Laguna Dust Collectors, X Flux 5

[Bryan Hall]

Looking at putting an order in for the new X flux 5 dust collector. They don't release until April, so I've got time to confirm. It's definitely a new design but my big question is:

Does anyone have pros/cons to say about their existing Laguna dust collector? I've got some laguna items that I love, some that have struggled, but have never seen/used their dust collectors. Any thoughts/advice would be appreciated!

https://lagunatools.com/classic/dust...ctors/xflux-5/

[John Lanciani]

Seems like a lot of dough for a single stage dust collector.

[Bryan Hall]

Seems like a lot of dough for a single stage dust collector.

Decibel rating is more valuable to me than $$$

[Brian Tymchak]

At the furniture bank where I volunteer and build furniture, we have 2 of the C-Flux 3 cyclones which are relatively old designs. They are not supported by Laguna any longer. For the most part they have held up to light industrial level usage. The automatic filter cleaners have been a bit unreliable. The motors for the paddle cleaner seem solid but the connection of the paddle to motorshaft is weak, relying on an allen screw to lock them together. They've come apart several times. Also very difficult to get the back bolt on the canister filter threaded and tightened as the housing is close by. None of these problems though may be relevant to new design.

[james manutes]

Seems like a lot of dough for a single stage dust collector.

I aree . What are the reasons to consider this design at $4500 ?

[Justin Rapp]

I like the padding to help with the noise, but it's single stage from what I can tell. I have a cflux-3 and besides one issue that was corrected under warranty, it works as expected.

[Bryan Hall]

Hmm, for me noise is a big deal. I've never had a 2 stage that I really liked, so perhaps I don't know what I'm missing?

[Thomas Wilson]

There are lots of 2 stage 5hp dust collectors in that price range. I have the 5hp Oneida Smart Dust Gorilla Pro which lists for $4500. It has variable speed drive which boosts speed and pressure for low flow which makes a big difference for tools with 4” ports. It is not a class leader in decibels but it is pretty good. Putting the dc in a closet with a baffled return air is a solution for any dc’s noise level. I am very happy with the cyclone separator’s ability to remove dust and keep the filter clean. I would look for some independent comparison testing of Laguna’s filter cleaner against a cyclone before committing that much money.

[Andrew More]

I'm not impressed with the 70 db rating, since it's at 10'. If noise is an issue for a DC, then a sound proof closet or putting it outside/in a shed is often the best solution. 70 db is still loud enough to be annoying, and potentially cause problems, and 10' is a LOT of space in a shop.

[Dave Sabo]

This is just another LT tool fueled more by marketing wank than real engineering in my opinion.

It’s basically one of their short cyclones set in a hush cabinet. You can build your own hush cabinet pretty easily. What you can’t do is make up for the inefficiency of the short cone design - which clogs the canister filter faster than a traditional length one.

I’d also have pause that Laguna doesn’t support their older cyclones anymore - they aren’t that old. This coming from a co. that already has ify cust. svc. Bear in mind those early cyclones had a design flaw that made separation even worse and caught LT with their pants down and necessitated a dingus be added to the bottom of the cone just to make the things reasonably useable. This doesn’t inspire confidence in their engineering department.

You should also question their sound ratings too especially when comparing to others. There is no std. for this measure and you can be sure LT is not erring on the conservative side or using the most stringent criteria. Sure it’ll be quieter than a cyclone that doesn’t have its motor and exhaust shrouded , but prob. not as quiet as they claim. Plus , as I said above , you can achieve similar or better results with any cyclone by putting it in a cabinet yourself.

I’d get the Harvey horiz. cyclone before I shelled out for a Laguna one.

[Bryan Hall]

Good points! I have a hard time buying into Harvey with the price plus CFM ratings. I do like how quiet the Harvey is, but I'm not convinced the Harvey has the power to run multiple machines at once.

[Aaron Inami]

The Harvey G-700 and G-800 will be able to run two 4" hoses at the same time (or one 6"). Whether this is actually two machines is dependent on what kind of machines. It's enough to run one table saw (one hose for cabinet and second hose for over-arm dust collection).

So, the Harvey G-700 "may" be able to run two small machines if they are not demanding and only use 4" ports. Something like a edge sander may need a full 6" hose. If you want more machines or have more demanding machines, you need a bigger 5HP dust collector like the LT X:FLUX or even a 5HP Clearvue/Oneida cyclone.

[Bryan Hall]

The Harvey G-700 and G-800 will be able to run two 4" hoses at the same time (or one 6"). Whether this is actually two machines is dependent on what kind of machines. It's enough to run one table saw (one hose for cabinet and second hose for over-arm dust collection).

So, the Harvey G-700 "may" be able to run two small machines if they are not demanding and only use 4" ports. Something like a edge sander may need a full 6" hose. If you want more machines or have more demanding machines, you need a bigger 5HP dust collector like the LT X:FLUX or even a 5HP Clearvue/Oneida cyclone.

I wish there was a good way to learn about dust collection. TBH, looking at the stats, there's just no comparison of the Laguna vs the Harvey. Maybe someone can help educate me because it's something I can honestly say I feel foolish around in my understanding.

Price:
Laguna $4500
Harvey $3,000 $7,000 $10,000

Horsepower
Laguna 5hp
Harvey 2hp 3hp 4hp

Airflow
Laguna 3093cfm at inlet 1823 cfm with hoses connected.
Harvey 1110/700cfm 1175/800cfm 1400/1100cfm

Impeller
Laguna 14.5"
Harvey 12" 12.5" 14"

Filter efficiency
Laguna .3-.4 micron at 99.7%
Harvey .3-.5 micron at 99.35%

Bin Size
Laguna 39 gallons
Harvey 32/37/40 gallons

Decibels
Laguna 69dBA @ 9.8'
Harvey 61-72 dBA

So, maybe someone can educate me on what I'm missing here? I'd really like to learn this so I can look at specs and have a better understanding. Comparing the Laguna vs all three Harvey options though, it seems like a no brainer but I'm assuming I'm missing something here?

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I bought the Harvey G700, but it is still on the pallet, so no actual use to report on yet. I chose it during their sale and it was equal to similarly priced collectors. The compact size and the low noise we’re selling points for me. I didn’t need huge CFM’s because it’s going right next to the three machines it will be dedicated to, so not much loss through ductwork.

What I can tell you is that I looked very closely at the Lagunas before pulling the trigger on the Harvey. The Harvey is built like a fine scientific instrument that looks like it belongs in a laboratory. The Laguna was nice, but nowhere near the quality of build.

[Aaron Inami]

Basically, the impeller size really determines the capability of a dust collector. That being said, larger impellers generally require higher power motors to drive them (and more current being used). The Laguna is superior here because of the largest impeller size (14.5"). Also, larger diameter impellers will generally also be taller as well (more actual impeller fin surface area). That is why the 14.5" Laguna will have 64% more CFM than the 12" Harvey. The Laguna impeller is probably something like 14.5" diameter x 5" high where the Harvey could be 12" diameter x 4" high.

The Harvey G-700 and G-800 are unique designs and have nice technology. But you are paying for that technology as well as the design (wheels = movable around the shop). The G-800 will not perform that much better than the G-700, but it has a lot of additional technology features (smart filter pulse cleaner, filter monitor, flow control, delayed stop). If the size and functionality of the Harvey is what you want, then great. The Laguna is a different design for sure, but requires a lot of height space (almost 8 feet). The Laguna does take up a little less floor space when compared to Harvey. The Harvey height is about the same height as a tablesaw.

The Laguna design is not a new concept (but it's new for Laguna). This is very similar to how the Felder dust collectors work (RL series), but the Felder are much more expensive per size of machine. The filter in the Laguna will get dirty faster, but it does have an automatic filter cleaner. The Harvey, on the other hand, will try to capture as much dust particles as possible and dump them into the bins before the air gets to the filter. That being said, using the Harvey with some tools is like a balancing act. If you turn up the suction too much on something like a sander, you'll end up filling the filters with dust and clogging them (which you will need to remove and clean out). Also, the Harvey is not good for large pieces of wood debris since all wood particles/dust are sucked through the impeller first. As Jim Becker will also confirm, you can get wood debris hitting the gate grill at the machine if the pieces are too large. You won't have this problem on the Laguna.