2hp Gorilla or 3hp?

[chris del]

I have a small one man shop (16' x 32'). Never is there more than one machine going at a time. I am thinking about upgrading my dust collection and have to decide on a 2hp or 3hp Gorilla.
If money was no object I would simply just go with the 3hp.
Would the 2hp be sufficiant, or is a 3hp a must?
I have a TS, BS, Shaper, 8" jointer, Planer and maybe a 24" drum sander in the future.

Any advise/help would be appreciated.

Chris

[Joe Jensen]

I have 20 by 30 one man shop. It's just a serious hobby shop, but it's full of industrial tools. I worked with Oneida and they convinced me that 2HP was plenty for my layout. However, my planer is only a 12" Powermatic and it's only 2 ft fro the collector. My Radial saw and 8" jointer are about 15 feet away from the collector. The other motivation was power. I have a 220V subpanel in the shop that only has 50 amps. My TS is 5HP, and I was concerned that the 3HP collector and the Saw would require me to run a new line underground to the subpanel. Having said that, I have not wanted for more power yet...joe

[Jim Becker]

I have been more than pleased with my Oneida 2hp Commercial system (performance equivalent of the 2hp Gorilla) in a one-person shop scenario. At the time I was buying, I had the opportunity to do a 3hp system (older model) that was a scratch and dent, but chose to stick with the new 2hp system for height reasons. I have not regretted it one bit. It easily handles my wide J/P as well as my 22" drum sander. It will run both the cabinet and overarm guard on my TS with acceptable performance. (Which I could increase if I re-plumbed the connection to the saw cabinet) I'm running a stepped duct system originally designed by Oneida and updated when the larger cyclone went in a couple years ago. 7" to 6" main with 6", 5" and 4" drops as appropriate for the tool.

[chris del]

Id love to see installation pictures. Gorilla, ducting, machine connections etc...

Chris

[Michael Gabbay]

I bought the 3hp and I'm a 1 man shop that is 13 x 26. My feeling was that this would be the last DC I would need. So if/when I move to a bigger shop I would not need to upgrade. For the money the 3hp was a good choice for me.

[CPeter James]

I have an older 1 1/2 hp Oneida that has been upgraded to the outside filter used in the newer 2 & 3 hp units. It is a one man shop and my "ducting" consists of 25' of 5" flex tied to the ceiling (temporary for longer than I want to admit). At the end is a 105 degree bend dropping down onto my 15" planer. I can run full width boards through the planer and not a chip escapes the DC. Based on that, the 2 hp should be more than enough.

CPeter

[Christopher Stahl]

Give Oneida a call, they'll help you figure out what you need.

[Joe Mioux]

2hp is all you need!

[John Renzetti]

Hi Chris, while the 2hp might be sufficient now, get the 3hp so that any future upgrades (bigger planer, open ended wide belt), will be covered. Put the 3hp on one end of the shop and run the main trunk line down the center with drops to the machines as needed.
take care,
John

[Paul Kinneberg]

Chris I have the 3hp Gorilla and am very satisfied so far, just got it operational in the last few weeks. In the end the price was close enough that I felt it was worth it and didn't feel I was over doing it either. The only issues/complaints I have had with Oneida are around there customer service not terrible but for what I consider to be a higherend product not what I expected. Fit and finnish is great and operationally great the stand is probably the only weakness from a product perspective that little wall mount is a joke luckily for me my brother was able to fabricate a front brace for me.

[chris del]

What do you guys think about going with the 2HP gorilla, and keeping my Delta 1.5hp (50-760) strictly for the planer?

[Michael Gabbay]

If you have the room then why not? If you are worried about the planer then for a few hundred extra get the 3hp and use the room for more wood. Plus you can sell your other DC to offset the price.

[Jim Becker]

What do you guys think about going with the 2HP gorilla, and keeping my Delta 1.5hp (50-760) strictly for the planer?

I wouldn't use the old DC for the planer...the cyclone is better suited. Just be sure to monitor the bin frequently.

[Aaron Beaver]

I agree with the others, if you have the room go for the 3hp. Might be useful in the future if you have moree/bigger machines. Just take what you might have later into consideration that way you don't have to buy twice.

[chris del]

I wouldn't use the old DC for the planer...the cyclone is better suited. Just be sure to monitor the bin frequently.

What I was thinking Jim was that seing as the planer was the furthest (30') away from where the Gorilla would be going, and also being the machine that creates the most chips (not much fine dust) that it would be benificial to keep the Delta DC + my 55 gallon drum with Veritas cyclone lid. This will eliminate long ducting from the Gorilla as well as solve the capicity short commings of the 35 gallon container of the Gorilla.....
I think it makes allot of sense.... Why dont you think so?

Thanks,

Chris