G0703 Cyclone D.C. 1-1/2 HP-2 Stage

[Brian J Smith]

This appears be be a new dust collector from Grizzly. It doesn't appear to move much air around compares to non-cyclone based DC's. Any thoughts from expert DC owners, I have been debating which DC to order for a hobby shop. I don't see what the cyclone gets me (I still have to empty the bag/bucket) with the same amount of cuttings.

[Aaron Montgomery]

I just got my Grizzly catalog today and was looking at this. I wonder if this is meant to compete with the Oneida V series. I've had my eye on those as I'm looking to upgrade from my HF DC. It is certainly much cheaper. I have a bit of a height problem with the standard Gorilla or G0441 cyclones. Also, I've got 6" S&D in the shop and I'm not sure if there is any advantage by going to a cyclone that has a bigger intake.

[Curt Harms]

but these numbers seem underwhelming:

• Motor: 1-1/2 HP, 110/220V, single phase, TEFC, 3450 RPM, prewired 110V
• Air suction capacity: 775 CFM
• Static pressure at rated CFM: 1.08"

[John Jendro]

Yes you are correct, you still have to empty the drum canister. What you shouldn't have to do as often is clean the filter.

A cleaner filter means more air moving for a longer period.

That is if they designed it to work as well as their larger systems.

John

Looking closer it does have a cool vacuum system, so you can use plastic bags in the drum. Should make emptying the drum a lot easier.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I'm a big fan of cyclones.

You cannot throw a chuck of wood or a wayward screw, wristwatch, bud light can, etc. into the impellor of a 2-stage. Also - you will empty the primary much more often than the secondary - which means fewer times messing with the fine dust.

The price difference between the 1.5 and the 2.0 hp units is modest, IMO, and I'd think about the 2.0, but it does require 220v, and is 6" taller - those might be limitations for you.

[glenn bradley]

I would say the numbers look like a 1 to 1-1/2HP bag unit with the advantages of a cyclone. More material is removed pre-filter, the filter removes finer particles (many bag units are 5 - 30 micron), the air being forced back into your small shop is not full of dust. The filter capability of .2 -2 microns seems a concern, my 2HP cyclone is similarly rated and I don't get any of the fine dust I got with my previous bagger's filter. I have since upgraded the upper filter of that unit and still use it along with the cyclone.

[Erik Christensen]

The reason to have a cyclone separator is to reduce, by as much as possible, the dust that hits your filters. When filters get loaded up they start to have a significant impact on your DC air flow - many manufacturers compensate for a poorly designed/non-existant cyclone buy using filters with a larger pore size so they don't load up with fine dust (that is the real health hazard).

If your reasons for considering a DC are to have a clean looking shop then you are really looking for a chip collector & pretty much any DC will do that if sized correctly. If you want a DC for health reasons then choices are more limited - you have to get dust down to the sub-micron (one millionth of a meter) size which is invisible but hazardous.

Google Bill Pentz - his site is the most accurate, informative and unbiased on this topic - there is a wealth of info there covering everything from DC theory, impeller sizing, flow rates, machine pickup, duct design/layout/materials, etc.

I researched this topic for more than 2 years before buying as I wanted to do this right. I choose clearvue and after a year of use I am still convinced it is the best for health hazardous dust removal on the market - YMMV.

as a comparison :

G0703 - 775 cfm, 2 micron (questionable as many get this spec when filter is loaded so it works well at filtering small particles but not at anything close to rated flow rate), $944 delivered

clearvue - 1440 CFM, 0.5 micron, $1320 delivered

IMHO the bottom line is - you have a detached shop go with what you feel you need but if like most of us your shop is part of your home you are making a health choice for all that live there. Best advice is do the research and make an informed choice.

[Cameron Reddy]

I also suggest you read some of the material on Bill Pentz's site. You want as much power as you can get. It takes lots of CFM to pull into the intake all of the fine dust. It's why Bill designed the Clear Vue with so much more power than competing machines.

I don't think you will find as much power/CFM in a "basement" sized machine, that still has a properly designed cyclone, as in the Clear Vue.

With the power of the Clear Vue I've accidentally sucked a full, pint-sized can of finish off my workbench. I'm now VERY careful waving my hose around when one of my little schnauzers is lurking about.

Another thing to consider: It sometimes takes three inputs arrayed around a machine to get all of the dust. I have used two 4" intakes plus a 2 1/2" lock line at my shaper, for example. You need a powerful machine to pull air through three intakes.

Cameron