) Main switch is located on the rear of the machine which is against the wall. Front location beside the variable speed controller would have been better. I just leave it on all the time and use the breaker if I want to disconnect the power.
2) The controller has little info on its operation in the manual besides how to adjust the speed (hertz). One day I wanted to turn on the processor directly from the controller, since the remote was across the room, but couldn't figure out how to do that. After an email to the company, which they answered in a reasonable amount of time, I was told how to switch the controller from remote operation to operation from the actual controller.

[Matt Day]

I’d like to see that hooked up to a ductwork system. I scanned their website and all the pics had a single machine hooked up.

[Frank Pratt]

I’d like to see that hooked up to a ductwork system. I scanned their website and all the pics had a single machine hooked up.

For a ducted system, you'd want to step up to the G800. But the price, yikes!

[Billy Merrill]

Try this link for connection on a duct work system, piping, airflow test.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MNXE_VFsIU

Emptying the dust bins and cleaning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AXR0CrDc4w

[Andy D Jones]

Interesting "spin" on a cyclonic separator...

Most cyclones have a tapered volume that gets smaller in cross-sectional area, more or less gradually, until the dump port at the small end of the cone, and (relatively) clean air is removed at the opposite, big end. This reduction in cross sectional area, ideally, offsets the reduced volumetric flow towards the end, so the rotational velocity is not decreased, and centrifugal separating forces are maintained.

The Harvey cyclones have cylindrical shape, with a conical insert (the air does not flow through the cone, it flows around it.) The dump port is on one side, at the end, and the clean air is removed from the center, at the same end (actually adjacent to the dump port.) The cross-sectional area increases toward the end with the dump port. I would expect this to decrease the spiral velocity, and with it the centrifugal force separating dust from air. Unless I'm missing something.

One of the G700 flyers claims the cyclonic separator allows "Only moleculedust particlesgo into filters." I seriously doubt the accuracy of that statement, but it's possible the translation into English was at fault.

It would be interesting to see some CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulations of the two cyclone designs, to see how they compare.

Other comments:

The blower is in front of the separators, so it bears the brunt of debris in the incoming air. I would not use floor sweeps or vacuuming attachments for cleaning the shop floor with this collector. This is why most cyclonic separators have the blower after the cyclone, so that such debris does not damage the impeller, or send hot, fractured debris, impeller pieces and potentially sparks into a bin containing highly combustible dust. Note that this kind of debris does not always come off the shop floor. It can come from broken or chipped knives, carbide inserts or saw blade teeth, or metal debris hidden in the wood being machined.

There are two different stages of separation: reduced velocity gravity separators, followed by the cyclonic separators. Each stage has a separate bin and plastic bag to be replaced. There is a video online showing the ease of emptying "the bin", but it only shows one of the bins being emptied.

The machine is designed and manufactured in China.

There are times when a new manufacturer throws out the playbook on product design, and introduces a revolutionary improvement to existing products. I'm not convinced this is one of those cases. Time will tell.

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[derek labian]

That looks like a nice machine. HP, cyclone separation specs, price, included accessories, and HEPA filter are all very close to the Oneida V-1500. The Gyro Air does have variable speed control, which is very nice.

But there's a problem with the Gyro Air in that they don't publish the fan curve. There are a couple CFM ratings listed in the specs, but those are completely meaningless without a fan curve. With only a 1.5 kW motor it (and the V-1500) doesn't have enough power for more than a short connection to a single machine.

The G800 would be much better suited with a 3 HP motor, but it's over $5500 more than the G700. The 3 HP V-3000 is only $100 more than the V-1500. So, given the choice between the G700 as $2300, & V-3000 at $2500, I'd go for the V-3000. Easy decision. If only the G800 was more reasonably priced & had a fan curve.

The fan curve for the 700-1000 is posted here:

https://harveyindustriesintl.com/kno...ormance-curve/

[Alan Lightstone]

I don't really have a dog in this race (I already own a 5HP Oneida cyclone, and have no need to replace it), but you can easily find the fan curves for particular units for Oneida cyclones on their website to compare. The comparison, vs the different Harvey models, is interesting.

[Kevin Jenness]

The fan curve for the 700-1000 is posted here:

https://harveyindustriesintl.com/kno...ormance-curve/

For some reason, even at max zoom, I cannot make out the Harvey graphs. Can you summarize the results relative to conventional cyclone systems like Oneida?

[Carl Beckett]

A question on this (a conundrum for me):

Previously I had a clearvue. I now have a harvey g700. When I bought the Harvey I was very concerned that it just would not be adequate, based on the Pentz data and all the general conclusions here. As a technical type, I was uncertain whether this Harvey would suffice. Strangely enough, I still doubt it, after owning it.

I did get a particle count meter, and am in the process of testing my setup across various machines. A thread on this started out with the intent to compare Harvey vs Clearvue, but that fell through when I sold the Clearvue earlier than planned. AND - other than fan curves, it is very very difficult to compare 'function' (a fan curve is an indirect determination that it will function).

So I thought to do ANY performance testing would require a direct particle meter so bought one. That is what I have been going on to date.

And with the testing so far, the Harvey is performing quite well. In fact, the original intent to compare particle counts side by side with Clearvue is pointless, because I am not getting an increase in particle count from using the Harvey. Yet there is this little voice in the back of my head that says the Harvey isnt adequate, simply because everybody else says so...

I still have to get the widebelt setup and tested.

But it bugs me that by all accounts and general wisdom of this site, the Harvey should be inadequate. Yet I do not have any direct data to suggest that it is. And I can not explain 'why' that is. (I wonder if it traces back to the point of dust generation, that if you can focus there the amount of CFM is less critical - but that for 'many' cases the super high CFM is to help mitigate poor design at the cutter source - a problem with many/most equipment).

I genuinely dont know. Perhaps my particle meter is junk and not trustworthy (but it does respond, and other parts of my house, like cooking in the kitchen, spikes higher particle counts than the workshop).

There has been a LOT of work put into this topic, both theoretical and practical, by people a lot smarter than me on the topic. Yet I continue to be confused and have personal experiences that do not necessarily equate CFM as the end all be all of dust collection. Had I not read any of that material, I would feel like my current setup was doing a great job (but some very credible people keep writing that it simply can not be adequate...)

And in fact, just like hearing and eye protection, the 'best' protection is the one that gets used. The biggest dust exposure I get is when I dont run the DC! (some operations or 'quick' cuts or certain machines I do not have hooked up - like hand sanding!).

[Alan Lightstone]

For some reason, even at max zoom, I cannot make out the Harvey graphs. Can you summarize the results relative to conventional cyclone systems like Oneida?

Click on the link for the pdf file and it becomes readable. Yes, their curves on the website, when zoomed are unreadable.

[Matthew Hills]

For some reason, even at max zoom, I cannot make out the Harvey graphs. Can you summarize the results relative to conventional cyclone systems like Oneida?

As you say, the charts on that page aren't legible.
The page for the g700 does have a bigger image: g700 fan curve

Matt

[derek labian]

For some reason, even at max zoom, I cannot make out the Harvey graphs. Can you summarize the results relative to conventional cyclone systems like Oneida?

Here you go:

g700.jpegg800.jpegg1000.jpeg