Shop vac dust collection?

[Pat Meeuwissen]

Will increasing the size of dust collection pipe improve performance? Or at least be better than the grooved hose? Looking for a good price for the dust deputy as my filter constantly clogs and performance falls off. Any other tips for improving use with a DeWalt 12 miter saw, I don't really have room to build an enclosure around it was thinking of something "flexible"?? Thanks Pat

[James Gunning]

Within limits, increasing the pipe size will improve the airflow rate through a pipe. It's dependent on several things like the blower capability, roughness of the interior walls, sharp bends, etc. An example constantly discussed here is the use of 4" pipe for dust collection. That size pipe used with the blowers that are practical (and affordable) for most of us, badly restricts airflow. For most home duct systems, 6" pipe works much better with much higher flow rates.

The "grooved" flex hose causes internal turbulence which will reduce the flow somewhat. Always use smooth walled pipe if possible.

Miter saws are difficult to collect from. You really need some kind of an enclosure to keep the dust and chips corralled so they can get to the moving air in your dust collection system. Also, shop vacs are not the best choice for a miter saw, because they move far less air than a blower powered dust collection system.

[Randal Blair]

I purchased the Rousseau 5000 Miter saw dust hood and it worked great for me.

[Pat Meeuwissen]

Thank you for your response, my shop size and broken up space limits any more large dust collectors. I'm thinking I'll have to do the best I can with the tools I can fit. I'm going to get a cyclone and hopefully improve some performance by not having the filter clog and increasing/changing to rigid pipe for as much as I can.