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What do you use for dust collection?

6K views 47 replies 21 participants last post by  Leo G 
#1 ·
Have a hanging jet air filtration system and use 2 different vacs that I hook up to band and table saw. I also have a cheap harbor freight 1hp air unit hooked to my sander and grinder. Still have a lot of dust. My one craftsman vac's filter is about shot and the start switch on the other just died so I by passed it to use it. I am starting to think what is a better solution. I always find my vacs are clogged and the filters need cleaning or I lose suction. What about the dust deputy's are they any good? How does any one else solve this problem what out spending a fortune and using up a lot of space?
 
#2 ·
Build a Thein separator, and outfit the vacs with a Gore Clean Stream filter (about $30). Your real problem may be the HF DC. I think that model has a 30 micron bag, so all it's doing is functioning as a dust pump, putting the finest particles back into the shop air. If by chance it has a 1 micron, you're in better shape.
 
#3 ·
Fred Hargis said:
Build a Thein separator, and outfit the vacs with a Gore Clean Stream filter (about $30). Your real problem may be the HF DC. I think that model has a 30 micron bag, so all it's doing is functioning as a dust pump, putting the finest particles back into the shop air. If by chance it has a 1 micron, you're in better shape.
I think you..'re right about the HF unit . It's probably part of the problem. Does the thein separator help that much? I usually have to open the vacs up and shake the dust out of the filter and usually dump it out anyway when it's only a fraction of the way full. Will it lengthen the amount of time in between cleaning the filters? It seems like I have to constantly clean them for good suction.
 
#5 ·
I put the Dust Deputy on my Craftsman vac to keep the HEPA filter in the vac from clogging. So far it's done a pretty good job. I also have a Delta DC that I modified into a cyclone and that really made a big difference in my setup. But all that is useless if I don't collect as much dust as possible at the source. Still working on making that more efficient without spending a fortune.
 
#6 ·
My workshop has low ceiling and not huge (big by some standards). So I live with one of your problems...

I bought a Jet 1.5 hp dc which is a step above your HF (I think it handles 1 micron). It's a mobile system but sits in a unused space and has a long flexible 4 inch hose that stretches out to most of my shop. Because I use the flex tube rather then gated duct system, I think the 1.5 hp vac has served me well. It is directly connected to whatever tool I"m using.

Because I'm a lazy guy, I have the vac hooked to a remote switch (@ $30). So I will slip the hose off a tool and stretch it out to the next tool, a simple procedure. As I'm using the tool, I simply hit the remote (if I needed to walk back and forth to use the vac, my lazy ass wouldn't do it). I do have a couple of tools the hose will not reach so I have a dedicated short hose the long one reaches and I switch the short hose from one tool to the next. Over all - my set up is not ideal, but it works for me.

A couple of foot notes... A lot of my sanding uses a PC 330 hand held sander that has no dust collection system built in, but I love that sander! So I did build a 48 X 18 inch down draft table with a dust port to match my flex DC hose. The larger pieces are sanded on my work bench next to a box fan with a furnace filter. This is not a perfect set up so I fill in the gaps with a respirator. When I'm done, I take the filter outside and I'm always surprised at how much dust has been collected.
 
#7 ·
If you want your filters to not clog up in a short amount of time, then you need a two stage system. Two stage is the only way to go as far as I'm concerned. It is very cheap to do, and can be done to any dust collector. I picked up a 55 gallon drum from a friend for $5.00, then bought a couple 90 degree 4" dust collection fittings and installed in them in the drum lid. I made a baffle and I was done. I have about $25.00 in the two stage addition. Now I get almost zero dust in my actual dust collector bags and my filters have yet to accumulate any dust that needs to be cleaned. I used to have to clean my filters once a day. I'll never run a single stage system every again, now that I have tried a two stage system.

Mike Darr
 
#9 ·
Midwest Millworks said:
If you want your filters to not clog up in a short amount of time, then you need a two stage system. Two stage is the only way to go as far as I'm concerned. It is very cheap to do, and can be done to any dust collector. I picked up a 55 gallon drum from a friend for $5.00, then bought a couple 90 degree 4" dust collection fittings and installed in them in the drum lid. I made a baffle and I was done. I have about $25.00 in the two stage addition. Now I get almost zero dust in my actual dust collector bags and my filters have yet to accumulate any dust that needs to be cleaned. I used to have to clean my filters once a day. I'll never run a single stage system every again, now that I have tried a two stage system.

Mike Darr
Mike, how did you do your baffle? My can doesn't fill up very full, but my 2hp DC sure does. The DC pulls the dust right through my 55gal separator. I don't have a baffle and suspect that's the problem.
 
#10 ·
geltz61 said:
I think you..'re right about the HF unit . It's probably part of the problem. Does the thein separator help that much? I usually have to open the vacs up and shake the dust out of the filter and usually dump it out anyway when it's only a fraction of the way full. Will it lengthen the amount of time in between cleaning the filters? It seems like I have to constantly clean them for good suction.
I am wondering if there's a place to buy better micron bags for my harbor freight unit that anyone knows of?
 
#11 ·
Filtration is all about surface area. Bags just don't work very well. Converting to a pleated 1 micron filter is the way to go. Not cheap by any means, but this has to do with your health. Dust collection is not something to go cheap on.

The next step if you have a single stage system, is to add a second stage to it. A two stage will keep your filters clean. If your filters are not clean your system can't collect dust. It's real simple, if the air can't exhaust, it can't intake.

Mike Darr.
 
#13 ·
Midwest Millworks said:
My baffle is a plywood disc with about a 1/4 of the perimeter opened to allow the dust to fall in the drum. The elbows need to be aimed properly to create a cyclone effect. The larger the drum, the more cfm needed to make it work. I have 2300 cfm, and that reall isn't enough. I will be adding a second unit to my system soon. Mike Darr
I am thinking that I probably need to replace the HF unit. It has a single bag that comes out the side, I think not worth retrofitting. My problem as is usually everyone's is space. I probably need to rearrange my garage shop , with one unit to collect dust and add a baffle unit before it or seperate vacs with the cyclone baffle units before them I think. Open to suggestions.
 
#20 ·
Space is a issue for me also. I built a small enclosure on the back of my shop to house my dust collector, and seperator. I have a hole in the wall to allow the 7" pipe to enter the shop along with the power cord. My dust collector is on it's own circuit and that circuit has a switch wired to it. I leave the swith on the dust collector turned on and use the wall switch to turn the collector on and off. I insullated the enclosure for the dust collector. That really cut down on the noise. Doing it this way allows me to have a large high cfm dust collector with a seperator in a small shop and not lose any floor space. The noise reduction is a big plus also.

Mike Darr
 
#16 ·
Here's a question I have, maybe a dumb one, but anyway; if you use a couple of shop vacs at your different workstations that are each around 5hp, are you getting better suction and dust removal than a large unit with 1 to 3 hp that runs to the various stations?
 
#18 · (Edited)
NO! In answer to your question.:no: You need a good Dust Collector with a 2 micron filter, 4" hoses, and run to each station and get away from the shop vacs. :yes:
I built a suction manifold and put it behind my shop vac and I couldn't believe how much dust went through that shop vac then got caught in my DC. Here is what I have.
Pipe Gas Plant Soil

I bought it through Woodcraft. I'm going to add a thein seperator to it soon. Just remember "it is for your health, not to keep things clean." even though it will keep things cleaner and your lungs too. Here are some specs on it from the manufacturer;
With a 1550 CFM airflow capacity, a totally enclosed fan cooled permanently lubricated 2 HP 220 volt motor, and a 12-inch precision spin-balanced impeller, the 10-110 M1 is designed for continuous duty applications. The collector body is mounted on a sturdy steel base with 4 swivel casters allowing complete mobility within the shop. Equipped with an ultra-fine 2 micron washable filter bag, a 42 gallon re-usable clear plastic collector bag, and a 6-inch main inlet fitted with a dual 4-inch Y-inlet fitting, the 10-110 M1 is ideal for collecting fine general purpose wood and composite dust, as well as wood chips, in shops where multiple machine hook-ups are required and can be used for both stationary as well as mobile applications. The main inlet is equipped with an intake screen to prevent larger pieces from jamming in the impeller. The sound rating during operation is 80-90 decibels and its overall dimensions are 39 by 31 by 79 inches.
 
#19 ·
Only way to get quality dust collection is use quality dust collectors. Buying a HF collector will work, but you get what you pay for. Although with all the reports on this collector it seems to be a pretty good deal for the money.

A separator is a great idea, keep the fines out of the filters. That keeps the airflow in the system, and airflow is key to good dust collection.

Next thing is to duct all of your machines. In a mobile shop that can be difficult. But to have to attach the collection everytime you want to use the machine means you are going to have dust, because you aren't going to do it everytime. How do I know this? Because I have mine permanently ducted and sometimes I get to lazy to push the button to turn on the DC.
 
#21 ·
Horsepower and CFM don't matter very much at all.
You need to realize that collecting the lumps and chunks doesn't matter either.
It's the sub-micron fines that will kill your lungs. That alone is what needs collecting.

I run a drum sander in my drill press. With that, I shape abalone shell and slate as inlay in many of my wood carvings. The setup throws the dust straight into the pickup horn (1/2" away) on the end of my ShopVac hose with a plaster fines bag in the can. I really don't care about any crud that I can see.

Next experiment will be some sort of 5 gal bucket hookah setup. That way the dust hits/bubbles up through the water before the ShopVac.
 
#23 ·
It's the velocity of the air that determines if the dust settles out, stays suspended, or is even picked up at all, so velocity is important. CFM is related to the velocity by the size of pipe (and a few other things). Bigger pipe will have more CFM for the same velocity (but also requires more HP).
 
#24 · (Edited)
I do a similar setup to BernieL except I have the new JET 1100VX-CK Dust Collector. This thing is amazing, with the cyclone action, basically nothing comes back into my garage. I only run one tool at a time so I just connect it to whatever tool I am using. I have an Dust Deputy cyclone connected to my shopvac, that I run my ROS with and it does a good job also. I am a firm believer in the air deflection cyclone action type system.
 
#25 ·
So now that my brain is starting to fry thinking about and studying this, I am looking at the grizzly units with the 2.5 micron bags. I have a jet air filtration unit with a 1 micron filter in it already. I am trying to decide between the 1 to 2 hp units and between the bags or cartrige ones. Also if I want to run a 240 circuit in. The prices are all very close, the 1 1/2 hp bag seems good.
 
#31 ·
Geltz
It's a daunting task to remove as much dust as you can. If your successful you'll probably spend a good amount of money. But if you invest in a good sound system it will likely be with you for a long time. I never heard a guy complain about too much cfm. But everyone complains if it's not enough. Spend your money on the DC and add to it as you can.

Al

Nails only hold themselves.
 
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