I have been considering upgrading my 1.5 HP Delta 50-760 DC. This would entail the standard mods: Adding an Oneida super dust deputy, and a Wyn cannister filter.
The Delta is arguably the best 1.5 HP, non-cyclone dust collector made, and the conversion isn't very difficult.
HOWEVER, when done, I'd still have "only" a 1.5 HP DC. My recent aquisition of a Powermatic PM 100 planer, plus the fact that I now use a Eurekazone EZ-One table instead of my old Unisaw, has me thinking I'd be better served with more HP and a larger impellor.
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I can't afford a new 2-3 HP cyclone, so I'm thinking of ways to roll my own, and one thought is to start with an old "compact" DC with a good motor and impellor. Since I would be purchasing the cyclone part and the filter anyway, why not go this route, and get slightly larger cyclone and filter to match the extra CFM? The difference in cost would be minimal.
I'm wondering if anyone has used an old Delta 50-181 or 50-182?
There is a 182 for sale 3 miles from my house. It has a 3 HP, 3PH motor, 6" ports, and a large impellor, plus a 55 gallon steel cannister on wheels. Although the 3ph motor is problematic, and the stock filter is almost worthless, this seems like a decent starting point for a good system. - But I have no idea how efficient this design is.
The Delta manual claims 1300 CFM at 10" SP, which sounds pretty good to me.
The 50-181 is spec'ed at 1100 CFM @ 8.5" SP, which is still pretty decent, and that comes with a 1-phase motor.
As a comparison, my current Delta has been shown to give 930 CFM at 3.5" SP, and the Wynn filter would improved that a little bit, but that's not even close to the Delta.
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So whaddaya' think?
Also, are there any other vintage, compact DC's that might make good candidates for such a conversion?