Anyone have Oneida's 3HP "portable" cyclone system?

[Bill Borchardt]

Looking to upgrade dust collection in my small, one tool at a time, shop. Shop is in an unfinished part of an otherwise finished basement so max dust sucking and clean lungs are my top two criteria. Here's the dustmakers:
- 10" Sawstop
- 8" jointer
- 13" DeWalt 735 planer
- 18" drum sander
- 14" band saw
- Shaper
- Router table with dust ports
(All have 4" dust ports)

Anyone have Oneida's 3HP "portable" cyclone system?
(Link: http://www.oneida-air.com/portable_3hp.php )
- Is it adequate?
- If you had to do it over . . .?

Thanks in advance . . .

Billbo
Smyrna, GA

[Mitchell Andrus]

I'm of the opinion that if a tool can't be used in less than 15 seconds, it's a tool that either won't be used or it's a tool asking for major reworking. Rolling this monster to the other side of the shop, or just moving the hose around the shop will be a major PITA making using it an obstacle. Imagine taking a piece of wood to the the miter saw (rough length cut), jointer, table saw (rip), miter saw (final length)... you gonna move that pipe 4 times in just a few minutes?

Bite the bullet and run some DC pipe/blast gates.
.

[Mac McQuinn]

IMO you're at odds working in the basement. It's just next to impossible to keep dust from getting into your fresh air intakes if you have forced-air heat/air conditioning and running through your home.

That said, If using a basement shop, I'd do this;

1) Use a dedicated 2-3HP Dust Collector with drops, convert your machines to 5-6" intakes for efficiency
2) A must have would be the most efficient Air Cleaner I could afford
3) Always wear a respirator
4) Seal off the working portion of the basement from rest of the house's HVAC system, heat your shop with electricity.

While the portable units are great in their own right, you pay a premium for the ability to move the unit around. I feel the footprint of a portable unit is actually larger than a dedicated unit hung from wall bracket and you get more power for your money with a dedicated unit, HP for HP. As long as you have enough ceiling height for a dedicated unit, it would be my choice. I personally like the Oneida V-Systems 3000 for physical size, performance and cost.


Mac