I have decided to get a new dust collector and looking at a 3 hp cyclone. But, there are quite a few choices. I do not have a space limitation so that is one thing that I really do not need to look at.
What features are important?
1. Price—of Course
2. Made in the USA
3. Bin Sensor
4. Roll Around - Portable
5. Customer Service
6. Fan Curve – CFM and Static Pressure
7. Filter area – most are similar but one advertises many times more square feet.
I found fan curves for 5 different cyclones and plotted the data for all of them on one chart. I cannot really verify the accuracy of the curves but took the data from the manufacturer’s website or magazine article. One could debate the accuracy of them but it is amazing that they all fell in a fairly narrow band. With them all being so close, is one really better than the other? Which one would you pick? Maybe pick the highest one on the graph?
The most difficult to evaluate is the quality of the cyclone. One can read lots of comments about them with respect to the fit of them and difficulty of putting them together. This is an important part but difficult to really evaluate.
I have contacted a couple of people who have certain cyclones and asked them questions. This seems to be one way of finding out about various models and brands and any problems they encountered.
Figuring the price is also not real easy as some include a stand, remote control, bin sensor and dust bin. The other price issue is the shipping costs. What I found for the 3 HP cyclones is that they range from around $1600-$2400.
If you were going to pick a 3 HP cyclone, which one would you pick and what things most influenced your decision?
Five Fan Curves.jpg