Dust Collector Advice Needed

[Ronald Blue]

Santa has agreed to let me upgrade my dust collection. How do I know how much capacity is enough? Realistically I eventually will have a cabinet saw connected. I already have a drum sander, and band saw to connect. I know the drum sander needs the most volume. I don't want to have so much volume I collapse the shop walls but I want to be able to have plenty of capacity. I am looking at the 3hp Grizzly rated at 2300 cfm. Help! I will stay under $500 also.

[Ole Anderson]

To stay under $500 with a 3 hp is a tall order. I presume you are looking at the G1030Z2 at $444 and 2300 cfm. For a one man shop, 2300 cfm is way more than you need. You really need a DC that will deliver 800 to 1000 cfm at 6-10" of SP (static pressure). I don't see the fan curve on the 1030Z2 , but if it delivers 2300 cfm I suspect that it is built for volume and not a lot of suction. Anyone seeing the fan curve that disputes this please chime in. Next I see that it is a double bagger "portable" roll around machine. They claim the bags are rated for 2.5 micron dust removal. In today's world, that is really not good enough. If you go over to the Workshop section and just look at the posts on dust collection over the past few months, you will see that it is the really fine dust that gets embedded in our lungs and can cause all sorts of problems. So, you would need to upgrade to a machine with near HEPA filtration. You could swap the bags for some upgraded filters. Cyclones are nice as the filters go MUCH longer before cleaning compared to a non-cyclone system, but they generally are permanently installed and as I am sure you know, are much more expensive. If you really need a roll around system, you might be better off swapping some good filtration for horsepower.

Edit: I found a spec from Grizzly stating that the machine is rated for a maximum suction of 16.9" with an impeller that is under 13". That suction number seems awfully high for any homeowner machine, let alone one with such a small impeller.

[Carl Beckett]

Ole,

Did you find a curve for that machine? I have what I believe is an identical version (but reliant brand), and would be interested in the curves. I pulling it through a clear vue and venting to the outside (no filter). Am hoping to get enough flow.... But don't have anything to go off

Ronald; this unit goes between $200 and $250 used on craiglist in my area. If you read the DC post, they will mostly converge on requiring a 5hp cyclone (much much more $ than $500) to capture the fine dust. The sander is the most demanding (although a table saw doesn't do so well at capturing dust). I would encourage you to try and locate it in a separate room or vent to the outside if possible, then something about 2hp should work for a one man shop and the bag filtration doesn't matter.

Some have been satisfied with a thien baffle setup. Others have used a small cyclone off eBay.

[David Kumm]

Ronald, the Grizzly you are looking at is the double bagger I presume? You don"t need and won"t get 2300 cfm. I'm putting a dedicated 7.5 hp four bagger on my widebelt that needs 2300 working cfm as I'm not sure a 5 hp will get there. The choice you are looking at isn't a bad one if you can't go cyclone. I would not put cartridges on a collector for a sander unless there was a cyclone in front of it. Cartridges are harder to clean although the nano ones blow off pretty easily. I would stay bags but not the bags any of the collectors come with. If it were me I'd put two Beane Bag 72" bags on. They filter and clean easily and don't clog, and have a lot more surface area which is critical in not forcing the dust into the fabric. If you run a cartridge directly to a sander you need some way to judge cfm drop or you will only clean them when you start to cough. They can clog up pretty quickly. J.R. Rutter knows more about the Beane brand than I but most commercial sanders are on bags unless they are using expensive pulse jet cartridge systems. For regular woodworking cartridges rock. Dave

[Ronald Blue]

It is the 1030Z2 model. It says a maximum of 16.7 inches static pressure. Would the 2 hp model be enough for my needs then? It is rated at 11 inches of static pressure and 1550 cfm..
Actually I have been scouring CL and I have found a 1.5 hp Oneida Cyclonic system for about the same money. Would this be a better option?

[David Kumm]

It is the 1030Z2 model. It says a maximum of 16.7 inches static pressure. Would the 2 hp model be enough for my needs then? It is rated at 11 inches of static pressure and 1550 cfm..
Actually I have been scouring CL and I have found a 1.5 hp Oneida Cyclonic system for about the same money. Would this be a better option?

You can't go by just those numbers. You need to determine what cfm you need at each machine and then what the collector can deliver. I'm suspicious of the 16.7" sp as well as Ole but the cfm numbers published are likely at about 2" so what you actually have with the filters and duct is likely in the 6-8" range so the working numbers are much lower- 600-800 for the 2 hp and 800-1000 for the 3 hp unless you use a lot of small flex then much less.. The 1.5 motor isn't big enough to put on a cyclone and if it is the older unit with the filter inside the cyclone you want to run for cover. Dave

[Ronald Blue]

The Oneida indeed is the filter in the cyclone. Thanks for the heads up on that. I haven't pulled the trigger on anything yet but CL has been a bust and the 3 hp Grizzly still looks to be a decent option. Although if 2 hp would get the job done I am always willing to save a little green.

[Jim Andrew]

I have a 2 hp cyclone, and wish I had gone with 3 hp. So think you are making a good choice with the 3 hp.

[Lou Stags]

Ole,

Did you find a curve for that machine? I have what I believe is an identical version (but reliant brand), and would be interested in the curves. I pulling it through a clear vue and venting to the outside (no filter). Am hoping to get enough flow.... But don't have anything to go off

Ronald; this unit goes between $200 and $250 used on craiglist in my area. If you read the DC post, they will mostly converge on requiring a 5hp cyclone (much much more $ than $500) to capture the fine dust. The sander is the most demanding (although a table saw doesn't do so well at capturing dust). I would encourage you to try and locate it in a separate room or vent to the outside if possible, then something about 2hp should work for a one man shop and the bag filtration doesn't matter.

Some have been satisfied with a thien baffle setup. Others have used a small cyclone off eBay.

I called Grizzly technical support on the G1030Z2 model and they do not have a fan curve for it. That stinks as I am very interested in seeing the fan curve for that 3HP unit or another 3HP unit with a 12 3/4" impeller. If it is beefy enough, I would look into swapping out the bags for Wynn filters and adding a Thien baffle. That model is now selling for 425. Add in a couple of wynn filters for another 325. And then the cost of setting up the Thien baffle. Less than $800 dollars total. I am considering the penn state industries 3.5 HP cyclone. But that comes in at $1295. If the grizzly approach will work, I can take the extra 500 dollars and use it for duct.

I do have a Jet AFS1000B air scrubber for my shop (~450 square feet with 10 foot ceilings). I plan on buying another and using both of them extensively. Anyone have any thoughts on this?