How much do you run your dust collector

[Tom Bender]

In my basement shop I run the dust collector about 5% of the time, air cleaner about 10%. Lots of hand tool work and layout etc. I don't start it up for every little puff of sawdust. There are times when it runs 30 minutes or more but not every week.

[John K Jordan]

In my basement shop I run the dust collector about 5% of the time, air cleaner about 10%. Lots of hand tool work and layout etc. I don't start it up for every little puff of sawdust. There are times when it runs 30 minutes or more but not every week.

Depends on what I'm doing. When operating bandsaw, drum sander, disk/belt sander, that make fine dust I always run the DC. Lathe, it depends. My planer is portable so I just carry it outside.
I have wireless remotes at each major tool. For a large motor it's important to not cycle the motor too often (about 6 times per hour) so once I turn it on I usually leave it running and just close the blast gates if I plan to use it again within 5 minutes or so. (5hp ClearVue)

Today I ran it a couple of hours while making hundreds of pen blanks on the bandsaw.

JKJ

[Mike Henderson]

I run mine when I'm running a tool that connects to the DC. When I finish with the tool, I shut it off.

Mike

[Dwayne Watt]

Mine runs nearly full time when I am in the process of milling material down to size. If the machines make dust and connectable to the system, the collector is on. I tend to go from one process right to the next and so on until I quit for the day or leave the shop for more than a couple minutes. No point in shutting down for a few minutes. Ear plugs are installed at all times during those phases of a project.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I mostly use mine for the drum sander, occasionally for the bandsaw if I'm cutting a lot at once. I also set it up when I'm carving with a Kutzall disc in an angle grinder making archtop guitars, mandolins, and fiddles. It doesn't catch all of the dust with the Kutzall but it gets a lot of it and keeps the fines down a bit in the air. I wear a respirator for some tools where the DC just doesn't work that well.

[Lisa Starr]

If the tools connected and I'm running it, the DC is on. That said, my bandsaw and miter saw are not connected, though I wish they were. Belt/Spindle sander, J/P combo, TS and Drill Press are all connected.

[Jim Becker]

Some days it runs nearly 8 hours if I have a lot of CNC work. Some days it doesn't run at all. If I'm using a machine that requires collection, the DC is doing its thing.

[ChrisA Edwards]

Mine turns on with most power tools and sauté shuts down about 15 seconds after the primary tool is turned off.

If I'm flip flopping between machines, I'll switch the DC to manual mode so it's not cycling on and off.

[Rod Sheridan]

If I’m using machinery it’s running.

I shut it off 10 minutes after I stop using machinery. According to my particle counter that’s optimum for air quality.

No point stopping and starting the cyclone frequently...Regards, Rod.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Some of my larger tools are portable but all have quick disconnects for the DC. If I a running any tool but my drill press or my mortiser, the DC is running IF, and the IF is getting bigger by the moment, I remember to turn it on via one of the 2 remotes I have at each end of my shop.

[Ole Anderson]

Most mine has ever run is recently as I was doing my bamboo floor install. At the end of every run I needed to make a cut, so I just left it running between cuts. And the floor was on the main level, the saw and DC in the basement. Lots of stairs during the project.

[Charlie Jones]

Mine runs whenever I am processing wood. I try not to restart it more than a few times an hour.

[Tom Bender]

Yes it runs when making dust, how much of your shop time is that? In my shop that's 5 to 10% of the time.

[Charlie Jones]

Roughly 50 percent. I don’t do a lot of hand work.

[Jim Becker]

Yes it runs when making dust, how much of your shop time is that? In my shop that's 5 to 10% of the time.

As noted, it depends on the day and what project(s) are on the table, pardon the expression.