Newbie dust collection question

[John Talley]

By adding a dust collector like the harbor freight 2hp. How much will it cut down on the dust gathering on everything in my shop? I've been using a shop vac or nothing at all so far.

Thanks
John

[Mitchell Andrus]

By adding a dust collector like the harbor freight 2hp. How much will it cut down on the dust gathering on everything in my shop? I've been using a shop vac or nothing at all so far.

Thanks
John

Over nothing at all it will be a 100% improvement.

Do it. The DC is THE most important tool in my shop and runs more than all of the others combined. Easy to figure out... It runs when any other tool is turned on and then some. In a busy shop a DC is not an option.

Dust collection is an investment in your health and your enjoyment of your hobby. If you have to skimp a bit to get started don't worry about the efficiency of the piping run for now. If you need to get started with 4" flexible hose, so be it. As you get the hang of it and find the need for (and the space) metal or PVC pipe, replace the hose later.
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[keith ouellette]

The 2hp harbor freight is actually a good DC. I have one and it works much better than My 1+1/2 hp jet did. The jet burnt out and I think it had problems from the start though.

A dust collector will keep your shop from looking like a horse stall. You will still have sawdust around but the piles will accumulate in a much slower manner.

For ducting You can use 4in. thin wall pvc, usually used for waist line. its smooth and very economical. If you have the money you should use 6" duct. the 2hp HF DC pulls enough air for 6". I can have 2 gates open and still have plenty of pull. The cost with 6" isn't so much the cost of the long runs but the fittings like wyes and elbows are really expensive also.


The short version is................ GET A DUST COLLECTOR. I couldn't work in my shop without one.

[Mike Cruz]

I agree with Mitchell but would add that PVC is actually cheaper than flex hose, so run as much PVC in your shop as possible and run short as possible lengths of flex hose to your machines.

IF you can afford it, run 6" PVC pipe throughout the shop and put 4" reducers where you change over to flex pipe. I wasn't thinking when I ran mine and just ran 4" everywhere. It works, don't get me wrong, but I'm not getting the full use out of my 2 HP Grizzly. I kick myself for not running 6" pipe.

But Mitchell is right. DO IT. And if all you can afford right now is 4" pipe, then fine, that'll work.

[Doug Hepler]

John,

I believe that dust collection is extremely important. I have changed my mind about this, as I describe in my notes: http://cdhepler38.home.comcast.net/~cdhepler38/Notes/DustCollection.pdf

It's not just about cleanliness, its about your health.

Doug

[Thomas Pender]

My Oneida Super Gorilla is the most used tool in my shop and the most important. Since I have had it operating, everything is better, not the least of which is the amount of congestion I have after spending all day in my shop. SWMBO had no problem with agreeing for me to buy it once she read some of the information out there.

For a rather strong view on DC, search for Bill Pentz.

[Mike Gager]

i just bought a HF DC and it beats the heck out of my old ridgid shop vac. im in the process of running lines to all my machines right now. id skip 6" lines if you do get the harbor freight machine, according to bill pentz, 6" is just slightly to large. 5" would be ideal but its hard to find. im running 4" on mine as i dont think it will be that big of a difference for chip collection. (collecting the dangerous "fines" may be a different story however)

also check out this if you want to save some money

Attachment 134865

[John Talley]

Why couldn't I use 6" single wall snap together metal duct work to hook up the dust collector. This is the 8" version of what I'm talking about http://www.theductshop.com/uploads/c...s/reg/BL-M.jpg
I can buy it for 3.00 per 5 foot section, It has a seam but I figured I could put the seam at the top and use metal tape to seal the seam and connections.

Thanks
John

[Ken Kirkley]

I work in a small garage shop and don't actually produce all that much, just have fun. To justify the cost of the DC system, I am wondering if I couldn't pipe the house for a built in vacuum system. Is this possible?

[Mike Gager]

john, according to bill pentz (internet dust collection guru) the harbor freight machine isnt powerful enough to keep chips in suspension with 6" pipe, thus a condition would be present that would allow for the chips to become clogged. whether or not in the real world this actually happens i dont know, its just what he recommends. if you can find 5" pipe of the same type that would be great

ken, you wouldnt want to use the dc as a house vacuum because the ducting would likely need to be smaller then what a dust collector requires. house vacuums likely use pipes that are less then 2". however if you could run large ducting throughtout your house (sized according to the dc needs) it may be an idea worth looking into

[Cliff Holmes]

I am wondering if I couldn't pipe the house for a built in vacuum system

No, because you can't run large enough pipe through the walls of a house. A DC moves large volumes of air with low suction. Whereas a vacuum moves small volumes with high suction. Hooking a DC to a small hose gives you low volume at with low suction, which is not a good thing.

This is also (partially) why you should NOT step down your duct size when you get to the machine.

Grizzly even references this in their literature, because people have tried it before and then placed angry calls to customer service.

[Matt Day]

I think of my Delta DC as more of a chip collector. Yes it has a 1 micron bag so it does take care of dust, but I really just run it with my jointer and planer. I usually hook my up ROS to my shop vac (which has a HEPA filter) when doing bigger sanding jobs.

But there is still an accumulation of dust on things. I think my next step would/will be a JDS type air filter that hangs from the ceiling to try to circulate the air more and keep dust down a bit more.

[Mike Cruz]

Okay, sorry I didn't due my research first. The HF 2 HP DC, while rated at 1550 cfm, has a 4" duct opening. I assumed it had a 6" duct opening like my Grizzly 2 HP DC. How they both have a 1550 cfm rating with the same size/speed motor, and what I would presume to be the same size impellor, but with different sized intakes is beyond me. Talking to Grizzly a little while back, I was told that with my DC, I am not getting the full capacity of the DC with a 4" pipe going to a machine (probably more like 1100 cfm). And if I opened two blast gates at the same time, I would probably get about 700+ cfm to each.

So with the HF model, since the duct opening at the impellor is 4", I would agree that using 6" pipe would not be ideal.

See what I get for assuming...

[Mitchell Andrus]

john, according to bill pentz (internet dust collection guru) the harbor freight machine isnt powerful enough to keep chips in suspension with 6" pipe, thus a condition would be present that would allow for the chips to become clogged.

Mike, wouldn't the diameter of the opening in the pipe simply reduce to the size that would allow the passage of air ata speed and volume that's still capable of moving dust?

Because the air is pulled rather than pushed, I don't think it'd be possible to "clog" a DC system. In other words, how would the last bit of dust get into the pipe to cause a closure if not moved with a moving air stream? And if the air is moving, how would it not keep itself scoured open as if the piping itself was a producer of dust?

Physics problem: Anyone ever see a DC system clog shut?
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[Joshua Layne]

Physics problem: Anyone ever see a DC system clog shut?
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Yes - when I was hogging off way too much wood with a jointer in a single pass, I had my flex hose (4") clog. Only time I have ever had that happen, but if a 6" pipe were saturated and it hit a restriction down to 4", the shavings could form a plug and you would get a clog. I imagine they are pretty rare.