Dust Collector & Sander OK Together?

[Bob]

I was going to get a 1HP dust collector to use with the machines in my garage/workshop. I was thinking I would replace my shop vac with the DC so I won't take up too much space.

The person at the store said it is a bad idea to use my PC 5" random orbit sander and a DC. Something about not enough air would get to the DC and the air would cavitate making the suction poor. I really don't want to take up space with a DC & a shop vac. I was going to add 3 feet of 2" hose to the 4 foot long 4" hose the DC came with.

Anyone have experience with using a 1HP DC and a 5" sander?

[Leon]

He may be on to something there, however I use my dust collector with my 12" disk sander and it works very well. However, the disk sander uses a 2"~2.5" x 3' hose which I attach to my 4" DC hose via a step up adapter.

I also run the 4" DC hose directly to my router fence and use the same step up adapter.

You certainly want a large hose to get close to the tool but a 4" hose real close to the tool would be a PIA.

IMHO a 1 hp sized DC may only be marginally better than you shop vac. I would recomend larger, at least 1100 CFM.

Additionally Fein And Festool make shop vaccums that work very well with the hand operated tools and are quiet. Oddly my Festool vac will go farther between bag changes than my old shop vac which had 3 times the storage volume. I suspect that the design and suction is so much better that the Festool will pack the depris in the bag more effeciently. When the Festool vac finally begins to loose suction the 4~5 gal bag is "heavy".

[Lew Hodgett]

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------------------------------------- "Le> He may be on to something there, however I use my dust collector

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Easy way to find out.

Hook up the 5" ROS with 1" hose.

If vac motor labors like it's trying to pull against a dead head, add a hole in the side of the hose to reduce the suction head but still has enough suction to pick up sanding dust.

Easiest way would be to add a pvc pipe fitting to the hose and then drill the hole in it.

Lew

[RonB]

If you have space, one option might be a simple sanding box/surface that could connect to the DC. You can buy them but they are exceedingly simple to make. A simple box-frame closed on the bottom and with perforated hardboard (pegboard) on top. Put you DC port on the side or bottom. It will pull nearly anything that comes from the sander into the box and to the collector. You can size it to convenience but about 2'x3' workrd well for me in a previous setup. I have seen pictures of entire sections of bench top, near a miter station, devoted to sanding and collection. If your perforated surface gets too small, you might have to provide an adjustable port to keep from straining the collector or leave the gate on another device open a little. Imagination is the limit.

[Leon]

Maybe not, my Festool shop vac with 11' hose is about 1" in diameter. If that hose was attached to my DC it may not be as effective.

Actually with a Festool shop vac there can be too much suction from a shop vac, it tends to cause the sander to stick to flat surfaces and too much suction makes sanding more difficult, so you turn down the vac motor speed. That probably creates the same effect as your suggestion above.

[Lee Michaels]

"Leon" wrote

Festool has a variable speed control on its vacuum??

Does it have a built in beer cooler too? ;-)

[Markem]

A German beer cooler (about 59f).

Mark

[Leon]

no, but mine has an optional gatage. '~)

[Swingman]

Mine (CT22E) has a "suction force" dial that is adjustable from 1200W to

350W . You usually run it around 160 cubic meters of air per hour from a high of 228.

Does it have a built in beer cooler too? ;-)

I'm sure there is a "systainer" that can be used to hold a suitable cooler that will fit right on top of the dust extractor.

[Scott Lurndal]

He's definitely on to something there. Rather than using the collection shroud and hose on the ROS with the DC, I'd plumb the DC to a downdraft table and do the ROS work there.

scott

[hex]

Hmmmm; cooler sounds hard since it would have to be on the suction side of the power unit, but you could possibly put a coffee warmer on the output side ... the air is compressed there and should be capable of shedding heat. This does, however, sound like a great way to add some find grit to the morning cuppa Joe.

[Vic Baron]

I use the PC with a Grizzly DC using a 1" hose with no problems at all.

Vic

[Larry Jaques]

On Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:09:29 -0800 (PST), the infamous Bob scrawled the following:

Simple fix for that is to add another door and leave the thing cracked open a bit, reducing the suction without cavitation. It'll still clean out that sander like a champ but it'll keep the DC from straining.

If you have ducting run to several machines, just crack one of those open. No biggie.

[Joe]

Hmmmm; cooler sounds hard since it would have to be on the suction side of the power unit, but you could possibly put a coffee warmer on the output side ... the air is compressed there and should be capable of shedding heat. This does, however, sound like a great way to add some find grit to the morning cuppa Joe.

Hey, get your fiber wherever you can...

[Phisherman]

These two will work good together. A shop vac does not move enough air to be as effective as a DC, just the opposite as you stated.