Should I move my Oneida dust collector outside my shop, or replacing with a Harvey?

[Justin Pfenning]

I’m building out a heated workshop inside my pole barn. I currently have my wood shop set up in the corner of this pole building, and move a single dust collection hose around to my machines as I use them. In this new dedicated space, I plan to have a hard plumbed system with blast gates at each machine for more convince, and less hoses and cords on the floor. My current dust collector is an older Oneida model similar to this :

https://www.oneida-air.com/dust-coll...ollector-v2019

It works really good, my only complaint is the noise. With my building in a building project, I thought it would be a good idea to move the collector itself outside the shop, and only have the duct work, and return air filter inside the shop. Would this reduce the noise level significantly?

My other idea is to replace the Oneida with a Harvey like this:

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

and keep the Harvey inside the shop.

The big advantage to the Harvey besides the reduced noise level, is the full bin alert. It seems like I consistently get busy and forget to check the bin, only top find it backed up into the cyclone.

Please share your experiences. Thank you.

[Patrick Varley]

Can't speak to the larger issue with direct experience, but you can address the bin issue with a modest upgrade to what you have.
https://www.oneida-air.com/dust-coll...e-bin-level-in


Also, if you move it outside, you may have the option of using a larger bin anyway. Just going on gut, I'd be hard-pressed to spend money to upgrade something that's working well with a new unit if there are straightforward ways to make what you have work for you. Especially since you'll have the option of incorporating it into a building plan. Different story if it was going to be a pain to move it outside in an existing building.

I think the main thing is going to be planning out your duct runs and doing the appropriate calculations to make sure it's going to work out as expected. You may need to upgrade the DC, but the considerations may be more related to what you need for the planned duct runs and not the noise issue.

[Bob Falk]

I have the Harvey and while the bin alert is nice, the actual capacity of the bins is about 21 gal, so if you are doing a lot of planing, it fills fast. That said, it is easy to empty. If the bins were not separate and the bin itself accommodated a larger single bag, the capacity might be closer to the 35gal claimed and emptying would be less frequent.

[Thomas Crawford]

Does the Harvey sit on the ground? I'm not visualizing how it fits into a fixed installation like an Oneida mounted on a wall.

[Aaron Inami]

Moving the dust collector cyclone/drum unit will remove a lot of the midrange and high frequency noise generated by motor noise and also all the air turbulence and air speed through the input/output of the cyclone. It will definitely help, especially if you mount a duct silence on the output of the Oneida - such as the Fantech LD8. Then run 8" duct back inside to your return filter. At this point, you will still have low frequency rumble from the return filter itself, but it is not as bad for your ears.

The Harvey G700 will not move as much CFM as your Oneida. The Harvey is a nice unit, but very different. It may or may not match your scenario requirements.

[Jonathan Jung]

I'd contact Oneida and ask them. They are very helpful and will know exactly what you're trying to do. From what I know, a chunk of the noise generated is from the filters.

[Justin Pfenning]

Can't speak to the larger issue with direct experience, but you can address the bin issue with a modest upgrade to what you have.
https://www.oneida-air.com/dust-coll...e-bin-level-in


Also, if you move it outside, you may have the option of using a larger bin anyway. Just going on gut, I'd be hard-pressed to spend money to upgrade something that's working well with a new unit if there are straightforward ways to make what you have work for you. Especially since you'll have the option of incorporating it into a building plan. Different story if it was going to be a pain to move it outside in an existing building.

I think the main thing is going to be planning out your duct runs and doing the appropriate calculations to make sure it's going to work out as expected. You may need to upgrade the DC, but the considerations may be more related to what you need for the planned duct runs and not the noise issue.

I’ve read mixed reviews on the bin status indicator. I’d like to add something to my bin lid to allow a quick check on the level. I’ve considered going to the 55 gallon size bin, I currently have 35 gallon. That likely won’t solve my issue though. I’ll just have a larger overfilled bin.

I’d rather spend money on duct work and use the same collector if I can get the noise under control.

I have the Harvey and while the bin alert is nice, the actual capacity of the bins is about 21 gal, so if you are doing a lot of planing, it fills fast. That said, it is easy to empty. If the bins were not separate and the bin itself accommodated a larger single bag, the capacity might be closer to the 35gal claimed and emptying would be less frequent.

The small bin is a concern. I’m not crazy about the duct inlet position either.

Moving the dust collector cyclone/drum unit will remove a lot of the midrange and high frequency noise generated by motor noise and also all the air turbulence and air speed through the input/output of the cyclone. It will definitely help, especially if you mount a duct silence on the output of the Oneida - such as the Fantech LD8. Then run 8" duct back inside to your return filter. At this point, you will still have low frequency rumble from the return filter itself, but it is not as bad for your ears.

The Harvey G700 will not move as much CFM as your Oneida. The Harvey is a nice unit, but very different. It may or may not match your scenario requirements.

That silencer is a great idea! I’m going to look into that. Thank you!!!

[Steve Mathews]

I have a very similar Oneida DC and located it outside my shop without returning the exhaust air inside. I also don't use the filters that came with the system. Spiral duct was run to most of the machines. The noise inside the shop is mostly limited to what occurs at each machine. The DC is wired for remote start or automatically when the table saw is turned on. This was one of the best investments I made in the shop, far more convenient than dragging hoses around.

[Kevin Jenness]

I have my cyclone outdoors. It's definitely not as loud and removing the 30 gallon bin liner doesn't affect the indoor dust level. I have developed a feel for how much I can plane before emptying the chips. I have a 3' drop from the cyclone with a clear flex hose section so I can look out the door to see if the flex hose is filled and the pipe above it gives some margin in case of overfill. I do return air to the shop. I have a bank of tube filters instead of a cartridge - far easier to deal with if I ever do get any blowby.

[Brian Runau]

I assume you don't have neighbors that could hear it. Brian

[Jim Becker]

If the Oneida performs well, just build a closet for it that is reasonably sound insulated that vents back to the shop space via an indirect path. We've often talked about that here at SMC over the years and the Oneida system I had at my old shop was setup that way. The sound level in the shop was pretty reasonable.

Will say that for my new shop (also in a post frame structure) I did opt for the Harvey but I'm being very careful about my shop arrangement and duct design as the system is not really designed (G700) for large spaces. I sold my Oneida system when we moved because I had no place to store it for a year and a half and originally intended to get another one before I got a "smokin' hot" deal on the Harvey.

[Steve Mathews]

I assume you don't have neighbors that could hear it. Brian

Good point Brian! I failed to mention in my case the closest neighbor is at least 100 yds. away.

[Thomas Wilson]

I would put the dust collector outside the shop in the main building. You could even build a closet around it to keep that part of the building quieter. If you put the filter outside in a closet with the dust collector, it will greatly muffle the sound. You will need to route the return air through a duct with baffles.

I located my Oneida dust collector in a closet in the basement below the shop floor. I extended the length of the wires to the switch and bin sensor to the shop level. Sound reduction is great. The bin sensor and switch are centrally located in the main tool cluster in the shop which is really convenient. I have found the adjustment of the bin sensor is sensitive and not yet confidence inspiring. I need a few more fills to trust it. The alarm light flickers before the bin is full. I am learning how much flicker means the bin is full. I think the problem in my case is swirling dust in the bin sets off the sensor.

[Dave Sabo]

If you move it outside , what’s your plan for making up the conditioned air that’s gonna get sucked out of your shop in short order ?

NE has some pretty hot and cold temps so you also need to consider the $$$ your going to spend on heating and cooling and re-heating and cooling all that exhausted air.

Do as Jim suggests and build a silencing closet if the noise is what’s really bothering you.

[Tom Jenson]

My woodshop is in an old dairy barn so I installed my collector upstairs and the return air is feed back into the shop via an insulated closet. It dropped the sound enough that you really only hear the air coming through the blast gates. I took Jim’s advice about making sure to change direction a couple times between the filter and the shop.