I think most of these are based on the same design. Stick thinks we're better off spending more for a name brand, but at this price, you could buy two and have a spare if it broke down, and you can order a higher power impeller for this from Rikon. To me, it's better to have some sort of dust collection than none. But don't forget a chip collector!
DC unit on sale cheap
Just notied Harbor Freight has their 2hp dust collection unit on sale again. $209, plus a 20% off coupon. Takes the price down 42 bucks to $167. Works very well for me and a lot of others. Put a chip collector in front of it and you get nice performance. It comes with a 5 miron bag filter, but you can buy a canister filter like the one in the piture, but it will cost you more than the HF unit. I have a Wynn filter for it, but I think Grizzly makes one now with a beater bar built in. With the Wynn filter, you blow compressed air back through it. The picture shows a canister filter, the one on sale is a bag. Roll it outside when you use it because the bag leaks small particles like mad.
The second picture is how I have it set up now, outside the shop under a shelter.
The second picture is how I have it set up now, outside the shop under a shelter.
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Wow, a full size shop! I sure wish I could manage that. I don't have a cyclone, instead the 30 gallon fiber drum in the foreground has two right angle spouts, set up to cause a cyclone effect in the barrel. What makes it work outside is a Rockler through the wall, 4 inch tube. That connects to the 26 ft hose inside, which I move from tool to tool.
If I were doing this over, I'd probably pop for the $180 larger cyclone, set in the middle of the same drum. But this works very well. Very little sawdust gets past the separator drum, and heavier fragments and hardware never make it past-no pings on the impeller. The electrical switch is inside for on/off. The space it's in is about 12 feet long and is open on each end. Only an extraordinarly strong wind will blow rain in. It is far less noisy and the shop no longer has that dusty feel. And I can barely hear it running.
I'm posting a couple of extra pictures of the setup, the cut away of the chip separator, and the connection to the through the wall port, which is connected on the other side to the long hose. EVERY tool has some sort of 4 inch port, all Rockler brand by the way, most brands are NOT interchangable.
I share this info because I tried to make my own system, which never quite worked, and spent much more than the cost of the HF unit and drum. I ordered the drums from U-line, by the way. They have a locking, sealing, metal top. When they fill up, you start getting more sawdust in the DC's clear bag.
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