Oneida 2HP Dust Gorilla Portable HEPA Dust Collector review

[Hoang N Nguyen]

The only woodworking machine I regretted buying.

-1 star for poor fit and finish
-1 star for constant sensor failure
-1 star for poor customer service

I’m usually very happy with all the major woodworking machines I’ve bought, with the exception of my dust collector. It has been the biggest regretted/mistake I’ve made to date. The pictures speak more then words. Before anyone says anything, Yes I did assemble the unit correctly and spent a lot of time doing so making sure it was correct. All connections either have silicone sealant or foam gasket on them according to the manual.
This according to Oneida is due to a “bin sensor failure” and my “lack of maintenance”. Before I go any further, I wipe down the sensor and blow the filter with compressed air after every time I empty the bin. This isn’t the first time they try to pin their unit failure on operator error before I lost it with them and started being less friendly with how I phrase my words before they would admit it’s due to unit failure.
I’ll start from the beginning. When I received the unit, the assembly went together pretty well at first and everything seems to flow pretty smoothly. Half way through, things started getting rocking due to poor installation manual. The manual started calling out wrong bolts, nuts and washers to go at in places where it would be impossible. I know this is wrong because the bolt and washer they call out where smaller then the hole it’s trying to bolt to. The bolts, washers, nut and all hardware came in (1) ONE zip lock bag. When I said one, I really do mean just 1 bag. They were all packed in there and you had to sort them all out before starting the assembly.

Fit and finish:
Once I finally got the unit assembled and checked everything over again, I tried to slip a fitting over the inlet and to my surprise, it doesn’t fit. The fitting I tried to use was a 6” split into (2) 4” port. I didn’t have any duct work up at the moment so I had planned to use flex hose on each machine until I was able to get everything in my shop worked out for duct work. I called Oneida about it and they asked for a picture. I snapped a picture for them showing how the inlet was more of an elongated circle being over 1/4” off at some points. They replied by saying that it was within specs and tried to sell me some adapters to make it work. I declined and continue to tell them about how the cone body had a lot of waves at the top where it connects to the motor housing. They again said it was within spec’s and that the gasket will fill in the gaps and it shouldn’t be a problem. In the manual, it stated to drill a hole 3” from where the cone body connects to the bin lid. Mine was pre-drilled from the factory and it was only 1” from the cone body. They again replied it was within specs and that this was something new and hasn’t yet been changed in the manual. I was very disappointed in the fit and finish to say the least.

Constant Unit failure:
This is the 5th time that the unit has filled up on me like this. Wood chips would fill the bin, the entire filter along with the cyclone body itself.
The first time this happened was due to an air leak at the bin sensor. I was jointing and planning a good amount of wood but never noticed the bin sensor go off on me. It was until I heard the motor making a weird noise that I stopped working to inspect the DC. When I removed the bin, it was only half full but the entire cone body along with the filter were packed with wood chips and dust. I spent hours cleaning out the unit and tried my best to clean the filter but will never get it back to the way it was. The gaskets they send you with the unit isn’t enough to make a proper seal but the air leak is so small that it’s extremely hard to even tell. After I finished cleaning the unit as much as I could, I started it back up and started blowing smoke at it to see if there was a spot that drew in the smoke. Sure enough, the bin sensor was drawing in smoke. I e-mailed Oneida about it and it took them almost 2 weeks to reply to me after I sent them 4 e-mails. At first they tried to blame it was me for not assembling the unit properly until I told them about be blowing smoke at the unit and the bin sensor was drawing it in. They then sent me an extra set of gasket so I can put it inside and outside of the sensor. This resolved the problem. I was able to finish my work and went a few weeks before starting another project.

The next 4 times this happened was due to the bin sensor failure where it wouldn’t alert me once the bin was full. Every time this happens, my cone body, filter and bin would be jam packed with dust and chips like in the picture. After the 2nd time the sensor failed on me, I tried e-mailing them again. I believe I sent a total of 10 e-mails over the course of 2 months with no reply. I called twice within that time frame and was told someone would look into my e-mails and respond to my issues. Nothing happened within the 2 month time frame until I left them an ugly review/comment on their facebook page. After I did that, someone was on the phone with me within the next day or 2. I spoke with their product engineer and they believed it was due to a defective bin sensor and offered to send me a new one. They asked that I send back my old bin sensor so they can check it and see what the issue with it was. They said they would send me a returning mailing label along with my new sensor so I can send my old one back. After about 2 weeks, I got my new sensor but no return label. I sent them 2 e-mails concerning that with no reply so I said screw it and went about life. I installed the new sensor and but never had to put it to the test since I didn’t have any projects going on.

A few months later, I start a new project and started using the DC again. I noticed the sensor would go off as soon as I turn the DC on but I know for a fact the bin was empty. I’d shut the unit down and check the sensor by waving my hand under the sensor with the DC on but bin off. It would go off at about 3-4” from the sensor which is where I have it set. I replace the bin and turn the DC back on and the sensor goes off again. Not wanting to spend all day messing with the DC I just started working. After the bin is about 1/4 way full, the sensor would stop alarming. I continued to work and after about an hour or so, I still didn’t see the sensor alert me so I stopped to check. Surprise surprise, the bin was full and the filter was about 1/4 full of wood dust and chips. I spent the next 2 hours cleaning the filter and cyclone body before calling it a night. The next few times, I had no faith in the sensor so I started to stop and check the bin every half hour or so. This proved to be a pain in the rear end.

About 3 weeks ago I started on another project and was again on the jointer and planer. I was zoned out while working and didn’t think to stop and check the bin this time. After about an hr I stopped for a break and shut down my planer and removed my ear protection. That’s when I heard the motor making that weird noise again and knew exactly what it was. That’s when I snapped the pictures I attached in this review. Fed up, I e-mailed Oneida about it again and sent them these pictures. 4 e-mails in 2 weeks with no reply. I sent a final e-mail telling them my patients was wearing thin and they need to get their stuff together and figure this out. 2 days ago their sales manager replied to my e-mail asking me for a good time to talk so he could call me. We spoke on the phone the same day I received that e-mail.

He started to say they sell thousands of these units and never had a problem like mine and they wonder if I’m doing something wrong. We go back and forth about how I keep all my machines in tip top condition and I take care of my stuff. He than says that well, I can’t rely on the sensor 100% of the time and that I need to check the bin every hr or less to make sure it’s not full. I ask him what was the point of a $200 sensor when I can’t rely on it? He couldn’t give me a solid answer for that and just said that I need to make it a good habit to check the bin and not rely on the sensor. I thought that was the biggest load of donkey doo doo I’ve ever heard. I told him the point of having the sensor is so I DON’T have to stop working to check the bin every 15 minutes. He than tried to sell me a larger bin so I wouldn’t have to stop to check as often. I told him I’m on the phone with him so he can try and figure out their broken system and not to buy more broken stuff. At the end of the day, nothing was resolved other then the fact they tried to offer another sensor replacement. I said what good is another sensor when I “can’t rely on it” quoting the sales manager. Again, no good or solid answer on that.

I told him that I’m giving up on their system and it’s nothing more then a $2000 paper weight. He said he’ll send me a new sensor anyways in case I want to sell the unit, I could say that it’s got a new sensor. Mind you, my system is still under warranty and told them I’d rather them just come and take this piece of junk out of my shop and give me my money back. That wasn’t going to happen.

Summary, biggest waste of money and mistaken I’ve made. I should have gone with clearvue like I had wanted from the beginning. I went with Oneida because a lot of people had nothing but good things to say about them and I’m all for buying American made. One of those time that buying American screwed me so hard my kids will feel it.

[Marty Schlosser]

Your experiences with Oneida are certainly the exact opposite of what I've had with them. I have a 3hp Pro series cyclone (http://www.oneida-air.com/inventory.asp?CatId={F5F10613-9BC7-46DE-A39D-719E7DC2F594}) which I've been using in my shop for the past 10 years and it performs flawlessly. Being an older unit it has no sensor to tell me when the bin's getting full, so I simply look over at the clear flex hose which connects the bin to the bottom of the cone after I feel it is getting a bit close. I have overflown the bin on occasion and backed it up into the cone, but it's a very rare occurrence. I guess we all look upon operator technique a bit differently.

As far as I'm concerned, the difficulties you had with the gaskets not properly sealing should never have happened in the first place. Their gaskets should be sized to accommodate their manufacturing tolerances. I'm glad you were able to eventually get the unit properly sealed, although as I've stated, things should have fitted together, right out of the box.

It is very obvious from your photos and text, assuming they were taken after you'd dealt with the air leakage challenge, your unit should now be operating properly. I've never been one to rely on sensors to tell me something I can quite readily sense myself; I guess I'm old-school (hey, I'm 64...). To my way of thinking, you should consider adjusting your operating technique so that the bin's emptied on a regular basis. I have had to dump mine as many as 10 times a day on those occasions when I've had a lot of rough board surfacing to do. I can quite effectively figure out by the amount of lumber that's gone over my jointer and through my planer to know when to look over at the clear flex hose. When I can no longer see dust swirling around in that hose, I know it's time to check.

Again, the air leakage issue should have been dealt with by Oneida much more correctly, but as I've already recommended to you, stop relying on such sensors. Your Mk I eyeball and ears are undoubtedly more highly effective!

[Hoang N Nguyen]

I can't agree on not being able to rely on my sensor when it's a feature I paid for. It's like me selling you a brand new car (my DC is still under warranty) and the fuel sensor on that new car is broke. You can't tell how much gas you have in the tank and break down in the middle of the road multiple times. You bring it in the dealers to address the issue and I tell you "Oh, you can't rely on the fuel sensor. You need to keep track of how much you drive and fuel up as needed".

That's exactly what oneida is telling me to do on something that they charge $200 for. ​ Both are preventative features, in the case of my DC it prevents my bin from overflowing and clogging my filters. In the case of the car, it prevents you from running out of gas and breaking down.

The 2hp portable dust gorilla is currently selling for the same price as their 5hp super dust gorilla right now.... Why is that? Because the bin, sensor and remote is added onto the cost. I paid hundreds extra for features on my DC and I expect it to work, and when it doesn't I expect it to be taken care of and not be given the run around.

Weeks to months and dozens of e-mails and phone calls before I finally get a reply with a bogus answer isn't what I call customer service either.

[Jebediah Eckert]

Hoang-

Fruatrating for sure. There was just a lengthy thread on bin sensors failing and a whole bunch of fixes. I can't seem to find it now, maybe you will have better luck. The fixes ranged from making a "window" in the barrel, to a more reliable sensor that doesn't cost much, as well as adjustments that can be made to the Oneida one. I could be wrong but I seem to remember reading the sensor Oneida used just very recently changed, maybe you have the old one and a new replacement would be a big help?

Check out that thread, nothing worse then being upset with a big purchase.

I hope you get it figured out.

[Jebediah Eckert]

I think this is the one I was talking about......

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...n-Level-Sensor

[Paul McGaha]

Hoang,

I have I think what was the first version of Oneida's dust sensor on my system. It works so-so. I always kind of felt it wasn't perfect but it was better than nothing.

With my system, and I would think a lot of peoples systems, there is a section of clear hose between the cyclone and the collection drum. It's easy enough to see the dust in the hose and know that the drum is full. I try to empty the drum before the dust gets as far as the hose because it makes the drum changes less messy.

I'm sorry you don't feel good about the purchase. I hope that the system performs well for you and in time you change your mind about it. It's a big purchase, you should be happy with it.

Try to look out for that rascal Kent Bathurst if you can.

PHM

[Hoang N Nguyen]

Hoang,

I have I think what was the first version of Oneida's dust sensor on my system. It works so-so. I always kind of felt it wasn't perfect but it was better than nothing.

With my system, and I would think a lot of peoples systems, there is a section of clear hose between the cyclone and the collection drum. It's easy enough to see the dust in the hose and know that the drum is full. I try to empty the drum before the dust gets as far as the hose because it makes the drum changes less messy.

I'm sorry you don't feel good about the purchase. I hope that the system performs well for you and in time you change your mind about it. It's a big purchase, you should be happy with it.

Try to look out for that rascal Kent Bathurst if you can.

PHM

My system doesn't have the clear flex hose connecting the bin and cone body like most. It's solid cone bolted to the bin lid. You can see it on the first 2 pictures.

I'm just really ticked at the whole ordeal and how oneida went about it. I still expect things to work properly when I spend good money on it. This will likely be my one and only purchase from oneida, never again.

On another note, that old rascal Kent Bathurst will be heading my way next week to finally get his hands dirty on his project. It's always fun having him around in the shop so I'm very much looking forward to it.

[Paul McGaha]

Hoang,

Don't you have a Sawstop table saw? If so how about that, Premier Bathurst, the leader of the SSSS, using a Sawstop.

PHM

[Hoang N Nguyen]

Yes I do and it has exceeded my expectations since day one and their customer service is outstanding. My zero clearance insert was defective when I received the saw so I called them about it. I also needed to order a 240v wiring kit to upgrade the existing 120v on the saw. They gave me a discount on the wiring kit for my troubles with the insert plate and shipped both of them together for free. Wish I could say the same in this case.

Kent is still a great guy even if he doesn't believe in Sawstop. I e-mail him almost every day picking his brain on almost everything. I've also fallen into the rabbit hole of LN hand tools thanks to him.

[Ben Rivel]

Dang, quite a headache to read about there! What sucks with that unit is that there is no clear hose connecting the dust bin to the bottom of the cyclone like there is in say the V Series so you have to rely on the bin sensor or manually checking the dust bin to check the level. With the clear hose you can just check that to make sure its not full of chips. That said what about cutting a rectangle window into the dust bin to visually see the level? I have seen quite a few people on the internet do that with other dust bins. Youd just have to make sure its sealed good.

[Art Mann]

I agree that all the features you paid for should work properly but if the sensor failed me once or twice, I don't think I would keep trusting it to tell me when the drum is full.

[Paul McGaha]

I might get a better sensor for mine at some point. I'm kind of used to it for now. Most of the time it actually works fairly well. Just need to keep it in adjustment. Fine line between the light flashing too early and too late.

I wish it was as simple and reliable as the fuel gauge in your car but it's not.

PHM

[Izzy Camire]

Eh boy your pictures remind me of exactly what happened to me about 2 weeks ago. I have the 3hp portable. The sensor never went off. I had it turned down because if it was set for anything more sensitive it was going off all the time. I feel the real issue is that they installed the hole to close to the cyclone it needs to be about 2 inches farther away from that. I had spoken to their tech support about this and they told me to make another hole 2 inches farther toward the rim of the lid. I didn't do it because now I would have to find a way plug up the hole they installed in the wrong location. I pretty much have resigned myself to not trusting their sensor.
Your point about paying good money for something and expecting it to work properly is well made and that is what we should expect after all. I am not sure I can offer you anything more other than don't trust the sensor surely I no longer do.

[Ben Rivel]

Eh boy your pictures remind me of exactly what happened to me about 2 weeks ago. I have the 3hp portable. The sensor never went off. I had it turned down because if it was set for anything more sensitive it was going off all the time. I feel the real issue is that they installed the hole to close to the cyclone it needs to be about 2 inches farther away from that. I had spoken to their tech support about this and they told me to make another hole 2 inches farther toward the rim of the lid. I didn't do it because now I would have to find a way plug up the hole they installed in the wrong location. I pretty much have resigned myself to not trusting their sensor.
Your point about paying good money for something and expecting it to work properly is well made and that is what we should expect after all. I am not sure I can offer you anything more other than don't trust the sensor surely I no longer do.

Maybe you could convince them to send you a new replacement lid with no hole drilled in it so you can put their sensor in the proper spot since they seemed to mess it up. They could call it a warranty replacement.

[Hoang N Nguyen]

At least they told you to make another hole. I raised the same concern with them since my sensor is only an inch from the cone body. They told me that it was "within specs" and that the manual is old. Not sure how true that info is.