What size of DC for my shop?

[Donny Lawson]

As you may know my new shop is now going up and I've been reading up on DC systems but haven't ever bought or used one. My new shop will have one but I need help on deciding on a size that's big enough for the shop. Keep in mind that this is just a "HOBBY" and not something that I make a living doing. I make mostly small items such as pens,bowls,birdhouses,etc. My shop is a 24x30 with 10' ceilings. What are your thoughts and ideas for a DC for this size shop and what equipment can I run off this DC system?
Donny

[Kent A Bathurst]

My shop is a 24x30 with 10' ceilings. What are your thoughts and ideas for a DC for this size shop and what equipment can I run off this DC system?

Sorry - you posed a question that has no solution. Required DC size [HP, CFM, pipe dia, etc] depends on machine-specific requirements, plus a general idea of shop layout [distance from DC to each machine and its specific needs]. My 2hp cyclone with 5" dia hard pipe and a big oversized filter bag does fine on a one-machine-at-a-time basis, with the "big dogs" fairly close to the DC [15" planer can put out Old-Testament-Locust-Plague volume of chips]. Wish I had a 5hp+ to suck up passing squirrels from 30 yds, but don't really need it.

The best answer may well be to get a modest-sized, economical, "compact" unit on wheels, and take it from place-to-place as you go. At least, until you are more into the flow and operations, and can nail down more specifics - sounds like this is all you need for the things you are doing today. Lotta guys here have and like the 2HP HF unit, for example.

[Steve Costa]

I run my 12" TS, 20" planer, 8"jointer, 16" & 14" bandsaws and disc/belt sander off of a 1 1/2 HP Steel City dust collector ($350). The TS is permanently attached to the the DC. For all of the others I move the DC hose from machine to machine. As I don't have a lot of space this works for me.

I would layout my shop & decide if you can accomodate 2 or 3 small DCs running on 120V circuits and attach them to your machines. You can also buy from Woodworkers Supply a remote starter that will allow you to turn 2 DCs on & off idependently. I have one in my shop & it works great.

I know everyone loves their cyclones but $700 vs $??? can be a large difference.

[Chris Damm]

Generally for a hobby shop with only one person working, an 1.5 HP DC with a filter instead of a bag will do nicely. I have a 3HP that I got cheap and it is really overkill.

[Donny Lawson]

I was kindly looking at the Grizzly 3hp #G1030 with 2300CFM $450.00 or the Shop Fox 2hp #G9975 with 1550CFM $295.00. Still trying to decide.
Donny

[David Giles]

1. Do you really need a DC at all? It does not seem that you make much dust or very often. Can you open the shop and crossflow dust out of the doors or windows?

2. Can you vent outside? If so, skip the bag/canister discussion altogether and install a simple cyclone system for chip collection. 2Hp or larger blower/motor.

3. How do you feel about moving a small DC from machine to machine?

4. If you prefer a fixed system, don't skimp on the blower/motor size. This is like table saws; you only want to do it once.

5. If you don't move a small DC from machine to machine, plan on 6" main ducts.

6. Keep the duct work off the floor.

[Greg Urwiller]

They'll be framing my new shop this week (hopefully!), it'll be 24'x28' w/10' ceilings. After all the positive reviews I've read here about the 2HP HF DC's, I plan on buying one of these and putting a Wynn canister filter on it in place of the bag, and a Thein baffle before the unit. I'm not sure exactly how well it will work, but that's the setup I'm going to use, period. It will beat what I used to have....nothing. I don't know how I'm going to set it up either, build a portable stand for it and move it around, or place it and pipe it. But for the time being it's going to go portable till I get a feel for machine location. It'll be kind of a pain, but I'll wait to see if I move the footprint around much. Greg