# Newbie with a DC needs advice



## Coach529 (Jan 27, 2014)

New guy here, and I need some Dust Collector advice.

Picked up a Harbor Freight 2hp unit and mounted it on the wall. Finally got a chance to fire it up and use it today. 

It seems to work ok......but I guess I was hoping for more. Below is a picture of my set up.

Basic set up is a dedicated line to my compound miter with a blast gate. Other than that I will have another line with a blast gate and 4" flex hose to run to whatever machine I am using in the center of my shop could be a table say router, or just a big bell end to capture sanding dust.

Any advice?


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I think you have a simple system there*

There seems to be too many 90 degree bends and the separator also is a CFM loss. Any ribbed hose is a CFM loss also. That HF dust collector is marginal for air flow because of the 12" impeller, so anything you can do to improve the flow will help.

There is a wealth of information on HF and other DC modifications on You Tube. Here's just one example and look for others on the right side. Stumpy Nubs has another.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

We need some more info....dust collectors work different than a shop vac. Think lots of air, low pressure change. Are you getting good air flow?


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## Coach529 (Jan 27, 2014)

ryan50hrl said:


> We need some more info....dust collectors work different than a shop vac. Think lots of air, low pressure change. Are you getting good air flow?


 Right off the unit (at the 4" Y) I am getting great flow, but obviously I am loosing a lot by the end of the line. Too much IMO. 

Over the course of yesterday and today I filled my chip container about 1/3 full. Filter was slightly plugged and the bottom bag has a trace of fine dust. Just used it for some normal day to day shop work.

In it's current configuration suction pales in comparison to my Craftsman Shop Vac. More volume, but not more suction.

I plan on changing out the hose from the chip collector to the impeller with some 4" SCH 20 PVC and some 90D sweeps. Ditching the Y at the bottom of he impeller with a 5" to 4" reducer.

Will a Wynn filter help it flow better? 

Is the separator necessary?


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

A few things....you should have more flow but less "suction" compared to a shop vac. That's just the nature of dust collectors. In regards to the piping changes.....all if them should help performance. The Wynn filter will help with flow as it flows more than the bags, but more importantly it catches the dangerous fine dust that your currently putting back in the air. 

The separator while not necessary, is a nice option especially with the filter as it will help keep that clean.


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## Coach529 (Jan 27, 2014)

Is there a performance gain to having my fan mounted directly above my separator as apposed to connected by 10' of PVC pipe with a couple 90's?


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

The less distance in piping.....the better....period.


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## Coach529 (Jan 27, 2014)

ryan50hrl said:


> The less distance in piping.....the better....period.


 Does that apply to both before and after the fan?

Sorry for all the questions, just trying to learn!!


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## secretgarden (Jan 30, 2014)

*5 inch duct advantage over 4 inch*

I added a metal Super Dust Deputy (SDD) to my Jet 1200 2 hp with 5 inch ducting and what a difference. It has a 6 in flex from the Jet to the top of the SDD, then 5 in metal to the shop. I borrowed a Alnor model RVA+ anemometer to measure the fpm and then calculated the cfm. Right at the 6 in intake to the Jet measured 5676 fpm/1114 cfm. At the 5 in intake with 5 foot of metal duct, the SDD measured 5852 fpm/1001 cfm. I plan of running metal duct 5 foot off the floor and a 14 ft run with 5 in wyes dropping to the floor ending in short flex to the machines. I had previous to the SDD purchase increased all my machines to 6 inch hoods using 26 gauge HVAC stuff from Home Depot for a few dollars. After not reading the SDD box clearing stating it had a 5 inch intake, I also had to buy tapered 6 in to 5 in adapters.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

In my shop I would need a lot of piping and I'm not going to pay thousands for a dust collector. I was wondering if a person could install a cheaper dust collector like the HF unit at the end of the system. Then put a little portable dust collector at the machines with heavy debris like a planer and jointer blowing into the piping instead of a collection bag. Would that make up for the shortcomings of the HF unit.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

There's always been some debate over whether an assist blower would work or not. I believe it would....however for close to the same price as a harbor freight dc and a second portable one you could almost purchase a bigger primary one and be just fine....


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

ryan50hrl said:


> There's always been some debate over whether an assist blower would work or not. I believe it would....however for close to the same price as a harbor freight dc and a second portable one you could almost purchase a bigger primary one and be just fine....


I'm more concerned with space than anything. I can't have multiple dust collectors around the shop for every couple of pieces of equipment so I would need to run probably 60' of main piping. I was at harbor freight yesterday and I noticed a little dust collector not much bigger than a circular saw. I got to thinking if I did away with the bag perhaps there would be room for one of them to send the chips on their way. I work alone so there wouldn't be multiple gates open at one time.


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