Dust Collector recommendations

[Michael Rutman]

Oh boy, reading the archives I can see this is not a simple question, which makes me feel good because I am completely lost.

I have never owned a dust collector mostly due to inability to figure out what I need, and that needs to change. So, let me go over my shop, my needs, and then beg for advise. I think I'll need to budget between $3-5K including duct work, but that's not a hard limit.

I have a 15x20 dedicated shop and am about to add an 8x20 attached second shop (sigh, property lines limit it to 8 feet).

The tools I have that need a dust collector and not a shop vac right now are a 220volt SawStop and Laguna 14 inch bandsaw. I am planning on upgrading my router table, which will have the dust collector box. I am also eyeing the Hammer A3-31 to replace my Cutech Jointer/Rigid Planer. Everything else is a 2 inch shop vac hose. I do want that attachment that lets you shovel wood shavings into a slot on the floor to get sucked up. I have other tools that I don't think I attach to a DC (oscillating sander, drill press, miter saw, misc power sanders, lathe, scroll saw, etc).

I am a pure hobbyist, I do not sell anything I make. I never have more than one tool at a time turned on. I don't like hassles, though, so detaching and reattaching is out. I'd like to vent into the workshop as it's air conditioned and venting outside makes the shop very hot.

I am absolutely head spinning confused as to what direction I should even take. Big huge monster in the corner with gates? 4 standalone machines dedicated to each device? Tornado?

Thanks for any help, I know it's a controversial topic.

[Bernie Kopfer]

I suggest that your first decision is fixed v mobile. If your machines are not being moved around then piping attached to the walls or ceiling with appropriate drops is convenient and easy. If you Plan to move your DC from machine to machine a good 2hp short cyclone would probably meet your needs well and save $.

[Robert London]

Hi Michael,

Welcome to the fun topic of dust collection. The one thing you can spend months and years researching. My advice is to buy a good 220V canister dust collector and start there. I got this over the summer and it's probably one of the best machines out there for under $700. Don't fool around with bags. Buy the canister first and you won't regret it. Keeps your shop clean and the fine particles out of the air. You can hook up to 3 machines at once.

https://www.grizzly.com/products/gri...series/g0548zp

I wouldn't overwhelm yourself with entire shop systems, fancy duct work, and expensive cyclones. You can add a separator to a canister system very easily as well. Get started with something good and see where your shop takes you. Especially if you're a hobbyist and don't have all your equipment yet.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I started buying my Sawstop PCS 1.75 and a Jet DC1100VX 1.5HP dust collector.

I soon added a Woodpecker Router table and Laguna 14/12 and a DW735 and a Jet 6" jointer.

I was in a 2 car bay garage, where my wife parked each night, so everything was mobile.

I decided to go with Schedule 80 6" sewer pipe and make my DC stationary. This worked well.

I moved house, retired, and sole my 6" jointer and DW735 and replaced them with a Hammer A3-31.

I plumbed my new garage with about 50' of 5" steel HVAC ducting (Home Depot) with three drops terminating in a Wye with a 4" and 2.5" blast gate.

I converted my Jet DC to a two stage with a 55 gallon steel drum ($20 off FB Marketplace).

I also added a Hammer F3 Shaper and a ShopFox w1812 Moulder.

So far, my relatively cheap DC setup keeps up with the loads of the tools that generate a lot of shavings and sawdust.

When using the Moulder or A3-31, I do monitor the Super Dust Deputy XL when it drops the waste into the 55 Gallon first stage, the 6" Dia hose can sometimes clog, maybe a little more CFM would force the chips into the first stage a little better.




Monitoring the chip collection, from distance.

[ChrisA Edwards]

Same DC when planing a lot of Basswood on my old DW735


At some point, I'll probably got with a Clearview 1800, but I struggle to justify my need while the Jet seems to be doing its job.

On a side note, when I was planing that rough cut Basswood and then using my W1812 Moulder to make Plantation Louvers, I filled twelve 55G bags with clippings.

[Christopher Charles]

I have gone through a similar evolution to Chris, though don't have as many machines or the rad built-in clamp rack (yet!). I used a 2 HP system with 4" flex hose switched from machine to machine for a while until I knew where machines would land. I've since piped a SDD cyclone with 5"&4" HVAC and switched blast gates. The new set up works great, but if I decide to tweak the shop set up, it won't be trivial as it once was. The switched gates keep me from leaving more than one gate open, improving collection efficiency (and I can no longer lose the remote switch!).

I did end up using all the flex pipe for the connections, so nothing lost there. Thus, you might consider getting a short cyclone like the one recommended and just use a flex hose initially. Pipe, fittings and switches will likely be 30-50% the cost of the collector, or more, depending on how much and fancy.

If you don't have a need to collect every bit of dust (i.e., for health reasons), any solution will go a long way and you will hit diminishing returns quickly.

Best,
Chris

[Charlie Jones]

I fought with small dust collectors for several years . Then I installed a Clear Vue cyclone. It works and works well. The newer ones are even more powerful. I used 6” Sewer and Drain PVC ducting reduced to 4” on machines that won’t take a 6”. Put your cyclone outside in a seperate closet if you can. All I can hear from inside the shop is the rushing air. If you don’t blow outside you can use filters and a return to the shop. In a small shop the space saved is appreciated.

[Rush Paul]

I am a very pleased user of a Clear Vue Cyclones 5HP cyclone dust collector. I had a CV1800 model for several years in my home workshop and I've recently finished installing the CVMAX model in a shared community workshop where I now live. I join John K. Jordan and Charlie Jones in recommending the Clear Vue, for all the reasons John identifies. A complete installation in a shop your size is well within the budget you mentioned, depending on the amount of duct and fittings you need.

The most important thing you should get clear on in your mind is: are you focused on just collecting the chips so you don't have as much cleanup to do OR are you focused on eliminating the harmful fine microscopic dust that stays floating in the air and can damage your lungs over time. For me, the answer was fine dust collection. And that decision led conclusively to a decision to invest in the Clear Vue Cyclones for my single user shop and now for our multi-user shop.

If you haven't yet explored the information about dust collection at Bill Pentz's website, I encourage you to take a look at it.

[Michael Rutman]

First, thank you everyone for information.

Last year I looked at the Bill Penz stuff, the Oneida vs Clearvue heated discussions, and just threw up my hands.

The big issue is lungs. I can always sweep, which is what I’ve been doing. However, if I’m going to do get a DC I want a really good one. It sounds like it’s hard to go outright wrong with 5 HP no matter the brand.

My shop is crowded, so moving a DC between machines is not going to happen. I live in Florida, so putting a DC outside the shop is not a good idea unless I want a moldy rusted out DC. With all my other tools backordered 6 months I think I’ll be looking for what’s in stock.

As long as I’m throwing money into it, is there any next level up DC from the Oneida/Clearvue I should look into?

Thanks.

[Thomas Wilson]

In answer to the Oneida vs ClearVue question, the 5hp Smart Dust Gorilla is variable speed and generates more flow against resistance than a conventional single speed fan like the 5hp ClearVue. If you have tools with 4” ports that can’t be expanded by adding a port or increasing the diameter then the Oneida has a clear advantage. It will get 900-1000 cfm through a 4” port. ClearVue will not. Time will tell whether the variable frequency drive that achieves that flow advantage is reliable over the long haul. I am getting the Oneida. If you want to buy my 2 hp Portable Dust Gorilla from 2013, I will be listing it soon in the Sawmill Creek classifieds.

[Ole Anderson]

Doing it over, I would get the 3 hp Oneida V3000. https://www.oneida-air.com/dust-coll...ollector-v2019 . I bought the Super Dust Gorilla 2 hp 10 years ago and have been very happy, just wish I had bumped up one size to get a bit more suction. 26 Ga snap lock steel duct works fine and is economical and self grounds and is available in one inch increments. 7" is the sweet spot for your mains with a 3 hp DC. Ever seen a pro shop with PVC duct? Just to be sure you get a DC with at least 8" WC suction at 800 cfm.
https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....all&highlight=
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X8q...el=aandersonmi

[Luis G Rodriguez]

I read all the responses on this thread, there is a lot of good information and advice. But is interesting that no one mentioned the Oneida Supercell. It looks really interesting, it is a 5HP unit and according to the website it covers tool collection diameters from 1" to 5". That seems to cover the majority of handheld and stationary tools, like a 17" Grizzly Band saw, for example, have 4" OD collection ports. Another super interesting factor is that the Supercell seems to cover both, the high-volume-low-pressure and the High-pressure-low-volume Scenarios. I am really interested in everybody here's opinion on that equipment. Thanks in advance, Guys!

https://www.oneida-air.com/dust-coll...hops/supercell

[Jim Becker]

Supercell is a very nice product if you have a shop size and tool assortment that it is optimal for.

[Rush Paul]

However, if I’m going to do get a DC I want a really good one.

Michael, there are fans of both Oneida and Clear Vue. I value the Clear Vue design because of its tall cone that does a very effective job of separating the fine dust out of the air flow and dropping it into the collection barrel, not the filters. The filters on a Clear Vue cyclone will stay very clean and rarely need any attention provided you keep your dust barrel emptied when you should and you don't have any air leaks there. This additionally means that I'm not dependent on filters to pull the fine dust out of the air being returned into the shop. The cyclone has done that work before the air ever gets to the filters.

Until you go to multiple thousands of dollars for a full on commercial cyclone, there are no better alternatives to consider, imo. These are your best alternatives for the small woodworking shop.

[Scott Winners]

Hey Michael. You have a lot of great stuff to work with here in this thread. Like you, I am in the research phase. Unlike you, I am limited to a single breaker 120vac/ 20 amps to have running the DC separate from the breaker my jointer or planer will be running on.

I am still data mining here, reading _all_ the dust collector threads going back in time, I think I am back to page 12. It seems to me, so far, a +/- 3 horsepower system on a 220 vac circuit should be able to be fixed, with fixed drops at the tools you mentioned in post one, collect chips ahead of the fan in come kind of cyclone and filter the indoor exhaust so you aren't trying to air condition your back yard.

Bill Pentz' website is good. I disagree with him that venting outdoors is a good idea for even a casual user in a mild climate - but I have a bunch of hand tools that I don't want rusting from condensed humidity coming in on makeup air if I exhaust outdoors - and I am in a much less humid environment than you. I probaby have a thousand bucks tied up in chisels and I shudder to think how many hours I have spent restoring a pretty comprehensive set of Stanley Bailey handplanes.

At your budget, you are going to want some kind of particle separator between your wood working machines and the blades on the fan that runs your dust collector. At your budget you can skip right over DIY Thien baffles and go looking at cyclones. Taller is better. The taller your cyclone, the more and finer dust goes to your collection drum rather than to the exhaust filter. I got nothing on debating the various makes of cyclone. I built one for my shop vac out of two five gallon buckets with some plumbing fittings and I am a believer in cyclones to reduce filter cleaning, but I got jack doodle for band A vs brand X.

Collection drum. Are you thinking about a floor standing flat bed sander? I was in one shop, the guy in all fairness does a lot of flat work; but he had a 27 gallon drum under a cyclone taller than my wife. Because he does a lot of flat work and has a floor standing sander, the dust in his collection drum is heavy. Sanding dust packs tighter than planer chips. So even though he has room for a 55 gallon bbl under his cyclone, he is using 27 gallon bbls because those are heavy enough when he is running the sander a lot.

What are you going to use for your collection drum? What can you get cheaply and plentifully? 55 gallon drums are a global commodity. Up here in March they are 50-75 bucks each. In September they are free, take all you want. 27s are hard to come by, but available. You want something stiff enough to not collapse when you turn that bloody great fan on. If I need to, I will buy the 27s to fit a taller cyclone when I get to that bridge, but I don't know your ceiling height. Somebody here actually cut some drywall out of their shop ceiling so they could get the motor for their DC system up in between the floor joists of the floor above and fit a taller cyclone. Not a thing with portables, but possibly an option for you depending on what is upstairs from your shop. I am planning to get three identical drums when I pull the trigger, two outdoors with factory lids either empty or full, and one under the modified lid under the cyclone. Interchangeable.

I am not going to suggest a pipe size for you, though I suspect most folks at this size DC and shop will suggest 5 or 6 inch. You do want to keep your flex hose runs as short as possible. Two 45 degree elbows in your hard pipe is better than one 90 elbow, just like a wood stove chimney. Or an exhaust system on a hot rod.

I _think_ a 3hp system should be enough to keep a future radial arm saw of yours with significant dust hood from stinking up the joint when you run it indoors, and will easily support a floor level sweep chips into doohickey. Do not skimp on your blast gates. I am just running into those in my data mining and am not going to name any names. I have no idea what I will do for blast gates when I have a stationary 220vac DC system with drops, but I will spend what I have to spend to be happy with them. You might consider a dust sucking hood for sanding at your lathe, even if you sweep the lathe chips to the floor pickup with a broom.

Also, budget and space allowing, consider a DIY air filter, a cube of furnace filters with a fan inside. It looks to me so far, limited as I am to a single 110vac/ 20 amp circuit, I will probably have to wear a KN95 mask, run a chip collector while the jointer etc is operating, and then run a shop wide air purifier when I turn the DC off. 110/20 is 2.3-2.5 hp tops, but I really don't want to be blowing that breaker regularly, so functionally 2hp. With just one more HP (only 50% more power) I should be able to collect chips and filter effectively with indoor exhaust with one motor spinning.

Also consider an air quality meter, current thread about those. If you are dropping five grand, a couple hundred to prove the system acutally works is cheap.

If you are putting in a sub panel for your addition I don't see a compelling reason to put in a 220vac circuit for the DC that will support more than 5 horsepower.