Choosing a dust collector

[Dennis Kelly]

I am about to purchase a 1.5 horse power dust collector for my small basement shop. I have narrowed it down to the craftsman, delta, or jet system. Does any one have any experience with any of these dc's that could give me some advice? Also, I am hoping to use this dc as a central unit rather than attaching it to each separate machine. Is 1.5 horsepower enough for that?

Deke Kelly

[Jim Becker]

Those machines are best used one machine at a time with a short hose. While you "can" put in duct, you'll lose performance and let more dust into the air.

[Jake Helmboldt]

Dennis, look for the issue of Fine Woodworking from last year that tested DC's. In fact, I believe their tool guide which can currently be found in stores has the article. They tested air flow and also talk about configuring for optimal collection. As Jim noted, these are not strong enough to use w/ ducting as a stationary machine; you just don't get enough CFM beyond a few feet from the source of dust.

The two Deltas tested fared best, though I don't recall if either was a 1.5HP unit.

JH

[Marc Prudhomme]

Dennis,
I have the Delta 1.5 HP with 1 micron filter bag and its very transportable,so it is very easy to hook up to whatever machine you are using at the time in a heartbeat.I use the quick connect hose fittings.The only problem I seem to be having is that alot of these woodworking machines are set up for 2 1/2 dust ports .apparently when using fitting adapters to use your 4" hose with these machines,you are restricting the air flow thus decreasing the performance of your DC.The only other option you have at this point is to modify your hook up port to accept a 4 ' hose.
My advice to you is if you havn't bought any of your machines yet is to buy only machines with 4" ports or prepare to have to retro fit your machines wich is a big giant P.I.M.A.
If I had to do it all over again I would skip buying the DC and invest in a few good shop vacs and hook them up to each machine.
Again this is just my NOVICE 2 cents

marc

[Joe Chritz]

I have used a 1.5 HP Jet and it worked fairly well when attached to one machine with a short run of flex.

Any more and it will start to suffer loss of flow.

The good news is that it is very portable and wouldn't be hard to move around.

Joe

[Lloyd McKinlay]

The test in Fine Woodworking was of 1.5 hp units. Actually I just read the online version about 2 hours ago. The Delta 50-760 took top honors with a couple other units cited.

[James Phillips]

I have the Jet 1.5 (DC1100) hooked up and run to every tool in my shop with about 70 ft of 4 in flex. I have a blast gate so I am only using it at one or two tools at a time. It works like a champ

[Andy Haney]

Kind of like James, I run a 1.5 hp unit (Delta 50-850 w/ 5 micron bag) with a "plumbed" system regulated by blast gates. I use 4" PVC as much as possible, and only have flex as close to the machines as possible.

I set mine up with a 35 gallon barrel ahead of the fan with a cyclon"ish" lid on it. I did this primarily to keep large pieces of wood or metal from going through the fan.

I wish I could draw a comparison for you about the volume capabilities as they relate to length of run, but this is the first DC set-up I've ever had. Maybe that is why I think it is fine. I haven't had any diffciulty (at least so I think) picking up planer shavings through about 20' of 4" PVC and flex.

I may feel differently when I can get the the full-scale hemi-cyclone I hope to have in retirement!

Andy

[Jeff Heil]

I have the Jet 1.5 hp with the canister and remote in my basement shop. It works fine with one machine at a time. I have a 10' and a 20' flex hose to connect to different machines and shut the other line down at the unit with a blast gate most of the time. If I am ripping at the TS and also jointing I will run with both open and it keeps up with my PM jointer and TS. It is a vast improvement over a shop vac or not having a DC. I haved used bagged systems and think the canister is a vast improvement. Once a month or so I take the canister outside with an airhose to really clean it out, but the flapper system helps. I think I paid about $450 for this setup about 2 years ago.

That said, I wish I had spent the money for a cyclone and had the power to plumb a fixed system. If I did it over again I would have purchased a 2 or 3 hp cyclone and ran a fixed duct system. I get sick of tripping over 4" flex hoses. I will upgrade eventually, but this set up is adequate for me for now. I don't seem to have the time for shop projects as there is always a furniture project or two backed up.

As a side note I bought a case of clear poly bags from Uline, much cheaper and heavier than the ones from Jet.

I don't think you would go wrong with a portable system, as long as you use it as a portable system. If you want to run fixed ductwork I would recommend a cyclone based on my experience.

Here is my DC unit.

CIMG0514.JPG

[Spencer Keysan]

I am about to purchase a 1.5 horse power dust collector for my small basement shop. I have narrowed it down to the craftsman, delta, or jet system. Does any one have any experience with any of these dc's that could give me some advice? Also, I am hoping to use this dc as a central unit rather than attaching it to each separate machine. Is 1.5 horsepower enough for that?

Deke Kelly

The Harbor Freight 2hp, looks identical to Delta etc and I believe made by the same OEM and others are just branded and price bloated accordingly. HF 2hp on sale and with 20% off coupon was $135. You can replace 30micron 30ft2 bags with a 0.5 micron 300 ft2 pleated filter and clear bag s for $91 from WynnEnvironmental. With that you will have an exceptional DC system. Air flow is exceptional and while I have blast gates to each machine I often leave the table saw and the miter saw gates open at the same time and collection is still great. Contrary to popular opinion I use 4" PVC everywhere (vs 6") and even after 20 ft of PVC and 16" of flex hose the draw is exceptional. The downside, a few tools and untold screws and bolts have been inadvertently sucked up when cleaning the shop with the 4" flex. Dont be looking down the hose for blocks, youll lose an eye. I think Sawstop is working on an invention to prevent that.

[Scot Ferraro]

Dennis,

Are you limited to 1.5 HP for voltage reasons? The reason I ask is that I went through the DC decision recently myself -- I had to go with a mobile unit (no room for a cyclone) but I wanted something that had the power for fine dust as well as the capability to be hooked up to a central system in the future. I ended up buying a Felder AF22 and it works great -- plenty of suction, mobile, lots of capacity for chips (106 gallons in total) and I am very happy. It does require 240 volt service, though. Felder also offers a smaller unit (half the size of the AF22).

I have a read a lot of good things about the Delta 761 and the Jet units that others have mentioned (both with and without the canisters) but with these units you will get the best performance by hooking up to each machine separately.

Good luck with your decision,

Scot

[Dennis Kelly]

Thanks for all the input!! My shop is fairly small and I only have access to 120V. So, my options are limited, which is actually making the decision easier. If I use a 1.5 hp mobile base I would only need 8 feet of extension. From everything I've read this week and what you guys have stated, if I set up an aluminum duct with stop blocks it will give me the suction I'm looking for. What do you guys think?

Deke

[Jim Becker]

if I set up an aluminum duct...

Aluminum isn't going to cut it. Use 26 guage steel snap-loc or PVC sewer and drain if you want to use some solid ducting for your system.

[Phil Thien]

Dennis,
If I had to do it all over again I would skip buying the DC and invest in a few good shop vacs and hook them up to each machine.
Again this is just my NOVICE 2 cents

marc

Marc,

Don't lament the DC. My Cheerio test seemed to indicate a reduction in airflow by choking down with a 2.5" reducer. But the DC still pulled a TON more air (and Cheerios through that 2.5" port than a shop-vac, so I still think you're way better off.

[Joe Diggs]

Here is a cheap (Novice/DIY Homeowner) system that works great for my needs.

I bought the Harbor Freight portable unit on sale for $79 (1HP 115V 900CFM 12gallon/35 micron bag 4” duct) http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=94029 The duct is 4" PVC sewer & drain (not DVW), the flex hose is Jet. I put a blast gate for each tool. I have 4" to 2 1/4" reducers installed for my sander, router table, radial arm saw, and miter saw. This systems works very well for my needs (no planner or jointer). The key notes I found, try to use as much ridged pipe as posible (better air flow), do NOT use ANY sharp 90° elbows. To convert from 4" S&D to 4" flex hose, use a 4"S&D to 3"DVW fitting. Also, it doesn't look like it in the photos, but I still manage to get both cars in the garage...this is why I mounted the hose on the ceiling. I haven't had any problems with the system fighting gravity.

Here are some pics. (The last is a "during")

PS...the one thing I plan to add is this seperator, which I read works very well. Turns the system into a 2 stage...easy to empty and keeps the bag (filter) clean. http://www.amazon.com/Woodstock-Inte...6781479&sr=1-1