What's all the fuss about DC noise levels?

[David Hostetler]

Okay I just have to know, why is it that I see so many threads regarding how loud this or that DC is... No DC is going to be silent, and almost all DCs are going to be substantially quieter than a shop vac. The noise of the power tools generating the dust, unless you are working with a drill press, or a lathe, is typically going to drown out the noise of a DC anyway...

So why do so many people seem so worried about how loud a particular dust collector is?

If noise is that much of an issue, it would seem far more logical to switch from power tools and a dust collector, to hand tools and a broom...

[Alan Bienlein]

Wish I knew also. I just turn mine on and forget about it. To my ears my cyclone is much quieter than the 1 hp delta dust collector I used to have.

[Mark Beall]

In the part of my shop that the outlet of my DC points toward, it's loud enough that you can't have a normal conversation. In other areas of my shop by DC isn't that loud. Is my shop vac louder - yes (well, maybe, shop vac is a much higher pitch and more annoying). Would I run either in my shop for a long period of time without hearing protection - no. It is likely louder than my tablesaw or jointer, not louder than my planer (although the planer is also much louder when the DC is running than when it isn't - odd stuff going on there)

In the plans are adding an enclosure with some sound deadening material with the goal of being able to run the DC without hearing protection.

mark

[Nick Lazz]

I agree. The dust collection far out weighs the noise....besides, if I was worried about noise I would have picked a different hobby.

Much ado about nothing, IMHO.

Pick one and suck!

[Peter Aeschliman]

...not louder than my planer (although the planer is also much louder when the DC is running than when it isn't - odd stuff going on there)

Apparently that's completely normal. When I upgraded my planer to a 6" dc fitting and a 3hp DC, my planer got REALLY REALLY loud. It's actually loud enough that I probably should wear ear plugs under my regular over-ear protection.

I posted about this same phenomenon a number of months ago, and learned that sirens are often made using the same principle- sucking or blowing air into a confined space with a spinning object.

Anyway, off topic I know... lol

[Zach England]

Do you leave the dust collector on while not running a tool? That would drive my nuts.

[glenn bradley]

I understand this reaction as I have it too. I live alone and when I think of noise levels, my concern does not go beyond my earmuffs . I forget that:

- Some of us are in the basement right under the TV room where SWMBO is watching Oprah.
- Some of us are on zero clearance lots and have community rules about such things.
- Some of us have plenty of space between our homes but have jerks for neighbors.

I have been fortunate in all these areas and in return, I shut down by 10pm. I also never start until I hear the first motorized yard tool or 7am; whichever comes first.

[David Hostetler]

Hmmm. I never would have thought a dust collector was "noisy".... Mine is actually no noisier than my furnace blower not counting the sound of chips and such swirling in the separator...

I guess some are louder than others. But still it would seem that if you were all that interested in low noise, you would have taken up whittling as even mallet / chisel makes a good amount of noise when done at inappropriate times.

[Art Mulder]

...
- Some of us have plenty of space between our homes but have jerks for neighbors.

I have been fortunate in all these areas and in return, I shut down by 10pm. I also never start until I hear the first motorized yard tool or 7am; whichever comes first.

7am !?!? On a weekend!? Geez, Glenn, I'm glad I'm not your neighbour. Hope you've got good soundproofing or a big lot.

My shop is in the basement, so it is pretty isolated, but still, 9:30pm is probably as late as I'd dare go, along with an 8am start. Living in a city on a 50' wide lot ... you've got to be considerate of the neighbours.

(I used to have a neighbour who would fire up his noisy gasoline powered lawnmower at 1pm on a Sunday... right during naptime when we had toddlers. Drove me nuts, but what can you do? )

And back to the OP... if I am doing lots of cuts on a TS, I'll turn the TS on and off as I get set up for different cuts, be it adjusting my crosscut sled or tweaking the fence. BUT, I'll just leave the DC going. So yes, I can understand why people are concerned about DC noise. Add that to the fact that I have a basement shop, so the total noise volume of two tools at once (ie: TS + DC) is of concern.

I would love it if engineers would work on developing quieter tools AND if those tools would take over the market and become affordable for the common woodworker. (ie: I've heard that near-silent compressors are available that Dentists and other medical folk use, but they cost far more than our noisy commonly-available units.)

[Kenneth Moar]

I may have started something with a previous post about a potentially
new DC. I currently have a typical 1 1/2 hp bag style collector, it's in a room separate from my shop, and I never gave it much thought noise wise
especially when I usually have ear protection for whatever tool the DC is
sucking . Shop vac is much louder

When I started shopping for a canister DC, I noticed the db ratings and how they varied for comparable units. Once the new DC is operating I'll go back to not noticing.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Okay I just have to know, why is it that I see so many threads regarding how loud this or that DC is...

Some people have close neighbors or a shop in the basement/attached garage. Sometimes 10 or 15db makes a big difference. The low pitch of a DC's rumble is sometimes tougher to muffle than the whine of a TS.

My 3hp cyclone easily out noises the TS and just about everything else in the shop, but at a different (additional) frequency, so the sounds add up.
.

[Joe Chritz]

I doubt you could make it much quieter without insulating the ducts themselves.

As I have posted before I checked nearly everything in my shop with a decimeter and the air going through the metal ducts is as loud as the machine. Can't change that without reducing the airflow (thats bad) or insulating the pipes somehow. PVC would likely be quieter on its own.

I really want to wire my DC to micro switches at the blast gates with a 5 minute delay but I haven't figured out all to do yet to make that happen.

Joe

[Mitchell Andrus]

I really want to wire my DC to micro switches at the blast gates with a 5 minute delay but I haven't figured out all to do yet to make that happen.

Joe

An not-at-all-cheap system.... Ecogate. I set up my new shop with this system and I love it. 9 gates all automatic. When a machine starts the DC runs and the gate opens. But.... I run a commercial shop. I counted the number of times I opened or closed a gate one day and lost count at 60. I had their old system in my old shop - their newest version is much better.

There have been many discussions about gates/switches, etc. Search the forum or start a new thread.
.

[Mike Cruz]

I, too, don't really care about the noise level of the DC. It isn't terribly annoying. Man, I turn on my 20" planer an it purrs sooooo softly, then I turn the DC on and the sucking past the blades puts off a scream that annoys the BLEEP out of you! I have a Byrd head on my jointer and don't have any issues. I suppose this is where the Byrd (or any indexable head) is at a huge advantage... I would imagine this "whine" from the passing air doesn't happen with the indexable heads. Now, to find the $700 to $800 for a 20" Byrd...

[Anthony Whitesell]

For me, it's relative. I have a basement shop, so if my new DC is louder than the old one than it probably won't fly. Or maybe it will...right out the door. How loud it actually is, doesn't matter. The concern is that it isn't too loud for life to continue in the living area while it is on.