Dust collection?

allen levine

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new york city burbs
I have a few questions about a purchase I'm in desperate need of.
I work in an open garage, so its not about air filtration or anything like that.
Its just about the amount of sawdust and chips that are into everything, and the massive amount of time I have to spend blowing out and cleaning up everything constantly.

What I need" 120v machine, no more than 15-18 amp max draw.
One port is fine, but Id prefer 2 so I can hook it up either to jointer and planer in prepping wood, or tablesaw and mitre when working with it.
It has to be on wheels, and its base cant be much more than 2 feet wide in either direction. Height is not big factor, but cant be any higher than 6 feet..
If one of those little 1 hp floor units I see for 150 bucks is sufficient, even though they are one port, Id consider it.
Im guessing the 1 or 5 micron filtration is the particle size, not as important to me since I just want something to keep the waste under control.
Id like to keep the purchase under 250, and Id like to have a unit that has plastic bags that hold the dust so its easy to empty.


there are tons of them on the market, Im ready to buy. I know there are alot of non pro types here that work out of their garages, and I was wondering what units you use and if you're happy with them so I can make a purchase based on opinion and performance.
 
Hi Allen

My strict advice on this subject is before you spend a penny and are buying again at a later stage having wasted your money, read the Bill Pentz website re Dust Collection etc. This is one of the best most highly recommended sources of knowledge on the subject. My Dust collector is my most expensive tool and the biggest single investment I have made in my shop. You have experienced the cold. Next you will heat your shop. Then you will find that in order to save the heat you dont want to have the doors open to get rid of the dust. One thing leads to the other. At the end of the day, its all about your health. I have been enjoying tracking your posts. You have the bug now just like the rest of us and currently I see you and Stu in Japan competeing for the prize of top tool buyers for 2008:rofl::rofl: But when it comes to dust collection it is about dust and the biggest stuff. To save your health and be able to do this hobby in the longer run, you need to deal with the small stuff that will affect you slowly just like smoking. Read Bills site and see what it did to him. Then decide again how you wish to deal with the dust. Bill has low cost solutions so its not neccessarily about money. I just bought mine out of incompetence and impatience. Stu has a story on his site of how he built his and there are many more.

http://billpentz.com/woodworking/Cyclone/index.cfm

By the way I dont mean to sound like a lecturer just a very serious subject that I think gets treated too lightly by the machine manufacturers and there are many "dust collectors" out there that should not be on the market IMHO.:eek:

Bets of luck on this adventure, I am glad my days of choosing one are over now I just have to get the install completed.:)
 
can anyone tell me if the one horsepower floor units with one 4 inch port will be sufficient to suck the wood chips out of the planer/and or jointer?

I ran a Delta AP400, 1HP bag unit for 3 years. I gained quite a bit of performance when I upgraded to an American Fabric Filter bag (about $100). I have just finished re-tasking the unit for my jointer and planer only.

Before: The unit was OK for the jointer but was always lacking for the planer. This was with the hose wye'd with blast gates to various machines. Only one gate open at a time but about 20 feet of hose.

After: I now have one shorter hose with a quick coupler that I will move from the jointer to the planer as required. I just finished this setup last night but I will test it for you tonight and let you know how it works.

I am hoping it will work better hooked directly to the planer. I always got chips blowing back out of the machine on thinner cuts. My dad's 2HP unit doesn't let a thing escape from his planer and that is what I am striving for.
 
can anyone tell me if the one horsepower floor units with one 4 inch port will be sufficient to suck the wood chips out of the planer/and or jointer?

Allen,
I suspect so, but I don't know so -- I've got a 2HP single-bag tai/chi import DC, and with an upgraded top bag (plastic bottom bag) it works great in my basement shop.

However, I dug through some old posts and I see you bought a DW735 planer. That thing has a built-in blower, you could just hook it up a trash can with the DW7353 dust shroud ($50 new, but easily available used, I bet) and that would take care of the biggest mess maker in your shop.

(aside: I mostly agree with Rob, but you did say you were concerned with chips/mess and not fine dust. So I'm taking you at your word.)

In that case, all you'd need would be to concerned with now would be the jointer/TS/CMS, which do not make anywhere near the mess. And a small DC as you mentioned would most certainly work okay.
 
thanx,

art-I hooked up a drain extension hose to my shop vac to a piece of pvc elbow into a sealed tight garbage pail, and it works fine. but the jointer duct gets clogged and the chips start blowing back into my face.

btw, I know Rons advice is the best Ill get here or anywhere regarding dust control.

Im looking for just a backsaver at this point, health concerns are always an issue, and noone appreciates the sincerity of Rons post more than I do.(I just need to take the time and build and design an adequate system, and figure out where I can fit it all)
 
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Allen, I think the HF 2 hp unit is still on sale for $179 and comes as a roll around unit. It will do what you are wanting to do now, and can be modified fairly inexpensively later, (like Vaughn & others have done) to get you even further along until you want to get really into the Dust Collection thing. I don't remember though whether you have 220 V available in your shop or not, but IIRC, it only comes with a 220 V motor.
 
its 120 only, the poor electrician was there this afternoon and just left a few minutes ago, got too dark to work, I guess he never heard of flashllights:D

I was hoping to find one in the 120 v power, I will have a dedicated line of 20 amps ready Im hoping by next week.
 
Re-tasked 1HP DC vs. Planer

Well, I got home and wanted to test this out for the both of us. Here's the floor before the test:

1HP-DC-vs-Planer-001.jpg

Here's the Delta AP400 with the AFF filter bag; the lower bag has a plastic liner that is solid:

1HP-DC-vs-Planer-002.jpg

Here's after five 1/16" passes on a 4"x24" piece of pine viewed from the outfeed (really, it is a different picture):

1HP-DC-vs-Planer-003.jpg

Here's after from the infeed:

1HP-DC-vs-Planer-004.jpg

I don't have pics of the way this thing used to leave chips everywhere but, it is much better on the single shorter hose. HTH, I'm sure pleased.
 
I got a used Jet 1 hp model (dc650) and upgraded the stock 30 micron bag with a 1 micron cartridge filter / plastic bag setup from Wynn Environmental (the best cheapest filter i found for the money). Between the used unit and the cartridge upgrade, i'm definitely within your budget. It's a single port machine on wheels - i connect it to whatever i'm using at the time with a 4" quick disconnect hose. It keeps up with my 10" jointer, disc sander, my table saw, and my planer just fine. Nothing in my shop makes more mess than the planer - it keeps up just fine with it. I only use one machine at a time, and switching the connection over takes all of 12 seconds. It's really not an inconvenience, and certainly not worth the more expensive and elaborate systems for my use.

My shop is in the basement of my home, so dust migration is an issue. Well, it used to be an issue until i put the cartridge filter on the dc. It really was a drag having to constantly clean everything - especially since my shop shares the basement with the laundry area. Few things enrage an industrious spouse more than covering a clean load of laundry on the drying rack with a fine layer of sawdust. Now, everything seems to be working fine. I'm sure my lungs are happier too.

The cartridge filter is great, but the only reason i went that route at the time is that the 1 micron bags were not readilly available and had to be custom made (read "expensive"). The cartridge was basically the same money as the bags i could find, so i went with the cartridge. If i were upgrading today, i'd really consider the fine micron bags because of the competitive cost / performance. The cartridge will still give you better air flow (CFM's), but the bag may work just fine for your needs.

It's a pretty simple system - certainly not the cadillac cyclone configuration, but it does work quite well. If i were ducting everything to a stationary unit and losing CFM to long duct runs, i'd probably need a more powerful elaborate system, but for the simple low tech approach, the little 1hp machine with a good filter and short "duct" runs works great.

There are several good options for you, but i think you'll be fine with your simple, relatively inexpensive approach. I've heard really good things about the Harbor Freight dust collector with the cartridge upgrade. Most people categorically disregard Harbor Freight merchandise, but their DC seems to get good praise - just a budget conscious thought.

The DC is not really an exciting purchase, but it's really one of the most used and unsung tools in my shop. It definitely improves the work environment and saves a lot of time with cleanup.

good luck with your hunt.

Paul Hubbman
 
the delta 50-760 is a 120 v unit, as long as it doesnt draw the max 20 amp, I think this is the unit Im going to get.
It has 2 ports, which work out great since I usually work with mitre/tablesaw, or on other end with jointer/planer, and the machines are within 6 feet of each other on both ends, so shorter hoses.
 
Allen, the Harbor freight "2 HP" unit runs on 110v. As Norman mentioned, I have one, and I added the 0.5 micron filter from Wynn Environmental. For a little over $250, I ended up with a dual-port machine that does what it sounds like you're looking for. It's not the be-all, end-all dust collection system that others have and promote, but it does a good job of keeping the chips collected, and it doesn't pump out fine dust like a unit with a 2, 5, or 30 micron bag does.

Plus, if you paint it purple, all the chicks will dig you. :D
 
And at one time, Steel City had a heck of a DC sale going on. Might check with Nancy Laird with a PM and see what they have at SC and if there are going to be any sales in the near future.
 
the equipment has arrived, hope to get it up and running this coming week, unfortunately, with snow coming, then temps diving down next week, Im pretty certain the electrician wont be hooking up my new line anytime soon.

got a remote starter, figuring Id leave the dust collector right outside so the noise is tolerable.
 

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