Looking for an interim solution; dust collector questions

[Thomas Williams]

Presently my shop is in a room off of the back of the house. The plan is to move the shop to the garage, which will give me more space and taller ceilings. When I make the move to the garage, I will be going to a cyclone collector. However, for now I am stuck with 120 volts, so an upgrade to a cyclone is not presently an option.
I currently use a Jet DC 650 with 1 micron bag, connect to one machine at a time and avoid any runs over 10 feet.
I was planning on adding a pleated filter from Wynn and maybe Thien separator to the system.
I was in HF yesterday and with a coupon I can get the HF 2 hp unit for about $150, but I would still have to buy a better filter from Wynn.
My question then, is would I be better off saving the $150 and continue using the Jet? Will I gain that much more from the HF unit? If the HF unit were to last, could it be used with a home made cyclone?
I know it is only $150, but my list of wants is endless and I could move down list if I pass on the HF collector.

[Ward Probst]

I'd stay with the Jet until you can make a bigger jump.
JMO,
WP

[glenn bradley]

I agree with Ward and speak from experience. I milked some extra life out of my small DC by adding a HUGE upper bag fro American Fabric Filter (about $100) and making the bottom bag solid. My supposedly 650 CFM machine suddenly acted like one.

The small DC now worked so well that once my cyclone went in I saved a bunch of ducting and effort by dedicating the small DC to the jointer and planer. The cyclone takes care of everything else (except a couple shop vacs for their specific duties).