Grizzly Cyclone saga / vent

[Steve Milito]

I’ve pondered a cyclone for quite a while and recently decided to make the plunge. I basically narrowed my choice to Griz G0441 or the Oneida Gorilla. After driving to Muncy to see the Griz The 441c had several features I liked. Instead of a neutral vane it has a air ramp, which to me looks like a better approach. I found it to be well made. There were spot welds, but they were definitely there to hold things in place for the continuous welds on the other side of the joint. The impeller was bigger than the competition, and the competitors own web site showed that the Griz moved more air at high static pressure. The biggest weakness was that Griz doesn’t have a Hepa filter option. The good news there was that the newest version of the 441 has a redesigned filter canister that now has a replaceable filter. Thus, the possibility of aftermarket upgrades exists. I decided on the Griz.
The first complication came when I drove to the warehouse to pick up the unit. I opened the canister box to verify it was right and it was the old version. I went back to the showroom. The y insisted that they had the new version, they found one, and I bought a new unit. Packed it up, tied it down, took it home.
I spent the next week assembling the unit. I finally got to the step that required attaching the filter canister. To my disappointment the canister was damaged and could not be installed. I immediately called Griz and arranged a replacement. It took almost two weeks to get the replacement, but they were very nice and very helpful.
It arrived today on a lift gate. The first thing I noticed was that it was not in the correct box but rather one labeled 14” bandsaw. Therefore, I opened the box while the driver was there. It’s the wrong filter canister. I called Griz and they gave me a RA number but they couldn’t explain what happened. The parts number was for the newer filter, not the one I received. So now the whole thing starts over again and I have no confidence that I receive the correct part, and I still can’t use the DC or even finish the installation. I appreciate the affable customer service, but would much prefer not needing it.

[Cliff Holmes]

Even the best companies make mistakes. I've bought a tablesaw, 8" jointer, drill press, and 3hp cyclone from Grizzly and they've been great. Nothing other than minor issues and Grizzly took care of them. It's always tempting to think it would've been perfect if you'd gone the other way.

Can you temporarily vent the cyclone out a window? Very little dust comes out.

Hang in there

[Paul McGaha]

Steve,

Sorry to hear of your problems. Hope you get it straightened out soon.

Based to a large degree on what I've read on this forum, I chose an Oneida Dust Gorilla for my shop. Purchased and installed last spring. The installation was uneventful. Maybe I was just lucky.

PHM

[Paul Wunder]

Steve,

When things go wrong, they really go wrong. I hope that you are up and running soon. Grizzly makes a fine cyclone which captures just about everything before it even gets to the filter. Point being is that you probably will never need the HEPA. I own a Clearview, but thoroughly investigated the G0441. Best of luck. Let us know how you make out.

Paul

[Steve Milito]

Steve,

When things go wrong, they really go wrong. I hope that you are up and running soon. Grizzly makes a fine cyclone which captures just about everything before it even gets to the filter. Point being is that you probably will never need the HEPA. I own a Clearview, but thoroughly investigated the G0441. Best of luck. Let us know how you make out.

Paul

I know. It's just frustrating, I was hoping to wrap up the install this weekend. The problem with the 'removes all the dust' concept is it can remove all the visible dust and vent the microscopic dust through the filter. In essence, the easy filter replacement was what sold me on the machine.

[Steve Milito]

Even the best companies make mistakes. I've bought a tablesaw, 8" jointer, drill press, and 3hp cyclone from Grizzly and they've been great. Nothing other than minor issues and Grizzly took care of them. It's always tempting to think it would've been perfect if you'd gone the other way.

Can you temporarily vent the cyclone out a window? Very little dust comes out.

Hang in there

I own a lot of Grizzly stuff. I was OK with the damaged canister because stuff happens. The wrong replacement and obviously not new stock since it wasn't in the original box, is a real disappointment.

[Paul Wunder]

Steve,

http://www.oneida-air.com/questions_answered.htm

Follow the above link and read the 9/22/6 letter to Oneida asking if HEPA filters are"worth it" for cyclones. Oneida's answer points are interesting and dissuades the writer from considering one:

"True" HEPA filters are very expensive and will collect up to 99.7% of dust as small as .3 microns, but will require a higher horsepower system to overcome the filter's resistance. (See my note below)

Most wood dust is nowhere near those small sizes

True HEPA filters are rarely required for a home shop.

Personal Note:
Checking the Grizzly specs on the G0441, their filter will collect 99.9% of particles between .2 microns and 2 microns in size. Their filter is independently rated.

There is a great deal of unverifiable information out there so I am surprised that Oneida was so open on this subject.

As I stated in my prior post, I own a Clearvue and I am happy with it, but my initial search for a cyclone revealed some interesting information. Because I have significant lung disease I was very careful with my choices.

You will need to decide for yourself what filter path you will ultimately but I just wanted to share some info with you.

Paul

[Steve Milito]

Steve,

http://www.oneida-air.com/questions_answered.htm

Follow the above link and read the 9/22/6 letter to Oneida asking if HEPA filters are"worth it" for cyclones. Oneida's answer points are interesting and dissuades the writer from considering one:

"True" HEPA filters are very expensive and will collect up to 99.7% of dust as small as .3 microns, but will require a higher horsepower system to overcome the filter's resistance. (See my note below)

Most wood dust is nowhere near those small sizes

True HEPA filters are rarely required for a home shop.

Personal Note:
Checking the Grizzly specs on the G0441, their filter will collect 99.9% of particles between .2 microns and 2 microns in size. Their filter is independently rated.

There is a great deal of unverifiable information out there so I am surprised that Oneida was so open on this subject.

As I stated in my prior post, I own a Clearvue and I am happy with it, but my initial search for a cyclone revealed some interesting information. Because I have significant lung disease I was very careful with my choices.

You will need to decide for yourself what filter path you will ultimately but I just wanted to share some info with you.

Paul

Thanks for the link. I just want the option to change the filter without swapping out the whole canister. I'd want to take a few measurements before I decide to spend the money.
The good news is that I just got a email from customer service stating that an assembly from a new machine is being shipped tomorrow and I'll have it on Monday.

[Paul McGaha]

Paul,

That information may be out of date with Onedia and HEPA Filters.

They are offering free upgrades to HEPA filters on the purchase of Dust Gorillas these days. They did with mine back about April of this year, I'm guessing that offer is still good?

PHM

[Paul Wunder]

Paul G

Yes, Oneida may be offering HEPA filters (marketing decision, perhaps?)
but I would be curious for Oneida's latest thoughts on a HEPA filter requiring more horsepower to run and the micron size of dust in a home woodworking shop. I do not think the the basic facts would change from my prior post.

I am not recommending either type of filter.