DC purchase (Canada)

[Highspeed]

I am looking at buying a dust collector but I don't know which to buy. I have narrowed it down to 2 different collectors. My shop space is a small 9ft by 16ft, and I want to connect it to my tablesaw centre, my Jet jointer, and my router table. I also wouldn't mind to put a 2 1/2" point to use as a shop vac. I will be using a cyclone lid from Lee Valley and blast gates at the main for every machine. The main would be

4" as would the individual machine pipes. As the shop is so small I find that moving the DC from machine to machine would be more hassle than its worth.

The two collectors are the Jet JDC-830

which has 830CFM, but a 30 micron bag. The other is from Busy Bee Craftex CT029N which has 825CFM and a 1 micron bag.

The Jet is on sale at All In One for $249 and the Craftex for $259. Which would you buy?

Thanks,

Lars

[JGS]

[TBone]

I would go with the Jet and then buy the 1 micron bags for it ASAP. The jet flows more air and has a higher static pressure which will be important if you decide to go with your 4" fixed pipe to each machine. Another thing is that these measurements for the jet were probably made with the crap 20 and

30 micron bags and if you upgrade to a 1 micron bag set, these numbers will get even better. Contrary to popular belief, the 1 micron bags flow air MUCH better than the 30 micron bags do. As for using it as a shop vac, that would be a bad idea. A DC just doesn't have the static pressure required to do that job very well.

[Dan]

On Sun 12 Jun 2005 01:26:20p, "TBone" wrote in news:g7%qe.417$ [e-mail]:

Beg pardon? Can you or anyone elaborate on that? I'm not saying it's not true. I CAN'T say that since I don't know enough about the physics. But since it goes against everything I've heard about the low-micron bags, I'd like very much to know more.

[TBone]

The 30 micron bags are really just cheap cloth. There is no real consistency to the size of the openings in them and they can range from completely closed to 30 microns and larger with the higher percentage being just about closed. In many cases, the dust particles get hopelessly trapped between the fibers with openings close to the size of the particle further reducing the flow capability while there are still some areas are so large, the dust just blows thru as if the bag isn't even there but the overall restriction due to the clogged and closed percentage of the material is significant. If you can get to a running dust collector with 30 micron bags, put your hand on the bag and feel how tight it is, like a balloon and this is caused by the bags resistance to air flow

Now the 1 micron bags OTOH, are a completely different animal. They have the feel and thickness of felt. The air passages are fairly consistent and dense throughout the material and at less than 1 micron. This seems like it would be constrictive but because the entire bag is a fine mesh of these holes are a fairly consistent dense measure, there is plenty of passages for the air to pass thru. Since the holes are so small, most of the dust particles simply hit the inside of the bag and fall to the bottom when the DC is shut down or the bag is shaken because they are just to big to get stuck in the fine mesh. If you were to touch one of these bags while on a running DC, they would yield almost as if the DC wasn't running at all because they have so little resistance to the airflow. In many cases, they don't even fully inflate when the DC is started, especially when they are new.

[mew]

[Larry Jaques]

On 12 Jun 2005 15:41:45 -0700, the inscrutable "mew" spake:

I opted for the 0.3 micron felt bag. They're the only type which are filtering fine enough particles to meet HEPA specs. I got a Griz bag to go on my Griz G1029 DC.

--- Chaos, panic, and disorder--my work here is done.

Comprehensive Website Development

[Highspeed]

Thanks all for the advice, I will probably get the Jet and upgrade the bag. Do you know where to get the bags? All In One doesn't seem to have smaller than 5 micron.

[Larry Jaques]

On Sun, 12 Jun 2005 22:06:06 -0400, the inscrutable "Highspeed" spake:

Duh!

search for "filter bag" I think they ship to Canuckistan.

P.S: Why the Jet?

--- Chaos, panic, and disorder--my work here is done.

Comprehensive Website Development

[TBone]

Because it is a better unit.

[Highspeed]

Jet has 5 more CFM and is $10 less than the others. General is just overpriced for what you get. The Busy Bee (Craftex) just seems to scare me. Delta? Not interested and Canada sucks as you can't get Grizzly, HF, and many other brands. I guess we just live with what we can get.

Does anyone know if Jet USA will ship to Canada, and if so do you think the bags will fit the Canadian models?

[Clint]

Why do you need Jet USA to ship to Canada? There's a number of Jet Canada dealers, and It think they have most of the same units for sale. I found a couple of vendors for their table saws, when I was in the market for one of them. I'm in Western Canada, if that makes a difference.

Have you looked at the King units? They might not have one that fits in your price range (I think they've got a 650CFM unit which would be cheaper, and a 1200CFM unit which is more expensive), but they come with 1 micron bags, and are pretty readily available here in Canada.

You can also check out

for more Canadian specific information.

Clint

[Highspeed]

I have looked at King, but I just found a Delta AP400 for $200. I think that might be good. The King equivalent is $219-279 depending on the dealer. As for Jet shipping, it is because I can't find 1 micron bags. However the Delta should be easier to find parts for.

Cl> Why do you need Jet USA to ship to Canada? There's a number of Jet Canada