Thoughts on a dust collector?

[DIYGUY]

I am in the market for a dust collector and wonder if anyone could share their experience with me? Here is what I am considering - it needs to have a small footprint as my garshop is already space challenged. Ideally it would have some wheels under it so I could move it around. More CFM the better. Well, to me that all adds up to the Delta 50-760. It has a 1-micorn bag, 1200 CFM, twin-tailed takeups, the gotta haves and a reasonable price. It also gets some nice reviews on Amazingzon. But before I take the plunge, help me consider things I am not considering. Thanks much ..

[Bigdog72]

To make it simple, buy the most hp you can afford for the space you have available. You can always add wheels to it later.

[JimD]

I use a Delta AP-400. It is 1 hp and is under-rated by most reviewers but works fine for me except for my planner. I have it hooked through a series of hard lines made from 4 inch thin walled drain pipe and flexible pipe to my drill press, radial arm saw, compound miter saw, router table, table saw, and jointer planner. The only one where I wish for more CFM at times is the planner which is a INCA 8 5/8 inch wide manual feed model that is not sold any more. I suspect a 12 or 13 inch planner would be worse except perhaps the DeWalt model which has a fan to move chips. My little 1hp DC will keep up with my planner only if I am not using it's full width. If I am, I have to stop sometimes and clean up chips. The lines start to plug up. On the rest of my tools, the DC moves enough air to keep the tool petty well free of chips.

I have gates at each tool and I need to close them for the tools I am not using.

You will want 1 micron or finer bags or filters. Filters seem preferable but I just upgraded bags. The 30 micron bags mine came with were pretty useless. The DC filled the shop with fine dust when I used them.

Jim

[ScottM]

I have been looking and researching too. I am now thinking about a Delta 50-850 or 50-850A. Anyway I think you need to go at least 1.5hp or better. IMHO. I would also go with one that can be wired for 220V.

[tom hintz]

The Delta you menion is a good machine. However, both Jet and Powermatic have nice machines as well with some improved features that might be of interest to you. See the link below for the list of DC reviews I have for your reading.

http://www.newwoodworker.com/reviews/index.html#dc

[RandyJ]

I have the Jet DC1100C (Cannister) and have been more than pleased with its performance. Even when hooked up to a DW735 planer making thick cuts, it has never had a problem clearing the chips/dust.
Good luck in your decision!

[PeteQuad]

I bought the 2HP Grizzly, because it is similar sized to the other 1 1/2 HP models, it was the cheapest, and I needed something quick. It was only $10 more than their 1.5HP model ($260+shipping). It seems fine to me.

[JimmyC]

I have the Grizzly 2 hp also, and will do just about anything that you ask of it. Just realize that if you truly want good collection you should have a filter instead of a bag, and it may cost less in the long run to purchase a DC with a filter now as opposed to retrofitting a Wynn filter on at a later date.

Jimmy

[DavidF]

I have the small Jet 650 cfm and it's just fine. I use it with a 10' long flexible hose that I move between machines using the "fazeloc" system from Woodworkers supply. It wouldn't be big enough for a fully piped system, but it is small and neat, on wheels and reletively cheap. Also has a canister filter on the top and see though bag on the bottom - I like it. BTW, works just fine with 6" jointer and 13" DW planer.

[Ken Massingale]

I'm leaning toward the 50-760 for the new shop also. All the reviews I've found are excellent. I especially like that the hose connects directly to the impellor housing, without the hose.

[Alan in Little Washington]

Boy, it seems like I write one of these somewhere every few days. I need to write this up in a document so I can easily cut and paste it into a forum thread. (this was cobbled together from another of my posts on SMC)

You need to decide what your requirements are and will be, but bigger is ALWAYS BETTER. (bigger = larger hp motor and impeller diameter)

Size: How much chips and dust will you make that need to be collected? Will you ever have a dual drum or wide-belt sander? Are you limited by space, $, or both? Will you ever convert to a fixed, hard-piped system or forever just need a roll-a-round?

Performance: Are you concerned about (1) dust and chips on the floor, (2) health-hazardous fine wood particles in the air, or (3) both? Don't rely on an air cleaner, good ones will eventually clean the air fairly well, but not after you have sucked in many lungs full of hazardous dust. As much dust as possible, especially the bad stuff, needs to be collected at the source when created. Fine dust can hang in the air for a long time.

If you only need a roll-a-round and the answer is (1) above, just about any system will do, but even here, bigger is better. If the answer is (2) or (3) then there are other considerations.

Almost all bag filters don't hack it when it comes to (2) or (3). So, you need to discharge everything outside (best), use a cyclone separator that vents to the outside (better), or use a cyclone separator that vents through a good .5 micron cartridge filter or two (good). A cartridge filter on a non-cyclone dust collector is a big improvement over bags in (2) and (3) but has significant drawbacks similar to bags.

Bags, even after-market ones like those from American Fabric Filter, usually allow fine, hazardous, dust to escape. They are designed to cake up with dust and actually 'filter' better when caked- however, caking immediately starts to reduce CFM and overall effectiveness. Likewise, bag type DC's equipped with cartridge filters and enhanced with something like Phil Thien's baffle, still clog more easily and quickly (with the same impact on flow) than units with cyclone separators. That is why most come equipped with some sort of mechanical 'cartridge beater.' Dust and cleaning reduces the useful life of a cartridge filter, also.

By the way, too many people just focus on (1), generally disregarding (2).

Lets talk duct work: it is even important with a roll around!

a. 6" is better than 4" - 6" allows allot more flow (CFM), better to accomplish (2)- you need CFM not static pressure.
b. Use minimal or no bends.
c. Use minimal flex, hard to do with a roll-a-round.
d. Run 6" to the machine, enlarge the machine ports to match. The goal is max CFM to capture as much dust as possible at the source. The only reason ductwork is ever stepped down in size is to ensure there is enough velocity to keep chips and dust from settling out of the air stream in the ductwork. If you get a unit with a big enough motor/blower you do not need worry about this.

e. One more thing, don't worry about static hazards and grounding, it is an Urban Legend. Some report minor shocks, but no, none, nada, zip, static caused explosions or fires have ever been reported in a home shop. If you don't believe me, Google "Rod Cole static" and see what he has to say.

I could go on, but will stop here.

[DIYGUY]

Alan,
Thanks for the thoughtful and very thorough response. You have certainly given me things to consider - which is all I asked. Now the old line about be careful what you ask for comes to mind!

My needs are primarily on two fronts - whatever I buy must be small enough and convenient enough to use on an occasional basis, and it cannot break my budget. I like the Delta because in the pics on Amazingzon several people have hooked it up to a two-stage collector. Most of the dust in my shop arises from three sources - my tablesaw, my bandsaw and my jointer. I have a ceiling mounted dust filter that captures much of the fine stuff floating around in my garage. Most days when I work in it I open the back door and the overhead. With the help of a ceiling fan and a SW breeze most of the air is exchanged every few minutes or so. Even at that, I still get a fine patina on the other things in the shop. That is because I have nothing capturing the sawdust at the source.

That about sums up why I want to buy a DC. I hope to someday have a real shop and may at that point have to work through all the issues on a more robust dust collection system.

BTW - when I picked up some of your oak last fall I was truly impressed with the sophistication of your shop. You are truly blessed ...

[Alan in Little Washington]

Originally Posted by DIYGUY

Alan,
Thanks for the thoughtful and very thorough response. You have certainly given me things to consider - which is all I asked. Now the old line about be careful what you ask for comes to mind!

BTW - when I picked up some of your oak last fall I was truly impressed with the sophistication of your shop. You are truly blessed ...

You are welcome and thanks, Mark. I just wanted to highlight a few issues, but you will notice I did not make any recommendations as to system. Everyone has different situation, requirements, and means. Add to that, the wide variety of DC's out there and the often conflicting and suspect specs.