Basement shop dust collection

[Matt Day]

Folks have been known to dig a pit in the floor to install a big bandsaw. I would not want to wrestle a full dust bin out of a pit. They are hard enough to wrestle on the flat floor.
Bil lD.

I dump mine in a yard bag. 45-50 gallons of chips aren’t that heavy. And as a hobbyist I don’t create bags often.

[Jim McLeod]

Good morning folks. So as stated I was considering the jet dc-1100vx-ck for my small shop. Considering another option. Wen 3403 with an upgrade to a Wynn canister filter. Similar to the Harbor Freight but with the bigger impeller already installed. Had a few questions I hope someone might be able to answer. First of all does anyone have one? Do you like it? Website states to run on a 25A breaker. Anyone run on a 20A breaker dedicated line? Anyone upgrade the filter? Can't seem to find dimensions anywhere to find out which to buy. And finally a general question. So comparing the jet to the Wen {or HF}, is the vortex on the jet worth the couple hundred dollar price difference when all said and done. Thanks for any help provided and have a safe day

[Jeff Heil]

I have had the Jet 1200 canister dust collector for over 10 years. It has a 6" port that comes with two 4" ports. I keep mine stationary near my tablesaw and other machines. I have one 6' flex hose connected to the tablesaw and the other flex hose I move between the planer, jointer, and bandsaw. I did add the vortex cone kit a few years ago. It does well in my small basement shop and I just open and close blast gates on each hose as needed. It does okay if both blast gates are open too. I run it on a 20 amp dedicated outlet without any problems tripping the breaker.

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[james manutes]

I found info on that Wen DC had to get , specifically the size of the impeller . Wen calls it a " turbo fan " . What I compare is current drawn and impeller size . CFM claims are very unreliable on most bag style units .

[Paul Wunder]

I started with a Delta 50-760 with the bag and found that it collected the dust but few of the fines. It was also a hassle with frequent bag changes, I later replaced the bag with a Wynn filter (similar to the Clearvue type). Dick Wynn (is he still there?) walked me through the process and sent me plans. That improved the collection of sawdust and picked some of the fines. I did later upgrade to a Clearvue as my shop began to fill out and my lungs needed more protection.

[David L Morse]

Good morning folks. So as stated I was considering the jet dc-1100vx-ck for my small shop. Considering another option. Wen 3403 with an upgrade to a Wynn canister filter. Similar to the Harbor Freight but with the bigger impeller already installed. Had a few questions I hope someone might be able to answer. First of all does anyone have one? Do you like it? Website states to run on a 25A breaker. Anyone run on a 20A breaker dedicated line? Anyone upgrade the filter? Can't seem to find dimensions anywhere to find out which to buy. And finally a general question. So comparing the jet to the Wen {or HF}, is the vortex on the jet worth the couple hundred dollar price difference when all said and done. Thanks for any help provided and have a safe day

Short answer - Yes, the Jet is worth the higher price.

Both the HF and Wen will require the addition of some kind of baffle to substitute for the Vortex Cone if you want to use a filter. Without the additional separation you'll be spending more time cleaning the filter than woodworking.

The Jet has an 11" fan while the Wen and the HF modified with the Rikon fan are both 12". So the Jet has a bit less static pressure but is easier to start. Some people have reported problems with the HF/Rikon not starting with their 20 A breakers. I have that setup and the I²t (70 A for 3 s) is marginal on my QO breakers.

Without the added baffle the HF/Rikon will slightly outperform the Jet. With the baffle the Jet is better above about 300 CFM. Below that there's still a slight advantage to the larger fan.

Looking at the Wen I would guess that it would be about the same as the HF/Rikon but with more powerful motor and so would be even harder to start. No, the HF does not have a 2HP motor.

[Tom Bender]

Here's what I'm using in my 250 sq ft basement shop.It is installed just outside the shop and is piped in with 3" PVC.

DC Lift h.jpg

It's an Oneida unit. You can see the lift I had to make to give access to the drum without taking the heavy part off. Just lift and shorten up the chain.

Here's the setup un the shop. 25 ft of hose reaches everything.

DC Hose h.jpg

This is like a bigger shop vac so it doesn"t do exactly what a DC does but it works pretty well and has no overhead ductwork. A dust mask is still needed sometimes. My shop is pretty well sealed off from the basement so dust migration is not too bad. The collector exhausts to the basement so air has to leak back into the shop.

I also have an air cleaner. It is home made and very low capacity. When I make a cloud of dust I turn it on and leave the room while it does it's work.