Dust collection- will this work?

[Jason Victory]

Hey guys I’m currently building a new shop and am looking at a dust collector. Budget is a factor and I have the ability to run the line out of the shop. My question is should I just buy a canister DC that’s higher in HP than what I could afford a cyclone and simply run everything outside into a 55 gallon trash can?

Will this work?

[Carl Kona]

Can you clarify a few things. What tools are you running? What size shop? What DCs are you considering? What is higher HP? Why a canister if venting outside? Are you asking about putting the DC outside with the DC separator on a 55 gallon drum with no filter on top? What is budget?

[Jason Victory]

Hey there Carl I spend 95% of time of table, miter, planer, jointer. I will most likely hook palm sander to shop vac. I was looking at grizzly 2 hp cyclone vs 4 hp canister. My shop will be 20x25.

I may be missing something but I figured the benefit of cyclone is separation; which is better suction; which is cleaner environment. If I could just simply do away with filters all together and run the exhaust outside down a line directly into the drum then why would I need a more costly cyclone?

With the canister dc I would simply not use the canister; just hook up the dc motor normally and just run a line from the motor outside to the 55 gallon drum.

[Carl Kona]

Jason,

I think your idea of trying to blow dust from the blower into a 55 gallon drum is that you would be blowing dusty air into a relatively small container at 1000 cubic feet per minute (If I understand your idea) . You will want to separate the dust from the air to control where the dust goes. Since you can vent outside you have the benefit of better system airflow. In the attached video Andy uses a 3HP blower and a SDD XL to separate the dust. There are other choices like a trashcan separator or a Thien separator but the SDD is the most efficient both in amount airflow reduction your system will see and how much dust will be separated from the air. The attached video is of Andy who may address your situation.

With any system using the appropriate sized ducts (6" in his case) with the shortest smoothest runs is critical to getting enough airflow. It doesn't really matter what size blower you start with if you choke off with undersized ducts and too much flex hose winding all over the place.

Edit: If time is more important than budget I would look at a 3HP cyclone and ask for a discount for deleting the filter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpO4q_s1MIQ

[Jason Victory]

Thanks I watched the videos they were very helpful.

Last possibility in my mind is when I see the simple/small wall mounted DC that have the motor/blower and bag. The bags I’ve read are prone to big time leakage, but if it was outside would it matter?

Again, I feel like I may be overlooking something here.

[Josh Kocher]

If you are going to vent outside, IMO, you should have separation or you will be shooting chips and dust everywhere and making a mess outside your shop.

You don't need a filter so that saves money and improves performance.

I would cost out a big blower and a SDD or SDD XL, then I would call Oneida and ask them how much a 3hp V series or similar would be without a filter...

Then figure out if there extra cost is worth the better separation, certified performance, and ease of the prebuilt unit.

I wouldn't mess around with the small wall mounted unit. It won't serve your whole shop and even with a short run to a single tool, I doubt it would capture the fine dust.

[Carl Kona]

Jason,

I am not sure about the bag are you referencing? In Andy's setup there is no bag as he vents to the outside. Are you talking about bags in other setups?

[Jason Victory]

I started doing more reasearch on venting outside; and whiles it’s nice to not have to filter I read a lot about sucking your heat/air out of your shop. I’m in NC and we have hot summers and can have some pretty cold winters so this may not be the best option. I may just stick with the whole cyclone unit. Thoughts on the DC sucking your heat/air out in the summer and winter?

[Carl Kona]

I don't vent outside and most people I read about in your situation don't want to either due to heat/air losses. There are a few that claim opening a window in the shop for make up air avoids drawing from other parts of the house (and pilot lights) and the temperature recovery is fairly quick.

Without knowing the details of your layout, I would guess a 2HP will leave you wanting and should at least look at 3HP. If you are considering an Oneida, they will help you choose the right unit without overselling. Unfortunately they don't sell the Super Dust Gorilla anymore and now only have the variable speed versions. For standard motors they have the V series. It sounds like you were already eyeing Grizzly and don't forget about Clearvue (if you have the room)

[Andrew Seemann]

Ive got the 3hp Super Dust Gorilla from about 10-odd years ago in my 24x28 shop plumbed with 6 inch ducting. It looks like the current 3 hp Dust Gorilla Pro they have now, but with a single speed motor. It is probably a little on the overkill side for a one person shop, but I don't regret it. I can run 2-3 tools at a time with no problems (or forget to close blast gates), which is handy when there are a few of us working at the same time. My experience with Oneida was very good when I got it and they were knowledgable and helpful.

I'm in Minnesota, where we get the bitter winters, but also periods of Florida like heat and humidity in the summer, so venting outside isn't an option. I have the cyclone in a purpose-built closet with sound deadening ceiling tile inside. The compressor also lives in there. Although the 3 hp might be a little overkill, I probably wouldn't go lower than 2 hp for a fixed duct system.

The main advantage of the cyclone are that you don't lose performance quickly over time like you do on a canister unit. You do need to clean out the filter, but that tends to be every few months, rather than every few hours or days in a canister unit. I also think it is easier to empty cyclone drum than the old canister one I had before.

[William C Rogers]

I vent outside. Heat loss is not much of a factor. I can run my DC for hours at outside temps in the single digits and not notice a change. Heat is stored in the walls, tools, and structure in addition to the air. More important is to consider make up air. I have a stand alone metal building, 12' ceiling and I run a 3hp Jet using a eBay cyclone. My make up air is from gable vents along the full length of both sides and to the peaks. My heat source is gas hot water in the floor. The gas boiler uses outside air for combustion. The advantage venting outside is never having a loss due to filter clogging and never having to clean the filter. To do this you need a cyclone to separate the chips/dust before venting otherwise you still have to deal with filters.