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Dust Collection Solution CHEAP!

10K views 46 replies 11 participants last post by  DesertRatTom 
#1 · (Edited)
I am a big fan of the Harbor Freight 2hp dust collection unit. I have two I got on sale. Well, they're on sale again, $230. And, there is a 25% discount coupon as well, good Sunday and Monday, Jan. 1 and 2. That's -$57.50 for a total of $172.50.

It has a 5 micron bag filter, but you can get a Wynn drum filter of 1 micron for it so you can leave it inside your shop. The cloth filter is not sufficient for inside, but will work if you can roll the unit outside the workshop when in use. I use a 4 inch collapsable hose and attach it to each machine as I use the tool. When you use the Wynn drum filter, you are not pumping warm (or AC) air out of the shop. You clean the filter by blowing air through the outside of the filter to clear away fine particles, that fall into the clear plastic bag. You can buy additional plastic bags on Amazon.

This thing will suck a golf ball through a garden hose. Put a chip collector in front of it or get used to hearing stuff hit the fan-literally. The cost of this will be less than the home made solutions everyone's been discussing lately. You will be very happy with this combination.

Use a credit card if you must to get this. It is an amazing low price and there's no guarantee it will come around again. If you could compare the sawdust in my shop before and after adding this unit, you'd be amazed.

Final points: When you install the castors, put the nut on the top of the base to assure free movement of the castor. Second, you should find a way to tape the top of the plastic bag to the metal rim. Without it, the strap that holds it will leak. Third, the Wynn filter cartridge shown is pretty easy to install, but read the instructions first.

The reviews on this unit are very good, and if you get a ringer, HF will probably replace it.
 

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#6 ·
The base is about 24x36, and with the Wynn filter it is about 5'8" tall. I have mine pushed into a corner in the back of the shop. I have a WEN filter hung from the ceiling about 6 ft away so any fines get pulled through that filter as well. You can't believe the difference in air cleanliness now vs before I installed this combo.
 
#8 ·
This thing will suck a golf ball through a garden hose. Put a chip collector in front of it or get used to hearing stuff hit the fan-literally. The cost of this will be less than the home made solutions everyone's been discussing lately. You will be very happy with this combination.

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I think Harbor Freight is a good cheap DC. I am not sure the cost will be less than some of the home made units. How much does a Wynn filter cost, probably more than the unit? Maybe less if you blow the exhaust outside but not if you buy a high quality filter. My home made DC is cheap except for the Super Dust Deputy.

How many amps are the motors? Probably less than a Blador motor.
I thought about it as I have a Harbor Freight fairly close to me but I wanted more and still like my home made unit better.

I have heard the fans are 10 inches in size in the Harbor Freight DCs. Is that true? Some people in the past upgraded the fans with the 12 inch Rikon fans until Rikon quit selling them.
 
#10 ·
OK, the unit is a good basic unit. But the Super Dust Deputy 4 inch model is $170, on Amazon, more. Then you need a blower, drum, a filter and some hardware.. Oops, now you're talking $300 or more for a basic home built unit.

Now, my personal reason for talking about this is that I spent far more on my home made attenpts than I have for these units, and these work FAR better than my home made stuff.
 
#11 · (Edited)
I think the 1790 cfm is an inflated number. I don't think you can actually make 1790 cfm with a China made 2 HP and 10 inch fan. My guess would be less than 800 cfm from the reading I have been doing.

Check this link. I think this is where I found my info.

Dust Collection Research - Home

There is a index table some where. I will look for it.

PS
I found this on Bill's site.
In spite of the exaggerations, citing maximum airflows and testing tricks all major brand name small shop dust collectors and cyclones sized over 1.5 hp provided the 350 cubic feet per minute (CFM) needed for good chip collection but no dust collector under 3 hp or cyclone under 3.5 hp provided the 1000 CFM airflow that our vendors who guarantee air quality established that we need for good fine dust collection.

There is a lot more and it is easy to get lost on his site. But it's the best info I have seen.
 
#12 ·
I think the 1790 cfm is inflated a number. I don't think you can actually make 1790 cfm with a China made 2 HP and 10 inch fan. My guess would be less than 800 cfm from the reading I have been doing.

Check this link. I think this is where I found my info.

Dust Collection Research - Home

There is a index table some where. I will look for it.
I was kinda wondering that myself , thanks
 
#14 ·
With all this said, something is better than nothing when it comes to dust control. Harbor Freight is a cheap DC to get started. New it is probably the cheapest out there.

If you exhaust it outside you probably have the best setup for cheap. Running a filter you take a hit in performance and running a cyclone you take another hit in performance.
 
#15 ·
@coxhaus To run a line outside, you would need to make a plywood cap and clamp it to the top of the unit with a port in the middle to attach the exterior hose. But you will be amazed how much sawdust spews all over your yard.

Some time ago, someone posted a double drum filter pack they'd made with very tall filters, and an input chamber (box) on top and a dust settling box on the bottom with a tight fitting door for easy cleanout. You could run the hose through the wall and into this filter, which could be installed in a luvered box attached to the outside wall. The filters were probably 48-60 inches tall and a double set would really facilitate air flow.

The filters were folded paper encased in metal casings of perforated metal. Use compressed air once in awhile to clear the filters, "shovel" out the bottom box and you're up and running again. You could put this inside a shop if the filters were 1 micron. Filters inside avoid pumping out warm or air conditioned air. All kinds of ways to skin the DC cat.
 
#18 ·
@JFPNCM The WEN filter unit that hands from the ceiling is down to $129 on Amazon, which is where I got my first one. Will buy another for the garage after I have someone drywall the ceiling. I bought a couple of extra flat 5 micron filters, but someone recently showed that they just blew it clean with compressed air. I just don't want to bothre so I'll use fresh filters.
 
#19 ·
@billyjim Here is the site for the Wynn woodworking filters. I believe the correct model is the 35 A, I got the 1 micron unit, which is more, but just right for indoor use. https://wynnenv.com/products-page/woodworking-filter-pricing/

This is a standard model, V35A274BLOL Cartridge Kit Open at the bottom with gasket closed at the top. 17.5” x 23”, outer cage, no inner cage 274 Sq. Ft. of MERV 10, 80/20 blend filter media Included: Instructions, (2) clear poly dust bags, (3) FGL-U latches used for mounting the filter. Price: $129.00

These are pricey, but if you blow them clean once in awhile, they will last for a very long time, particularly in a small home shop.

As I've said, I don't get a toaster for sharing this, but up to now, none of my home made solutions hold a candle to the effectiveness of this DC system, particularly with the Wynn filter. I am a throat cancer survivor, believe me, you don't want to breathe sawdust, which often contains carcinogenic chemicals.
 
#22 ·
@furboo I just realized that I measured total height of the unit on castors, to the tip of the bag support, which I kept on mine.

The height without castors, to the top of the Wynn filter itself is 63 inches. There is no air outlet on top of the filter and you won't need to remove it to clean it, just blow air in from the outside. So that should fit. Sorry for my error, but happy for your situation. The 25% coupon is only good on the first and second of January. Don't wait too long to get yours
 
#26 · (Edited)
@JFPNCM There is a little more umph with the bag, but that is subjective. I think air flow depends on how often you blow the filter clean. I am very happy with the Wynn filter in my shop. Clean air to breathe for the first time, particularly after installing the WEN filter as well. I kept the bag for the unit in the garage because I can easily roll it outside when in operation.

Stick mentioned that even if you use a more coarse Wynn filter, it will soon block much finer particles. The same holds true of the 5 micron filter BAG. However, the far greater surface area of the folded Wynn Filters will allow air flow far longer than the much smaller surface area of the bag (5 micron) filter. I think Stick was right on about that.

The best thing about t he Wynn filter is that you can simply blow compressed air through the outside to clean it out. The bag isn't quite so simple to clean out, and if you pull it off, you'd better be wearing a good mask.

If I could afford it, I'd put the Wynn filter on both units, in fact, closed a client today so I might just do that in the garage unit. I think dust collection is as important a purchase as getting a good table saw.
 
#25 · (Edited)
I like DIY, but I to agree the HF unit is priced right. Now if anybody is close to Tallahassee, I get fans/motors for free from a friend of mine that is an AC guy. My wife is his office manager. He had one last week that was about 16X8 with the motor. The problem I have in that I only have 110 in my carport and all the AC units are 220v. And my breaker box is full. So I'm waiting on a furnace job since all those run on 110v. Anybody close to T-Town can have one of these for free if they want to come get it. Just let me know.

Another thought is he gets all his filters direct from the company that makes them...I'll ask him what he can get me those filters for tonight. I bet he can drop ship them to anybody. I bet he can get us a deal. He gets me the 20"X25"x5" whole home filters for $20. Would be nice!
 
#30 ·
Remember, guys, the more stuff you add to the outflow side the more back-pressure you create. Not helping with the CFM inflow.
That 5 micron bag that was mentioned would be a long way from the essential 1 micron required for clean, safe, breathable air.
The downside of course is that the 1 micron creates a lot more resistance. Maybe that's why the mfg. includes a 5 micron bag? To help with the CFM rating???
 
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