Replies

1. 
   WayneL5 | Mar 27, 2005 04:40am | #1

   I've been very happy with the collector from Oneida Air Systems.  If you send them a shop layout, they'll recommend a system for you, including all the ductwork.  I've got a 1½ hp unit with a cylcone separator and a cartridge filter and it works very well.  I recommend the muffler, it's worth the money.

   A planer and jointer are fairly easy to collect from because the chips are large and fluffy and don't fly around the shop easily.  Table saws are notoriously difficult to collect from because it's really difficult to capture the fine dust from such a rapidly spinning blade, especially when most saws are not made with dust collection in mind. 

2. 
   woodensplinter | Mar 27, 2005 06:30am | #2

   Dust collector purchases are usually based on budget, space and power supply.  If you have a dedicated 240 V circuit available, the world is full of options.

   If you're looking for a cyclone, Oneida has great systems and duct design is included.

   Penn State has cylones and single stage systems.  I think they've now added duct design as well.  (?)

   I have a single stage 2 HP collector with 1 micron felt bags.  Works well in  my small shop.  Evenutally, I'd like to upgrade to a cannister filter.  Jet, Delta and Penn State (probably among others) offer these as packaged units now.  I'd shoot for a minimum of 1200 cfm. 1600 is better.  If you're only using one tool at a time, I wouldn't go past that.

   Probably the most important thing is to get good ducting and blast gates right off the bat.  It'll likely double the cost but it'll work well right off the bat.

1. 
   teacherterry | Mar 27, 2005 08:05am | #3

   Thanks for the feedbavk.  Currently, I am using a 4" flex hose to connect to my jointer, planer and table saw, a 10" Jet cabinet saw.  They are all within 6' of each other.  I disconnect the hose and move it from one tool to another.  Would you recommend sold ducting instead of the flex hose?  Can you use metal or pvc for the ducting.  I know about blast gates and could install them if I go with the solid ducting. 

   I have the Delta 13" planer.  The exhaust shoot  on it is very narrow where it leaves the machine.  With my current 650CFM Jet, it does not pick up all of the shavings as the wood is processed through the planer and sometimes damages the wood as the exhausted chips pass back through the rollers during the planing. That was my first reason for upgrading the DC. 

   Do you think that a 1 1/2 HP dust collector would work, or would the 240volt version with the larger CFM be that much better.  I am considering a Delta, Shop fox, or Grizzly.

   Thanks,

   Terry

1. 
   woodensplinter | Mar 27, 2005 10:46am | #4

   With short runs, I think the 1.5 HP collectors will do.  These are the minimum for a central system.

   The Delta with cannister (50-850A) would be my first choice, but it is 220 volt.

   The Delta 50-760 has a 1 micron bag and runs on 110 volts.  The web doesn't specify the amp draw.  I guess this would be my second choice.

   The Grizzly G1028Z is 110 volt but it draws 18 amps.  Will probably need at least a 20 amp time delay breaker.  The down side is it has a 30 micron bag, which is too coarse.

   The Shop Fox is identical to the Grizzly.

   Regarding ducting:  If you plan to have the dc stationary, run metal ducting to the machines and use short pieces of hose to connect the duct to the machine.  If you plan on moving the dc from tool to tool, then a short piece of hose would be adequate.

   The planer needs approximately 600 cfm for adequate collection.  Under ideal conditions, this requires a 5" duct.  Most planer dust hoods only have a 4" connection.  Regardless, the 1.5 hp units should give you considerably better results.  Unfortunately, most dc ratings are for the blower unit only, in free cfm.  When running in a small system, as a rule of thumb, plan on 50 - 70% of the claimed airflow.

   FYI:  I printed out a copy of the "Ductwork Design and Installation Guide" from the Oneida Air Systems web site.  It's a good basic reference.  http://www.oneida-air.com

   Good luck with your dc.

   Stan

2. 
   DougF | Mar 31, 2005 03:47pm | #8

   The problem you are encountering moving the waste from the planer is due to inadequate flow through the hose.  The 4" port at the planer will work, assuming you upgrade the current DC, if you immediately run it into a 5" or 6" duct to the main line or directly to the DC.  The duct needs to be sized to your collector: too large or too small, and the material will not be properly channeled.  CFM and static pressure are your 2 indicators: a machine that produces 1000 cfm at 10 is better than a machine that produces 1000 cfm at 6.  As static pressure increases the flow of material decreases.  The trick is to balance resistance (static pressure) of the pipe to the required cfm to vertically lift  chips and dust from the furthermost machine on the run and deposit it in the separator/bag/cannister.  Bottom line, a bigger DC running on 4" line will help some but you will be underutilizing the system's greater capacity to remove chip and dust from your work space.

   Doug

   Edited 3/31/2005 9:03 am ET by Doug

3. 
   Bioman | Mar 27, 2005 02:36pm | #5

   Whatever you get, make sure it has a micron filter system...without that all it is doing is keeping your shop clean and not your lungs.

4. 
   RandMCapozzi | Mar 27, 2005 05:00pm | #6

   If you want to make the right decision on a DC for your specific shop situation, read up on the DC info on Bill Pentz's site. Basically, to determine the DC you need: 1) know the CFM requirements of your current and possible future machines (Bill has a document with this). 2) Plan out the ducting (current and possible future) (Bill has tips on what type of ducting you should look at and how you should run it) 3) figure out the resistance of the duct plan at each machine's hood (Bill has a spreadsheet to help). 4) Pick a DC with the fan curve that will provide the required CFM for the resistance of the duct work.

   --Rob

1. 
   teacherterry | Mar 27, 2005 09:18pm | #7

   Rob-

   After reading through much of the info at the site you recommended, I have a new understanding of dust collection the and hazard that it surrounds us with.  My shop is rather small and for hobby use only.  However, I do produce my share of dust.  His liking of the Jet cannister seems like a good fit for what I am doing.  I live in Auburn, Washington, the west coast home of Jet.  They actually have a scratch and dent store in their building.  I am going to check them out next week and see what they have.

   Thanks for the good tip on the site.

   Terry Steiner

5. 
   sykesville | Aug 15, 2007 01:46am | #9

   I just this early summer put a woodworking shop in my otherwise finished basement, adjoined to a laundry room by a passage way and down a door from a carpeted family room. The shop includes a router table, drill press, tablesaw and bandsaw. Before I even turned on the equipment, I painstakingly researched and looked at various dust collection options. I admit, I spent big (1200), but I couldn't be happier. I bought the new Oneida 2.5 hp portable collector. It gives me the option of moving it around, if need be (haven't have the need yet), or leaving it in a corner. It's smallish, yet powerful, and there's basically no dust at all in my basement. No, I don't work for Oneida, I'm just a very happy customer. good luck