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Thread: Planning 1st Dust Collection

  1. #1

    Planning 1st Dust Collection

    I plan to purchase and or build my first dust collection system to be used in a 500 SF detached garage that has no air conditioning or heating.
    My initial plan is to:
    ˇ Build a 2-stage system
    ˇ Spend $500-700 on the main system (motor/impeller & cyclone)
    ˇ DC will be in a separate side room in the garage
    ˇ Vent to the outside
    ˇ Wall-mount the system
    ˇ Use the DC on one machine / tool at a time
    ˇ Longest run will be about 15’ hard pipe + 8’ of flex
    ˇ Wiring: I can either use an existing dedicated 20 amp line or I can run a dedicated 220 if necessary

    I would like to just purchase a good motor/impeller assembly and add a cyclone (possibly Oneida Super Dust Deputy). I have called Jet, Grizzly, … to see if I can just buy the motor/impeller assembly but that is not an option.

    Currently I am watching for used DC’s thinking I can get a better system for lower cost. If I buy a new or used complete system I will be reselling the bags and mobile cart to try to recoup some of the costs. If I built an upgraded 2-stage Harbor Freight system (Rikon impeller, larger port and Oneida Super Dust Deputy), the overall costs (approx.. $500) start to get into the range of other brand name DC systems.

    Question:
    Given the plan above, how does that influence which DC system I should look at / consider other than the fact that I will not be using the bags/canister/cart portion of the DC system?

    I welcome any suggestions as I plan this build.
    Thank you

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
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    I've got a few suggestions.

    1) While Grizzly has told you that they don't sell the assembly, they do sell parts, and you could part it out. I think that might exceed your budget, depending on what you buy.
    2) Buy a full Grizzly cyclone, sell off the filter. Thinking about doing this with my filter, but haven't so far, so I'm not sure how that would go.
    3) Clearvue also sells cyclones WITHOUT the filter assembly at a discount.

    Honestly, I think the biggest impediment is going to be your budget. Just a decent motor and impeller is going to chew up most of it. You could make the cyclone itself, but it's not an easy task, at which point you're trading a little money for a lot of work. Which is why I ended up buying a cyclone from Grizzly. They've got some portable ones in your price range, though the portable ones are all compromises, due to their short cones, but your system isn't going to be ideal either. For buy once cry once I'd get the G0441. They used to have a $1K option with a 1 1/2 HP motor, but that appears to have been discontinued.

  3. #3
    Join Date
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    You will get a LOT of feedback on this. Cobbling a DC solution together is a lot like making your own stereo speakers. Most of those that make their own experience a distortion in reality where their chosen components and assembly of those components magically work better than anything known to man.

    This has never made a lot of sense to me (and I used to build and sell sound reinforcement speaker systems) since I am not a mechanical engineer or hold any education in the areas of air quality management. There is a lot more involved than we think when it comes to building a DC system. When you start adding separation to the system the technical aspect multiplies.

    Again, you will hear from lots of folks who have taken this and bolted on that and "it works great". There is rarely any comparative analysis done with a properly designed system and we can all get lucky now and then. What "works great" really means is hard to quantify. Without trying to be all doom-and-gloom I will offer:
    - A system designed by someone who is trained to do so will outperform my 'design' in all areas of operation.
    - A separator of any kind must be factored into the math from the start.
    - A commercial system will probably cost less before I'm done for a given performance level.

    The upside is that your space is small. I would place more connecting points in order to reduce the amount of flex required to reach a given machine. An area that I think many of us can do well in is duct layout. I have seen professional designs that rely on brute horsepower to overcome things like 'T' intersections and 90 degree turns when they could have been avoided with a little more effort.

    Use one of the tools available to determine your requirements for airspeed and volume. Build you system on paper and be honest and complete (brackets, nuts, bolts, duct hangers, connectors and fittings), price it out and compare that to ready made systems. You may be closer than you think in an apples to apples comparison. Most of all, enjoy the journey.
    Last edited by glenn bradley; 12-27-2020 at 10:12 AM.
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  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    Regardless of all the other choices, you absolutely should have the DC on a separate, dedicated circuit.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Trenton SC, in the CSRA
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    I'm have a spare 5hp motor and impeller from a ClearVue system. I was told it was working when removed (there was a cyclone failure). I have not tested the motor. It was included in my purchase of the working Clearvue. PM me if you are interested and are close to zip code 30909/29841 (a.k.a. the CSRA).
    Last edited by Eugene Dixon; 12-28-2020 at 8:00 PM.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
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    Black Oak Ark.
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    Try to find a used DC , 2-3 HP. Jet , Powermatic , Grizzly , Delta . Going down the Harbor Freight road , you'll be underpowered . If you get lucky , you can build a shop-built cyclone on that budget . Once you know the shaft diameter on the DC , Grizzly is a source for an impeller upgrade , as they offer parts on almost everything . While new machinery is wise , this may be a bridge to whats next . Good luck .
    Last edited by james manutes; 12-28-2020 at 7:07 PM.

  7. #7
    Are any of your dust ports > 4" and/or will you mod them to greater than 4"?

    If not, there might not be much sense in trying to put together a system to power a 5 or 6" duct network. If that's the case, club down to something that only has a 4" inlet and maybe grab one of those wall mounted 1 - 1.5 HP collectors - maybe you can find one used - and assemble that to the 4" dust deputy.

    If you want/need the additional CFM and you're willing to put in decent sized venting to the outdoors you might just get a single stage bagger for now, seal up the garage side of the DC closet, and skip the cyclone.

    In any case, I think you're going to be hard-pressed to hit the numbers needed for fine dust collection at the tool on a $500 budget. But venting outside along with opening your garage door should keep you in better shape than most even with a lower powered 4 inch system.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Kalamazoo, MI
    Posts
    280
    Just passing along what I did. I make more kindling and sawdust than decent projects, so take it for what it's worth.

    Started out as a 2hp Shop Fox DC and got parted out from there. Really the only thing left is the motor/impeller assembly and port going to the Wynn Filter. Main runs 6" then down to 4" when needed. Converted the Table Saw and Jointer to 6". Table saw works ok but I think the DC is poor on that anyway. Also have a 6" port to the Mitre Saw cabinet and it pulls the air down from behind the saw. That works ok except for the longer cuts. 4" to bandsaw (it might be more poorly designed than the TS), to the Planer, Drum Sander and overhead shark mouth blade guard. 4" to the Router table with a 2" split for the fence.

    6" Dust Deputy XL. The top port of the DC to the filter is stuck at 6". Filter is from Wynn. The suction seemed a lot stronger instead of just running the 4" to each machine as needed in it's original configuration.

    Also made my own bin full sensor as opposed to buying the one from Oneida.

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  9. #9
    Thank you everyone for the good suggestions/comments.
    As to Mike's question - my dust ports are 4" but I am considering converting to 5-6" depending on which DC I end up with.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew More View Post
    Honestly, I think the biggest impediment is going to be your budget. Just a decent motor and impeller is going to chew up most of it. You could make the cyclone itself, but it's not an easy task, at which point you're trading a little money for a lot of work. Which is why I ended up buying a cyclone from Grizzly. They've got some portable ones in your price range, though the portable ones are all compromises, due to their short cones, but your system isn't going to be ideal either. For buy once cry once I'd get the G0441. They used to have a $1K option with a 1 1/2 HP motor, but that appears to have been discontinued.
    I second the suggestion to buy once and cry once. The Grizzly G0441 is an excellent suggestion. I have it's bigger brother the 5HP G0442 and I could not be happier with the performance for the price. The G0441 can be either wall mounted or you can buy the stand.

  11. #11
    Last I knew Penn state industries was still selling a 2hp blower assembly.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Michigan
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    2,758
    Blowing to the outdoors can be a good thing but plan for the option of blowing inside when the weather is bad.

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