Dust Collector Question

[Tim Fradette]

Sorry if this was posted but could not find the answer after searching. I am a hobbyist who is starting to think about dust collection beyond using my shop vac. I will be purchasing hopefully the one and only dust collector I will need. I have been trying to educate myself but have been getting hung up on one point where I am finding contradictory opinions. I have a small basement shop (20 x 20) with a TS, Jointer, Planer, & BS. I never run more than one machine at a time. Assuming price or power availability is not an problem is there much difference between a say a 2hp cyclone (Grizzly or Oneida) vs. a 2hp single stage collector set up with a canister and a thien baffle? I am planning to run metal HVAC with small sections of flex hose to all my machines. Thanks in advance for your Reponses.

[Dave Gaul]

Hi Tim! You say to assume price nor power is not a problem, but then talk about 2hp units. If not worried about price or power, than we should be talking about more than 2hp units.
There are many things to consider, I too have been researching my brains out on the topic, and my shop is only 8' X 24' (Pre-existing barn style shed converted by me into a shop!). You speak of the Thien baffle, so sounds like you've found some good resources. Have you been to Bill Pentz's site? TONS of info there!
Personally, if I wasn't worried about $$ and power, I'd go for the clearvue cyclone and vent the system outside if possible. Big thing I'd say for you to consider, is with a basement shop, you gotta keep the fine stuff out of your home!
From what I've learned so far, if you need to budget, get the biggest blower you can handle, if you can vent outside a bag collector w/Thien baffle works great, if you can't vent outside, a cyclone with good filters is best. If money is no object and you have plenty of space on your electric service, a clearvue cyclone is top-notch. Many will advocate Oneida and are happy with that brand too, but personally I like all that I've read about clearvue.

[Rod Sheridan]

Tim, the process starts with listing all your present and future machines, as well as their airflow requirements.

Once you have that list, you can draw up your shop and do your duct loss calculations.

Then you can select a unit based upon the fan curves. Motor HP is not a valid sizing criteria.

I've installed two Oneida cyclones in basement shops, and the results have been excellent.

Regards, Rod.