HF 2HP DC question

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Matt Schnurbusch

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Matt
I recently posted about the Wood magazine coupon for the subject DC at Harbor freight. I bought one, and have it assembled. Does this DC have enough umph to run it up to the ceiling (8' height) for vertical drops to my machines? I am running 4" PVC S&D to everything.

I have a Thien separator, 55 gallon drum version, and off from it I plan to run to all of my machines with blast gates. I am going to split right off the drum and take one line to the TS/RT. The other line will go to the planer, jointer and bandsaw. I can "conveniently" run to the TS across the floor, but a floor run to the other machines would be inconvenient.

Also how can I hook up the 5" port on the DC to the 4" port on the separator? I think if I cut the little cross out of the connector a four inch piece could be inserted. I know others here have the same DC so I thought I'd ask how you did it.

Another question is, can I use solid aluminum wire to ground the DC lines. I have a spool of horse fence wire so I wouldn't have to buy copper.

I'm sure I have other questions on this setup, but none occur to me at the moment and I have to get to work.
 

ptt49er

Phillip
Corporate Member
Here's MTCW...

I'd leave that DC hooked up as close to the tool as possible. Rolling it around the shop as I went. You're going to have a lot of losses running fixed ducting and I don't think it has the suction to stay as efficient at collecting chips and you'd like.

Grounding DC's is an urban legend ;-) No worries there (just as Alan in Little Washington :-D)
 

NCPete

New User
Pete Davio
I reduced the outfeed on my planer to accommodate the collection hose with an S&D reducery/rubbery thingy. good technical term there, which might not help you find it, but I found mine at Lowe's.
 
M

McRabbet

A planer and jointer are the tools that really need the separator -- one option is to put blast gates at the wye at the DC inlet and run a separate duct line for the other tools and you will get better performance. There are significant CFM losses through the separator and this unit doesn't pack enough punch to pull air through it and still have enough CFM to pick up the fine sawdust from other sources. If it were all I had, I'd run 6" from the inlet and place the separator on a branch with the planer and jointer. I'd use no 90 degree bends or tees and would minimize any flex. In all honesty, you need 800 CFM to pick up fine dust and I doubt the HF can attain that.
 

Bas

Recovering tool addict
Bas
Corporate Member
I used a 5" to 4" reducer (look in the HVAC section at Home Depot). A clamp around the reducer, some foil tape, and you're in business.

As for the machine having enough oomph to run that much pipe - borderline. My previous shop was small, rolling the DC around wasn't an option. I used 4" PVC pipe to each machine, with blast gates. It got most of the chips and coarser sawdust, but compared to hooking the machine directly to the DC, there was a noticeable drop in performance. In retrospect, a better solution would have been to run pipe to both sides of the shop, but not have individual drops. Just something to cover the bulk of the distance, then use one flex hose to connect to the various machines. Not as user friendly as dedicated drops, but you get better dust collection.
As Rob said - don't even think about the fine dust. This is a "chip" collector. Nothing wrong with that.
 

Ken Massingale

New User
Ken
When I had that DC I ran 4" PVC ~30' down the ceiling and dropped down to the Rikon bandsaw. It did o.k., not fantastic, but it did get the job done. I wasn't using a separator then and had 3 micron bags on the HF DC.
The first thing I'll suggest is to replace the hose from the impeller with stovepipe and seal it good.
 

Matt Schnurbusch

New User
Matt
I'm confused... I've been reading for years about how this is the best "bang for your buck" DC out there.

I don't expect cyclone performance, but if I upgrade to the Wynn paper cartridge, and run 6" pipe, can I expect better than my dual Delta AP400's?

My previous setup was AP400 through Thien seperator, then a 10' flex line that I would hook up to the planer, jointer, or bandsaw (all 4" lines). The other unit was dedicated to the TS, no seperator. Just a short run of 4" flex into a 6" metal duct straight to the saw.
 

Ken Massingale

New User
Ken
I'm confused... I've been reading for years about how this is the best "bang for your buck" DC out there.

I don't expect cyclone performance, but if I upgrade to the Wynn paper cartridge, and run 6" pipe, can I expect better than my dual Delta AP400's?

My previous setup was AP400 through Thien seperator, then a 10' flex line that I would hook up to the planer, jointer, or bandsaw (all 4" lines). The other unit was dedicated to the TS, no seperator. Just a short run of 4" flex into a 6" metal duct straight to the saw.
It is probably the best bang for the buck Matt.
But at just over a hundred bucks, you ain't buying many bangs. I'm not trying to be funny, it is worth the price when on sale and with 20% off that, it's not a workhorse. HF's CFM claim is like Sears horsepower ratings for router motors.
 

Matt Schnurbusch

New User
Matt
Ken,
You must have been posting at the same time as me.

I'm trying to come up with a way to support the blower/motor, and make a direct connection thus eliminating that section of pipe all together.
 
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