Dust collectors

[Howard]

Buy something bigger. I had a 650/850 size unit now I have one rated at 1200. Higher pressure drop is handy.

You will need a trash can separator or similar for the planer. Amazing how much and how fast the planer can fill up the DC bag.

Take a look at Fine Woodworking April 2006 #183 page 38 for a good discussion on Portable Dust Collectors

Also look at Wynn Environmental, I purchased a cartridge there and I am satisfied with it and Wynn.

F> I've definetly decided to replace my shop vac with a DC unit this spring. >

[rmeyer1]

You will kick yourself every time you want to put in some ductwork for central collection. Get the biggest unit you can now, at very least 1200+.... Get a cyclone if at all possible. You will thank us in the future ... You WILL want to pipe your shop and you will have to give away the 1hp unit.

[D. G. Adams]

I'll second that. I made the mistake of buying a 1 HP portable unit. It did the job, but was under powered. I've got a 1.5 HP Jet that the wife gave me for my birthday. It's great. I think if I had it to do over I'd get a cyclone though.

D. G. Adams

[Ron]

I've definetly decided to replace my shop vac with a DC unit this spring.

I'm also just about 100% convinced to go with a canister model w/ $300-$350 being my price range.

The local Rocklers has the Jet DC-650 canister for $299, thru April. I'm also considering the PSI DC1BXL canister unit.

The PSI unit will be about $350 when s/h costs are considered.

They both have 1hp motors, the PSI unit moves 850 cfm vs the Jet's 650. Jets canister is rated at 2 microns vs PSI 1 micron filters

The PSI unit also includes 8' of pipe & 15 bags.

They both seem like good values and what PSI gives you for the extra $50 is probably worth it as well.

That said.. I'm planing on using it mostly with my Delta 13" planer, router table and

14" bandsaw. The BS and RT shouldn't be problems, but, I've read where the planer many need closer to 800 CFM to do a good job. I normally plane a lot of WOak, ROak and Cherry

I'm hopefully going to replace my table saw with the newer Ridgid model next and I'd like to be able to hook that up as well.

I'd appreciate and real world experience with either of these units or others in the same price range.

ThankX in advance, Ron

[Leon]

I have a Jet 1100CFM canister type collector. For reference, it does not let a spec of dust escape from my Delta 15" stationary planer.

Consider this also. the rated CFM is with everything brand new and not clogged. As the canister clogs, the capacity of the collector drops. You can turn the flapper to knock the dust loose inside the canister but the smaller units will require you to do this more often. The finer the saw dust the more often the canister clogs.

I run my collector to my Jet cabinet saw and different saws will yield different results. That said, I still have to run the collector hose inside the saw to clean it out but not nearly as often and there are going to be some cuts that the collector is simply not going to catch.

[Dave Jackson]

I am also of the opinion that a larger DC would be much better. The

650-800cfm models will not perform that much better than your shop vac and will still leave you moving the DC from machine to machine with a short legnth of hose to be effective. In use, the smaller DC will fill up, especially when hooked to a planer, pretty quickly and adding a trash can separator would be difficult with a smaller unit that must be moved often. Personally I use a Jet 1100 w/canister and have it plumbed in. I used the PVC sewer and drain pipe that is only about $6 or so for a 10 ft. legnth. The trash can separator catches the larger chips and extends the time the DC needs emptied. I've probably got about $700 total into my DC system, but I've tweaked a few things, like adding a remote and larger impeller, metal blast gates, etc. However, I just looked at Rocklers site and it looks like the Jet 1100 CFM DC with canister is $399. Add in a trash can and separator ($50) and some blast gates/plumbing, ($100) and you'll have a DC system that will work so much better. Hopefully you can stretch the budget to $550 or so! --dave

P.S. If you want to know more about DC in general, check out

and click on "dust collection and cyclones"

[rmeyer1]

I don't believe you can re-wire the PSI DC2000BCF for 110v. It is an especially good deal price wise during the current sale. I have the PSI DC2V2 which can run 110/220V which I run on 220v. It costs more at this time than the PSI 2000BCF at this time. I don't know about Jet DC's but imagine they are well made and would likely give good service. I like my DC2V2 with fabric bags (which I plan adding a canister to) but would have been much better off buying the DC2000 for 220v in the beginning. Try to figure out some way to run 220v to your unit, you won't be sorry you did.

[Ron]

Appreciate the replies.

I've been doing more research and agree 1.5 hp / 1000CFM is probably the minimum I need.

I'm also realizing that the purchase price of this tool may be secondary to my health and my familys.

The local Rockler's has same deal on the 1100 model also, but, ..

My biggest question is 'Is a 2 micron filter good enouth'?

As mentioned on Bill Pentz's web site, particles below 2.5 micron are the worst.

That said, should I be considering the PSI DC2000BCF (1 micron) over the Jet

1100 (2 micron) canister or do most still wear dust masks (as I would expect to) as a 'last line of defense'?

Is rewiring the PSI unit for 110 a big deal. I only have 1 circuit open in my service panel, so installing another 220 line may be a problem (unless I can find a real good deal on a gas dryer ;)

Also, I already have a dust separaror, 4" in / 2.5" out to the shop vac..

Finally, what is the current draw on the Jet 1100 @ 110v.

ThankX again, Ron

[Dave Jackson]

The Jet 1100 is rated at 11 amps @ 120v but can be rewired 220v. That is with no airflow restriction at all. After adding plumbing, mine runs at 6 amps or so and after 12" impeller upgrade runs at 8 amps or so, again, with plumbing attached. If you've read through Bill's site, it's probably got you real concerned with dust and health issues. Personally, I can't afford to create a perfect dust free shop DC. I dunno if it be that advantageous anyway with so many other things in life causing health problems, but it's nice to see someone at least trying to keep us informed of the dangers of woodworking and what to do about it. I don't wear a dust mask, but have been considering adding an air filtration system like this:

in the near future to catch really small dust. Good luck --dave