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Central Machinery Dust Collector

I have had this one for about 6 years and no problems. Changed to fiber filter which helped a lot in keeping fines down. Have to be careful around the collector bag, they rip if hit with sharp metal. Otherwise good value.
David
 
I've had mine for over 10 years. I added the Wynn canister filter shortly after I got it.. Been a good unit for me. I do not have piping I have a flex hose I move from machine to machine. Not the most convenient, but for my little chop it is okay. I also added a remote on/off switch so I can operate it from across the room.
 
Yup have it and one of his brothers in red from the same factory. I put the Wynn filter on it as well as well as made a baffle mod, works well for a tool or two.
 
I've had mine for nearly 17 years, and it's still running strong. (The first 4 or 5 years of its life it was getting used almost daily.) Like many others, I replaced the filter bag with a Wynn filter (as I recall I went with the 0.5 micron version) and also added a Thien baffle similar to Darren's. My entire cost (buying the DC and separate filter) was less than buying a name brand unit. The On-Off switch on mine stopped working years ago, so it was replaced with some other switch I had in a spare parts box. I did have a remote for it, but the remote died so now I just flip the switch manually. And like Paul, I just have a single flex hose that I move from machine to machine. (Tablesaw, bandsaw, jointer, planer, and lathe.)

Here is a good place to find the filters as well as replacement clear plastic collection bags:

wynnenv.com

Woodworking Filters - Wynn Environmental

Replace your old filter bag with an industrial quality pleated canister filter!
wynnenv.com

On the subject of the plastic collection bags, years ago I needed to order some more, so I called Wynn Environmental. Rick Wynn himself answered the phone, and was a very congenial and helpful guy. Not sure if this is still the case, but he told me at the time that they hired special needs folks to handle the packaging and shipping of the collection bags.
 
I have the same unit.

I made a thein top hat, flipped the impeller so it's sitting on top of the top hat and that whole mess sits on top of a a 30g drum. I made a new base out of some angle iron (cough .. old bed frame) mods to support the drum and all, but it's the same footprint. Also using the wynn filter. I'm running 5" hose to basically all of the tools that can take a 5" hose (ended up with some mods to make that work.. or like the bandsaw I split it into two 4" collection points at the machine).

I'm going to throw in an "it depends" on "is it good enough". I have a pretty heavy 12" planer and it does leave some chips behind, it's marginal on my big tablesaw. It does work well enough to get the job done for most things and certainly a lot better than nothing. It's a bit of a pain with the drum sander, the thien is marginal for that imho (there's a tradeoff between the slot width and separation efficiency - narrower is more efficient but clogs worse .. I just incrementally widened it until the planer didn't clog the thing up).

Overall 7/10, does the job, reasonably priced, can use some help.
 
steve ramsey said:
Thanks everyone just what I needed. Looks like the filter is as much as the collector.
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The oem bag/filter works, at least for keeping the majority of chips cleaned up, especially when using it with your planer, jointer, and table saw. Can always use a shop vac with a good filter for the sanders and smaller tools. It may clog up a little faster though.

As mentioned, even with the cost of the HF Dc and the Wynn filter, entry cost is still below some of the name brands, but the Wynn also isn’t necessarily needed. I know there are folks that have their dc outside the shop, so the fines aren’t being blown around to breath in as much.

Not sure it was mentioned, but the use of the thin wall sewer and drain pipe for ducting over flexible pipe can gain you some distance from the tools to the Dc. Flexible hose will reduce the cfm the longer it is, as well as sharp turns, so try to do two 45 elbows about 6” apart to create a sweep elbow rather than a sharp 90.

From my experience using the HF ducted having waste gates at each connection, it can effectively work up to 30’ feet away from the furtherest tool.

A couple of examples of the ducting in my old shop…
https://familywoodworking.org/forums/index.php?threads/darrens-shop.19814/post-415944
https://familywoodworking.org/forums/index.php?threads/darrens-shop.19814/post-506466

I’ll be doing something similar, but may either disassemble the collectors to use with a super dust deputy or two, or maybe put them in my loft area to gain some horizontal length on my duct runs.
 
steve ramsey said:
Thanks everyone just what I needed. Looks like the filter is as much as the collector.
Click to expand...
Quite possibly. If you are returning the air into your working area the filter is just as important as the collector and so carries a similar price :D. Seriously though, good data here from folks that have used that unit. I can only express my usual opinion that collecting stuff is only part of the equation. Exhausting outside (ideal) or good filtering of return air (often overlooked) is your best bet for safety, health and convenience. If you've been around here a while you've heard me state that I am on medication for life due to not paying enough attention to fine dust in the shop 20-odd years ago. Don't let the price of good filtration put you off. It's not worth the cost.
 
Darren Wright said:
Not sure it was mentioned, but the use of the thin wall sewer and drain pipe for ducting over flexible pipe can gain you some distance from the tools to the Dc. Flexible hose will reduce the cfm the longer it is, as well as sharp turns, so try to do two 45 elbows about 6” apart to create a sweep elbow rather than a sharp 90.
Click to expand...

I used stove pipe with a curing mastic to seal it. Not necessarily cheaper but I got it for pennies at the old has-everything place that unfortunately closed down so it was a good deal at the time :) I also replaced the run from the impeller to the filter section with stove pipe (and given how I flipped the unit sideways and hung it in the air it is now a straight run!) which I think also helped - the flexible after the impeller counts just as much as the flexible before for cutting down airflow.

There are some donaldson filters that might be cheaper than the wynn as well, I have the Donaldson P181038 and P181099 Filters in my notes as potential options. Compare total surface area and filtration level. The surface area == airflow especially when a touch clogged and with this setup eeking out every bit of extra airflow is imho worth it. You could also potentially stack a couple of the cheaper filters. But yeah that part does add up (and if I was doing it again.. IDK.. I'd look harder at a true 2HP unit that came with cost wise... it's close..).

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