Dust collector question

Dust collectors are designed to move a large volume of air rather than provide high suction. Most smaller DC will have poor suction but higher CFM. Larger DC provide both. Also, by choking down the inlet to 2.5", you lose the majority of the airflow from it; it just isn’t designed, nor have the power to move air with that sized outlet.

I built a cyclone to make my DC a two stage system and it really improved the performance. I will be changing the filter bag to a cartridge filter next to kick it up a bit more. ?

Check blade rotation . If you bought it used . If it is turning the wrong way it will still work but not good. If it is 110 volts , and rotating the wrong way , un plug the unit , remove the cover , if the wires a clearly marked switch wires 5 & 8 .

According to the product description on Amazon, it should get 696 cfm with a 4" hose. To maximize that, make sure you seal the the fan housing with silicone and all hose connections should be tight. If you make a separator, make sure it’s also sealed air tight. It’s not too powerful. You may not be able to pull large chips but it should work well for dust depending on the tool setup.

You can’t compare it to your shop vac, which can probably suck a bolt off the floor but moves very little air thanks in part to the narrow hose.

You won’t get anything near that 700 CFM, the factory specs on CFM about about as accurate as the 3.5 HP your router has. But whatever you get, it will be reduced considerably by choking it down to that puny vac hose. Someone explained it, DCs move at low static pressures, vacs are just the opposite.

Thanks guys, this thing cost me $40 so i bought it with out a second thought, But i was wanting to make a separator to put before it, but i have been debating on keeping it or holding out for a bigger one. Not sure if i want to invest more into this one. Making a permanent spot for it.

Take a look at making your own separator using a street cone. It is easy and works great.

+1 for the street cone separator.

I do have a big cone in my back yard, that i have no use for, looks like i have a use for it now!

https://woodworkingweb.com/entries/51-bucket-chip-collector

Tony, here is my street cone separator. I’ve seen lots of different ones online, and mine is no original idea, but I like this style because it is super durable. It can be kicked around and bashed and no worries about it breaking. I went through 3 different designs, reusing what I could from each previous one and I’m really happy with this one.

One bit of advice I would give is to use silicone to seal your joints in places that it will never see the light of day. For example, I put silicone all around the plywood circles for the lid on the inside of the circle/lid sandwich. On my first one, I used silicone on the outside, and it just doesn’t hold up. Dust is the enemy of silicone and it peels up and becomes useless, causing leaks. Anyway, have fun with that. It will change your life forever and that’s not hyperbole! It’s true!

I am very surprised with the statement “….low micron DC filtering is over blown.” The very fine dust particles are the ones which hang in the air a long time and can be drawn deep into the lungs. My intent is not to be an alarmist but breathing the small particles is not good for anyone and especially those getting older. A 30 micron bag is putting out huge amounts of the small partcles. IMHO everyone should do the best possible to filter out the small particles. If you can not have a good dust collection system, then a dust mask. While some maybe able to breath this stuff with no apparent effect, it likely will catch up with you.

I have always agreed with " the dust that you can’t see, is the most harmful to your lungs"
I want to still be building in The Woodshop when I’m old. ?

My intent was not to get in a huge discussion over dust but only to present a different viewpoint. Not everyone has the space or money for a 1/2 micron dust collection system. But, people should be aware. Even a 5 micron dust particle can stay in the air for 30 minutes. Is it worth time discussing the hazards of dust….I think so.

Most people on forums are aware of the hazards of dust and do what they can. IMHO a dust collector with a 30 micron bag is a hazard pumping out way too much fine dust.

I know that I will not change some minds and sorry if I upset anyone. No, there is no way one can collect all the dust but you can do whatever is reasonable. Do some websites go overboard…yes BUT
The effects of wood dust on health is well documented. I use a dust collector and air filtration and a HEPA vac on my sander. I do not have any breathing problems and do not want to have any. If you choose to think it is not important for health…that is your opinion.

Sorry… I did not say that at all. Please, I do not want to argue with anyone. Yes, I do have a reasonable grasp of dust collection and personal protection equipment as I dealt with it for many years in my work environment. We used N100 masks with certified fit tests or cartridge type masks. I wore a mask or filter almost everyday.

I am going to leave it with this……breathing dust is not good for you. Anyway that one can mitigate the effects of dust in a shop is good. The more you can reduce the dust you breath the better. Finer dust particles are dangerous as they can be pulled farther into your lungs and the small particles can stay in the air for a long time.

The hole in the plywood is too small and is restricting air flow.
You need at least a 4" hole.

Nothing, i have been way too busy to try and take action with it. As of now it serves as a shelf for some scraps.

Good grief Chuckie, don’t start that stuff on this site as well.

I bought one of these years back, for fifty. I now have much better systems (3), but still think this was a huge jump from my vacuums, that were better at vacuuming floors and such than collection the dust and debris tossed by my planer and saws.

The first thing to do is, lose the bottom cloth bag and replace it with a clear plastic one. Many use clear lawn bags from a big box store.

I bought some of the foam used to seal under pickup campers and that makes a better seal for the upper and lower bags.

The upper bag of these are, commonly, referred to as dust pumps, because they let a lot of fine particles through. A new, finer micron bag is a good investment, even on a cheap collector.

On down the road, rather than sell this, and if you have the room, do what I did – dedicate this to the band saw, miter box or some other tool and let your new one be your go to collector for the real chip producers, like the lathe, jointer or planer.

One of the things you may find, like I did, is, knocking the dust loose from the inside of the bag drops it on the plate and the unit must be shaken to get it all down to the lower bag, or it goes right back to the inside of the filter (bag/cartridge).

As others say, don’t restrict the flow to less than four inches. However, I do with my four bag system, when I connect it to the router table. It has an upper and lower collector (down and side draft) that are standard shop vac size. Still, the massive air flow leaves less than a teaspoon of sawdust and chips from a project.

I use my collector to vacuum the floor. I’m so used a four inch pipe, using a small vac is frustrating, except for detail cleaning. Generally, there is little dust in my shop that a twice a year blow out wouldn’t cure. It’s SOOOO much nicer than the old days of using a broom and vacuum, or just dealing with a mess.