Felder RL160 Autoclean Option

[Anthony Spotorno]

I'm in the process of ordering a new DC, the Felder RL160.

I was wondering from those that might have a Felder DC unit, is the AutoClean feature worth it? What about the Antistatic Filters?

I believe they have one in stock, but it does not have the autoclean feature, which means if I want that option I have to wait several months.

Thanks.

[Ben Abate]

ANTHONY
wish I could give you advice here. I do however have the old RL 160 without autoclean. I find it very simple to just make a habit of moving the brush bar back and forth a few times when I come into the shop.

Im sure if I had the autoclean I would love it Sometime you don't miss what you don't have
My RL is a 2004 vintage, I bought it new back then and I still love this machine. I know some guys have opened up the intake opening to use 8" trunk lines. If that interests you I'd suggest going over to the FELDER's Owners Group and looking Thur the archives

Dont know if this was of any help

[Dave Sabo]

I'm in the process of ordering a new DC, the Felder RL160.

I was wondering from those that might have a Felder DC unit, is the AutoClean feature worth it? What about the Antistatic Filters?

I believe they have one in stock, but it does not have the autoclean feature, which means if I want that option I have to wait several months.

Thanks.

I think it depends on whether you want to go over to the machine and pull the lever to dust the filters on a regular basis. It's a maintenance item that has to be done, but how often depends on how much you use it and and what you're sucking up. Planning walnut isn't going to clog it much, but CNC'ing mdf is going to cake them pretty fast.

[Rick Fisher]

I have a 2007 or 2008 RL-160 ..

To me what really matters is what machines your collecting from .. Planers and jointer's are only a problem if you overflow the machine.. Then your auto clean won't be enough, and your in for a real treat.

If your running sanders, my RL-160 really clogs up .. anything will help ..

[Richard Mellor]

I have the autoclean on my older RL-160 and like it a lot.

However having said that if I forget to use it and allow too much dust to build up on the filters then its not powerful enough to move across the filters. I then have to get under the filters and clean by hand, its a miserable experience as any RL-160 owner will tell you!

If I was ordering a new DC today I would certainly get the autoclean feature.

I always promise myself that I will use it at the start of each work day, so I think it's time to go to the shop and turn the autoclean on!

[Anthony Spotorno]

Thanks for all the replies.

In addition, I saw a video by Steve Rowe on youtube and he had a "Silencer" on the top of his RL160. I called Felder and they say that it only comes on the 250 and above. Do you retrofit the silencer from the 250 on the 160?

[Richard Mellor]

Anthony, I have the "silencer" on my RL-160, it is called a "additional noise dampening stage" in the catalog, part #403-276. It looks like the RL 250/300 have a different option available.

[Patrick Walsh]

I don't have autoclean on my RL. If it works though I would pay whatever extra to cost now having seein how miserable the manual dust brush is.

I must pass the brush manually over my filter three four times a day in the course of a average workday. Still the filter clogs after about every 1-3 weeks of use.

My solution is a full removal, I then bring it outside and take my commercial leaf blower to it.

Regardless the whole thing is miserable. More times than not it quits on me when I am under the gun and really don't have the half hour it takes for the whole ordeal.

[Malcolm McLeod]

Anthony, just a heads-up - - in case you're interested....

There is a Felder RL 200 (7Hp, 3-phase) that shows up on Dallas CL (tho' it seems to be located in N. Central Louisiana).

[Anthony Spotorno]

Malcom, yes my Felder rep has said that there is a RL200 avail with autoclean, no 160's thou. That particular RL200 comes with the larger 7.5HP motor, looks to be same motor on the RL250.

I looked for the 403-276 silencer that Richard mentioned but I do not see it in the catalog.

Wonder how much additional cfm the stronger motor will pull. I really do not use more than 1 machine a time, and all of my duct work is 7" mains that drop to 4" gates at the equipment.

[Richard Mellor]

Anthony, the silencer is on page 427 in the hard back catalog. It has the RL-160 rated at 3200cfm, and the RL-200 at 4000cfm on page 424. Patrick, have you adjusted the brush height on the filters? I didn't know you could, but it made a big difference when I did the adjustment.

[Anthony Spotorno]

Anthony, the silencer is on page 427 in the hard back catalog. It has the RL-160 rated at 3200cfm, and the RL-200 at 4000cfm on page 424. Patrick, have you adjusted the brush height on the filters? I didn't know you could, but it made a big difference when I did the adjustment.

Hi Richard, I am looking at the Felder Hard Cover Gray book "The Catalog" dated 02/2016. I have the printed version and the online version from their web site... They match exactly page for page.

The H3-Clean air dust extractor chart is located on page 436..
On page 427 I do not see anything related to dust collection. That page has bandsaw guides and overhead saw guard...

We must have different versions of the catalog...

My Felder rep has not answered my question on the silencer, hopefully early next week.