Which HF dust collector? (there are 2)

[George Yetka]

as it is from HF the filter bag may as well not be installed mine blew stuff everywhere. Another thing I had an issue with was the bags leaked and were kind of a pain to put on as intended. I fixed this by duct taping it on and then using their metal band.

Mine is currently setup with super dd and 40 gallon bucket in the corner with fan and filter in the attic above garage plugged into a fast cap remote. This is ideal for me my wife wouldn't let me duct it outside. fast cap remote fails on me every couple months with gives me an opportunity to climb up and hit filter with a stick. 8 months so far and only a gallon or so of super fine dust up there. emptied 40 gallon can 6 times

[Curt Harms]

I have the newer black painted one and the paint color "makes all the difference in the world". Just joking. There is likely no difference.

I disassembled it and mounted the "guts" high on an exterior wall. Underneath it, I put a thien baffle. I exhaust outside. The thien baffle works well enough that I don't see sawdust outside and get garbage cans full of chips. I used the center section of the HF DC for the "spinner portion" of the separator. The designs where they use a 90 elbow would seem to have a bunch of drawbacks. I think that if the baffle plate is really thin (like 1/8 or 1/4" plate steel/aluminum) that it would work better. I beveled the leading and trailing edges of the baffle. I think that if the baffle plate is thick plywood and is blunt, that it works less well. But that is more intuition than proven fact.

I think your statements are correct. I recall Phil Thien saying that thinner baffles are more efficient than thicker. Another addition that seems to help with baffles built into a dust collector is to have a 'chimney', a 6"+ tube starting about 3" above the baffle and extending into the filter a few inches. I used some 12" flashing rolled into a tube. That seems to smooth the airflow from above the baffle into the filter and results in more CFM.

[Curt Harms]

I wonder if the different model #s are the same design built at different factories? There are a lot of HF products with different SKUs for what appears to be the same product.

[Bill Dufour]

When I asked they told me same product but different factories is common at HF for many things. That way they can cause a bidding war between two suppliers for the same item.
Opposite of a mattress factory changing the printed fabric and changing the model number. That way two different models so no price matching needed as each store has slightly different fabrics on identical mattress.
Bill

[Curt Harms]

When I asked they told me same product but different factories is common at HF for many things. That way they can cause a bidding war between two suppliers for the same item.
Opposite of a mattress factory changing the printed fabric and changing the model number. That way two different models so no price matching needed as each store has slightly different fabrics on identical mattress.
Bill

We found this with Brother printers. Staples (and other suppliers) sell an MFC-J480DW. Best Buy sells a MFC-J485. Same printer, only difference is the label. That way they don't have to price match. I've heard of power tool lines sold at Home Depot and Lowes being the same; same gadget different model #.