Dust Collector Design

I have a similar setup, but decided to get the 5 inch model of the Super Dust Deputy. The problem may be with making the adapters fit, so I suggest you order their metal connectors. The Wynn filter is what I have and it dramatically reduced the fines released into the shop. However, I suggest you check out the Grizzly filter, which has an internal beater arm to knock sawdust down into the collector bag. With the Wynn, you use compressed air to blast from the outside to dislodge the sawdust that eventually clogs the filter.

The Super Dust Deputy SDD, is about $170, more than the 2.5 inch model, but you won't have the problem of the drastically reduced air flow. A 4 inch circle is almost 29 square inches of area, a 2.5 inch circle's area is about 18 square inches. A sizeable difference.

I moved my HF unit out of the shop and into a covered space between my shop and another shed. I am slowly enclosing that space with doors on the end for access, after Stick suggested returning the AC and heated air to the shop after filtration. It is taking me some time to get this done because I tire easily these days. I will install additional filters over the return opening to make sure that air is clean.

I found fiber drums at ULine, online. I have two DC setups, one in the shop, the other in the garage, each has a 30 gallon fiber drum for chip collection. The price has gone up on these, but they are really nice.

The 4 inch Super Dust Deputy comes with a 15 gallon drum, which is just too smal. You can't buy the SDD 4 inch without the drum.

I have several friends living in Alabama. I just don't like the idea of the sweaty summers and hurricanes and twisters. I'll stick with the earthquakes out West.

The HF unit is the one thing about which I disagree with Stick. If you buy it on sale the price is around $168 dollars. I've had two trouble free for several years. One for each shop area (shop and garage), one with the Wynn drum filter and the other with just the bag (sits outside the garage during use). I think Stick has a point for a heavy use shop, but which unit in our price range has the ability to run for a thousand or more hours per year? I'm certainly not using it that much, and if I had a heavy use shop, I'd be spending far more ($1200-1800) for an industrial unit. BTW, the HF unit comes in a great padded package and takes an hour or so to assemble.

The impeller is sufficient for a home shop as is. Stick is talking about modifying it by replacing the HF impeller with one sold by Rikon, which greatly increases air flow, and is metal, not plastic. By using the Super Dust Deputy, you catch pieces that might damage the HF impeller, but you do not need to change the impeller to get good DC function. That is one of the modifications Stick pointed to. {One of our members did a long series of posts on upgrading the impeller and the tremendous increase it produced in flow.)

After realizing that many name brand tools are made in the same factories as, say, WEN tools, I really don't see any noticable difference between the various brands that use the same design as the HF unit. An American made motor of the same rating is more than the HF unit itself, so I doubt that a $400 brand name unit has that much better motors, the economics really don't work for the marketing company.

I don't have a store handy to check where the Jet, Grizzly and other brands of DC units were manufactured. Yet, I'd bet all the lower priced units come from Chinese factories. In fact. for example, the WEN 12 inch drill press has exactly the same casting marks as the Jet, priced half again as much as the WEN. I've noticed the same for many other tools. On the Grizzly link Stick posted, you'll see a ceiling mounted filter with timer and 3 speeds. It is exactly the same as the WEN unit that I got on sale on WalMart online for $99 delivered to my local store.

As I said, this is the only area in which I disagree somewhat with Stick, and then not when it comes to a commercial or heavy use shop. If I were a rich man, I'd probably have an American made DC unit with 220, 3 hp motor and a steel cyclone separator. But I'm not rich and I'm a hobbyist and I think most of us here fall into that category. I think you'll be very happy with the HF/Super Dust Deputy setup and the 30 gallon drum will be great.

One small modification I suggest is on the drum, add a half inch ply circle to mount the deputy on to make it rigid, and to cut a small opening somewhere on the lid, covered and sealed with glass or Lexan so you can see the dust level inside. Otherwise, your cue to empty the drum will be large amounts of sawdust in the HF unit's bag.

I found some 50 gallon plastic bags that fit the HF unit on Amazon. You won't be using many of them over your lifetime if you empty the drum regularly. 2/3rds is full in my drums.

Attached is a picture of the ceiling mounted dust filter by WEN. It is something to add since you're exhausting filtered air into the shop. Of course you can make do with a 20 inch box fan with a filter taped to the front. It just won't have the timer. You hang your filter from the ceiling on one side of the shop so you get a circular air flow. If you use a box fan, hang it upside down so you can reach the on/off/speed switch. Use aluminum duct tape to secure the filter tightly to the fan. Do not put the fan on the floor, it will just stir up and launch the sawdust.

Note that the Jet unit at $400 has a cloth bag, so add the cost of a drum filter and you're up to $600, no shipping assuming you can get to a store, $80 shipping if you can't. The steel impeller is a nice feature and probably accounts for the increased CFPM. The fiber drum is about $70, the Super Dust Deputy is about $200 with connectors. Add shipping for the drum and SDD, maybe $50.

$ 400 Jet DC-650 No shipping, assuming pickup at store.
$ 200 Griz Drum filter
$ 70 Shipping
$ 70 Fiber drum 30gallon
$ 20 est. shipping
$ 200 5 inch Super Dust Deputy and connectors
$ 30 est. shipping
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$ 980 Total cost, plus tax if applicable
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This does not include any costs for hoses and other parts of the system.

All costs are roughly the same except for the HF's lower original price, assuming it is purchased on sale with a coupon. Each buyer will have to choose their options, for example, when I set my units up, I didn't have the super dust deputy, but used the Rockler DC connectors in the fiber drums--not as effective as the Super Dust Deputy, but more than adequate. If you can set the unit outside somehow, the Jet filter bag filters 2.5 microns vs. the HF 5 micron. What has changed for me is that I want to recirculate very clean air back into the shop.

It's been many years since I checked prices on the Jet unit, and I remember it being substantially higher. Since I already have the HF units, this is all moot for me, and the HF unit is still, as is, a pretty good buy for a small shop or someone on a very tight budget.

chuckgray said:

Thanks Gerry, I believe I will run a 5"main with 4" lines to the equipment. I'll have to see what I need to do to convert the 2-1/2" ports to 4" ports. I think the most challenging one will be the table saw.

Click to expand...

Rockler has adapters from 2.5 to 4 inches. Or are you talking about cutting out a bigger opening and adding a 4 inch port? Might be possible with some machines, but not all. Not sure how I'd go about cutting a new opening in sheet steel or cast iron. There are lots of 4 inch plastic ports you could attach to the opening.

Another option would be an above the blade 2.5 inch DC hood like the picture, that even above the blade will still pick up a lot of stray sawdust. In fact, I have a similar one I've never set up if you're interested (PM me), still in the box, cheap. You can run the 2.5 inch hose to the saw from a splitter, and a second 2.5 inch line to the above blade DC setup.