After my recent bout with lacewood and the allergic reaction, I am going to get a portable dust collector for my garage shop. I am looking at two models, the Jet 1 hp cannister (don’t know the model) and the Steel City 1.5 hp model. The downside to the SC is there is no cannister option for it. It does come with a 1 micron bag.
Do any of you have the SC dust collector and if so, how do you like it? What about the dust bag v. cannister? How much of a pain is the bag v. the cannister. The cannister on the Jet is a 2 micron filter. Oh, the Jet is $50 more expensive than the Steel City for .5 horse less power. To me, the SC is a better deal value wise, but the bag is bugging me for some reason. I’ve got two Steel City tools–14″ bandsaw and mortiser, and love them both. Thanks for the help. Tom
“Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand”
Edited 11/13/2007 4:33 pm by ctsjr82
Replies
Not necessary knocking JET.. However I had a Jet 1 hp.
I gave it to my local high school wood shop.
My shop vacuum worked better for general dust control which I feel is the biggest problem.
The Jet worked better on my planner and jointer. It has a bigger hose and just sucking up chips and hardly any dust.. I just sweep up the chips from the planer/jointer. Hardly any dust to speak of from those.
This is not to say that the JET did not pick up dust. I just think the good old shop vacuum worked better at less cost.
Just my opinion.
EDIT: I forgot to say.. What is the cost of the canister replacement verses a bag. The little canister in my shop vacuum is not inexpensive....
Edited 11/13/2007 6:28 pm by WillGeorge
Edited 11/13/2007 6:31 pm by WillGeorge
The Steel City does not have a canister option, just the 1 micron dust bag. The Jet has a cannister option, but for $30 less, the Steel City has 1.5 hp v. 1 hp. for the Jet. That's 1200 cfm v. 650 cfm. My shop vac is not adequate to use for dust collection, and a new one would be comparable to the dust collectors. Tom"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"
I have the Steel City dust collector, and am pleased with it. First collector I've owned. It works great with my 8" jointer and SC shaper, but not quite enough power for the Woodmaster 18" planer/molder. They suggested 2 hp, but I just had to think I could get by a tad smaller. So I will upgrade to a bigger one in the future.
But it does a good job, and is a quality machine imo.
Jerry
JerryThanks for the feedback. Is the bag a pain or not a worry? Tom"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"
Agree with FG on 1 HP not cutting the mustard on a larger jointer and planer. I kept my 1 HP when I got a Penn State cyclone, but for a purpose. I use it with a two way connection for the SCMS and the router table. And by using a 12' 4" hose from it to a cut out dust chute on the bottom of my cyclone chip cannister, I can connect to it and suck the chips out without removing it. The chips go to a disposable plastic bag on the 1 HP DC. Remove it and take it to the street. Makes life easy.
The universal cannister filters Forest Girl mentioned can be had from Penn State Industries for one source... just measure your rim diameter on the DC unit and go to their web-site to see if they have one that meets your needs.
Sarge..
Thanks, Sarge. As usual, good information. I'll let you know what I wind up with--leaning towards the SC, and if I can economically convert it to a canister, I will. Tom"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"
The bag just takes a few minutes to empty and replace. It can fill up quickly in a long session of milling, though.
But again, it's my only experience with a collector, so I don't have anything to compare it to.
Jerry
JerryAre you referring to the 1 micron dust bag on top of the machine or the clear plastic chip bag on the bottom? My worry is that cleaning the top dust bag is going to be a hassle. SC says it's 'machine washable' but how much dust do you have to beat out of it before putting it in the washer? Tom"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"
Sorry, brain-dead for a moment. The top bag does fill up with dust, I just turn it inside out and use my shop vac, after getting most of the dust off with a broom. Didn't seem like a big problem, but I'm not sure I'd get brave enough to wash it.
Jerry
Thanks. That's the feedback I was looking for. Tom"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"
Morning Tom...
Yep.. ya gotta beat out that bag as Jerry mentioned on occasion as the dust sticks to it and clogs the pores.. meaning it won't circulate clean air back out. It's not that difficult.
You can wash it after beating it out, but... but... ya better take it to a launder-mat and use a commercial machine or your obituary will appear in the morning paper with "your spouse" listed as the cause of death and that's a fact. ha.. ha... ha..ha..ha..
BTW... cannisters have their own little quirks also as they are most definitely not maintenance free. They clog also and you turn the crank. But.. every so often you have to blow them out with compressed air. If ya don't have a compressor, you need one with a cannister. I had to buy a small Hitachi ($150) just for that.. even though I needed one anyway to maintain tires, run a brad gun, etc., etc. So.....
Sarge..
Edited 11/15/2007 10:07 am ET by SARGEgrinder47
I wouldn't spend money on a 1HP collector, too much of a chance it just won't do the job. There are aftermarket cannisters available, you might want to check the dimensions of the Steel City and see if you can convert. Sorry I don't remember which company(ies) offer the aftermarket.
FGThanks. I've pretty much decided against a 1 hp, especially since I can get almost double the cfm's for $30 less. I'm going to Woodcraft today or Friday and will make my call then. Tom"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"
I recently bought a Delta 50-760 and outfitted it with a Wynn Enviromental cannister. Cost for the cannister was about $120 with shipping. It made a huge diff!
Check out http://www.wynnenv.com. There's a great deal of info there. Maybe the cannister that fit my Delta will fit the Steel City unit.
I too just got the Delta 50-760 1½ HP DC, and so far it has been great. I will soon be adding a cyclone lid that goes on a 55 gal. drum in front of the inlet to the DC.
I've been told that makes cleaning a lot easier as you won't have to do it as often. Also it keeps a lot of the heavier chips from going through the impeller and getting caught in the filter bag, which is 1 micron.
As a previous poster states, I can retrofit a cannister but I want to better understand how all this DC stuff works first. I'm still reading the Wynn Environmental literature. Concerned about large chips cutting through the pleats in the cannister so will have to see how the cyclone lid works first.
When I first got the unit and assembled it (read piece of cake), I had a pile of shavings & sawdust that I put there to test it out. One inlet of the 4" Y was plugged and I had the 6' piece of 4" flex host connected to the other side. Held the hose at my knee and fired it up. Sucked the shavings/dust right up off the floor. OK, this should work right nice.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
I have a 1 hp delta, and it does the job on my bandsaw, and my dewalt planer.
The dewalt, however, has it's own dust fan and adds to the power of the collector.
I've had touble with the 1hp not doing the job on a tablesaw or on a larger planer,
but for the tools I use it for it's just fine.
Decide based on what tools you are planning to use this for... big planers require at least
the 1.5hp collector. You can always add a canister to the Steel City later on... I'm pretty sure it's the same size as the delta 1.5hp collector. ( you could look this up )
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