Portable vacs - minimum power and 4" port issue

[jonathan sneed]

hey guys,

I just got in my new Grizzly G0555x bandsaw and i love it !! It has a 4" dust port on it and im wondering which route to take. I will upgrade to a professional collection system later when im able to get the size shop i want but for now I only have the space and $$ right now for a shop vac size vacuum and was wondering--

1. Whats the minimum and/or the optimal HP and size i need?
---I dont cut a whole lot of stuff at once right now, or for a long period of time either.

2. How much flow do you think is decrease if i have the 4" port necked down to a 2 1/2 or 2 1/4 hose to go on a normal shop vac and how much performance is lost, if any, noticable?

3. once i am able to get something bigger, whats the best bang for the buck on something small but professional grade you can have multi ports on?


any suggestions greatly appreciated..thanks jonathan

[Neil Brooks]

That's a lot of info you seek, there, Mister -- the answer is the stuff books are written about

I have a 6.5HP Craftsman ShopVac, with a 20' Pos-i-Lok hose ... which ... is simply what I have. I use it for my G0555X, my CMS, and ... will use it for my RAS, when I finish fixing it up.

These are three tools for which dust collection is an inherent weakness.

Lots of online resources can help you improve the collection on the band saw -- usually by adding collection ports, underneath the table.

I have the Harbor Freight 2HP DC. I added the Wynn 35 cartridge filter, and a chip separator (a Woodcraft cyclone lid on a 30gal trash can). I replaced the unit's flex hose with stovepipe hose (decreased static pressure = increased airflow), and run a 20' length of "smooth-bore" DC hose to any machine -- one at a time.

I like my system a LOT. For ... something in the neighborhood of $400 bucks ... I feel certain that I'd have to spend over $1,000 to get something that actually works substantially better -- likely a 2-1/2 or 3HP cyclone DC, running on 220V.

But my DC expectations are pretty reasonable, where my band saw, CMS, and RAS are concerned. I tend to use my hanging air filtration unit pretty frequently, and expect to clean up, AFTER using those tools.

Good luck !!

[Van Huskey]

Dec/Jan Wood magazine has a coupon for the Harbor Freight 2hp DC for $139. Not much more money than a decent shop vac and you can grow with it and use it for some time to come by building it up like Neil and quite a few others have here. The difference in air moved is SUBSTANTIAL compared to even the best shop vacs.

[Victor Robinson]

Bandsaws need in the neighborhood of 350 CFM to capture all the dust they spit out. Most shopvacs move somewhere in between 100-200 CFM. Also, to really do a good job capturing the mess bandsaws make, you need collection right under the table as well as an attachment to the built-in dust port, meaning you'd be splitting the vac line and reducing the suction of each line.

I'll agree with Neil and Van - the HF DC is a good option if you can afford the space and noise. You might end up spending almost the same money on a decent shopvac and be disappointed it didn't do a good enough job...

[Curt Harms]

I think you'd find the noise associated with a dust collector like the Harbor Freight way less irritating than most shop vacs. Fein, Festool and the like are pretty quiet but they're also quite a bit more money than the Harbor Freight D.C. I would get the Harbor Freight D.C. and build a Thien baffle for it. The top bag filter is rated at 5 microns, you can get cartridge filters that filter to .3 microns. If you believe Bill Pentz and others, <5 micron particles are a long term health hazard. Shop vacs work well for dust collection on hand held tools like routers, saws & sanders-Dust Collectors necked down don't. Dust Collectors work way better on stationary machines than Shop Vacs IMO. Tools with small dust ports work best with high static pressure/low CFM, tools with large dust ports work best with lower static pressure/high CFM.

[jonathan sneed]

thanks guys for the tips !!

[Don Whitten]

I started out using shop vacs, 6.5HP. Do yourself a favor and get the HFDC, the difference is unbelievable and the unit takes up about the same floor footprint as a shopvac. Some tools still need that shop vac but for a little extra cash ($139.00 w/coupon)the HFDC is the best way to go.