Harbor Freight 2hp dust collector

[RobW]

I'm thinking about getting this dust collector for a shop I'm building in the basement of our new house. I've been reading that 6" duct is what you want, but the website says this has only 4". The picture shows a wye. Can I remove the wye and expose a 6" duct? Also, can it be rewired for 220 volt? I know the bags on this probably stink, so which Penn State, Grizzly, or other good 1 micron or lower bags fit this thing?

On a separate note, I'm not going to build the shop walls until the house has been through 1 winter and has settled. (Chicago area) Will plastic sheeting stapled to the joists and taped to the floor work as temporary walls to corral the dust? SWMBO has made it clear she can't stand dust in the house. The gas heater is also in the basement, so I want to make sure no dust gets sucked into the house.

Any ideas?

Rob

Also, if anybody in the Chicago area is bored and wants to help us pack for the move, PLEASE don't be afraid to offer help. Moving sucks!

[Patrick Fitzgerald]

There is a good website discussing this dust collector:

I've been reading that 6" duct is

According to the FAQ on that site: The inlet flange is 5" in diameter. The included inlet Y-adapter has two 4" ducts and one 5". [...] The verdict is still out for what actual size ducting is perfect, but owners have had success using 4" PVC ducting. Preliminary thoughts based on impeller size and horsepower rating imply that 6" may be too large for this dust collector to provide adequate static pressure and air flow, but this has not been proven. Additionally, makeshift calculations show that 5" duct would probably be ideal, but cost for ducting in this size is very inhibitive.

According to the FAQ on that site: No. Furthermore, users have recommended that this unit run on its own dedicated 20 amp 110V/115V circuit.

According to the FAQ on that site: I'm considering aftermarket bags not yet on the Approved Accessories List. What is the bag rim size? The filter bag support rim has an OD of

19.5".

The web site lists bags that others have successfully used.

[Phisherman]

Not sure which DC you are referring (HF sells several DCs). Look for one that has a metal propeller and a motor that can run a 240v. I have a PennState and later switched it from 120v to 240v. Large collection bags make a big difference. Most tools have 4" ports so if you use 6" piping you'll end up buying adapters and/or some retro-fitting. Why not just get a decent 2HP Grizzly and forget about junky Harbor Freight? A remote ON/OFF is really nice.

The plastic sheet>I'm thinking about getting this dust collector for a shop I'm building

[Ace]

If I were you I would buy the Grizzly G1029Z. It comes with a .3 Micron bag and sells for $259.95. It is 2 hp and 3450 RPM. You won't be sorry. Why buy a Yugo when you can get a Rolls Royce in dust collectors. Man does this unit have the power.

[Dr. Deb]

Got one and it works great - now. The advertised CFM is about three time optimistic. But for less than $50.00 you can double the through put and wind up with a really nice dust collector. If you are intrested in the gory details send me an e-mail

Deb

[Jim Behning]

[Dan]

On Sat 11 Sep 2004 05:20:15p, Jim Behning wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Here:

'm not going out to tiny url to make it easy. Either go to google groups, find the "Dust Collection" thread and Deb's posts of about January 2, 2004, or cut n paste that monster up there into your browser. :-)

Basically, Deb put two 1-micron bags on the output of her dust collector. Doing that can't help but improve the throughput. I plan on doing that - as soon as I finish the workbench and build a rolling cabinet with an overarm blade guard for the table saw.

[Greg O]

I wonder if the Grizzley and the Harbor Freight collectors are the same! The HF collector is a great buy for $150! I would, without question, buy it again. Greg

[Mortimer Schnerd, RN]

I'll make it easy:

==== cut begins ====

Here is the upgrade, (total cost about $60.00)

I ordered to collector rings (Part #33) for my dust collector (model # 45378) at $14.35 a piece for a total of about $32.00 when s/h is added. I ordered another "shaker felt" filter bag from Highland Hardware for $29.95, about $34.00 with s/h.

I then built a box 21w X 42L X 5H box, divided it on the top into two squares with a 5" cross piece, then put 2 1/2 wide peices around the inside of each opening and triangular corner blocks to give me two octagonal openings about

16"w. On the botton of the box i located a similar opening in the center of the bottom. Then put two pieces of 1/4 luan between the bottom frame and the upper ends to give me a slope for the dust to slide down into the collection bag.

Then I mounted the box to the collector on the dust collector with angle braces and caulked the joint. I took the two new collectors, cut most of the inlet off of one and cut slots in the other inlet, then slid one inside the other and screwed them together with sheet metal screws. I then mounted the two collectors over the top holes, secured with angle braces and caulked. Then attached the bags in their respective places and turned it on. Worked like a champ. Total cost for a moveable 1200CFM dust collector, about $220.00 (dust collector, collectors, bag)

==== cut ends ====

[David Dube]

A friend of mine had nice bags he game me when he upgraded his jet dc to the new fangled canister filter thinger. Since I had decent bags, I opted for the Harbor Freight.

The "Y" connector can be removed to reveal a 6" port (maybe it's 5", but I believe it's a 6").

The motor can not be re-wired to 220... I found this out after the fact... a bummer.

HF's output is quite a bit generous... many people report that it's equivalent to most DCs (jet, delta) that are rated at 100cfm.

For $160... no shipp> If I were you I would buy the Grizzly G1029Z. It comes with a .3 Micron bag

[Curly Woods]

We bought one as emergency unit for our shop. We had to use it already and for the dollar, I can not complain as to its performance. The bags are some of the easiest to replace that we have ever used too. All in all a great unit for a home shop I would think.