# Wall mount dust collection Rockler v. Woodtek



## Richard Siegfried (Jan 21, 2010)

I have a small shop in my garage. Router table, drill press, jobsite saw, etc. I'm looking at wall mount dust collection due to limited space and anticipated light use. The two contenders are the Rockler 3/4 HP wall mount unit with expandable hose vs. the Woodtek 1 HP wallmount unit that they are running a promo on at 
http://woodworker.com/PROMO/IRW23Aweb.htm 

The Rockler is 3/4 HP, 30 micron bag and CLAIMS 600+ CFM. The Woodtek is 1HP, 1 Micron bag (?), claims 300+ USEFUL CFM and includes 10 ft hose and some connectors.

Any recommendations, thoughts, experiences?


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*This one may be a better deal*

Lot's of guys here use the HF 2 HP unit with an *instore coupon* for $140.00 like this: 
http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=dust+collector

http://www.harborfreight.com/2-hp-industrial-5-micron-dust-collector-97869.html :thumbsup: bill


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## rrich (Jun 24, 2009)

I thought about those. But I got a larger DC on wheels and move it to where it is needed. About the only tool that I'll stretch the hose to is the band saw.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

If you lack the space it may just be a handy way to set up a DC. What's your other choices?












 









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## Richard Siegfried (Jan 21, 2010)

*Wall mount dust collection Rockler v. Woodte*

Thanks for the replies.
I really don't have a choice. I would buy the HF unit in a heartbeat if I had the room. I need to decide between the Rockler and Woodtek units. Does anyone have either ?? On the surface the Woodtek seems like a better unit but there is not a lot of info on the website.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Let's think this through*

The woodtek unit http://woodworker.com/PROMO/IRW23Aweb.htm Is the most basic of all dust collectors, the chip/dust bag and the filter are combined. What this means is that when a layer of dust builds up in the bag it will reduce the efficiency and air flow. All the chips and dust are in the same bag.
On the HF unit you not only have more than twice the HP, you have an upper dust bag and a lower chip bag, more efficient and fewer stops to clean it out.
Re space the footprint of the HF is about 6 sq ft, the footprint of the Woodtek if you have any length of hose that you can't store off the floor may be about the same. Wall space is sometimes more valuable than floor space, you case I donno.
The HF has some "mods" that will greatly improve it's performance see "hot rodding the HF dust collector"
http://workingwoods.com/hot_rodding_a_DC.htm

If you chose the Woodtek you may want to put a chip separator in line with it, thereby adding to the footprint by the size of a 30 gal drum. This would solve the inefficiency issue, but increase the footprint.

You can always add more tools to the HF unit without a severe loss of efficiency for down the road uses. Some guys have replaced the bag filter on the HF unit with a cartridge filter for much improved air flow. 

See where I'm goin' here? The choice is yours of course, and 
dust collection is part art, part science and part budget. Don;t forget you might want to filter the room air in your shop and there's a bunch of threads on DIY air filters here and online.
:thumbsup: bill


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

FWIW, unless something has changed, none of those 1 HP units filter down low enough. I think the finest filtration bag I have seen on those is 5 micron, so they are effectively just pumping the dust from around one machine, and spewing it throughout the shop. Unless you could upgrade the bag to 1 micron or better, you are better off without it...

Having said that, and not to push on the full size DC thing too hard, but have you thought about maximizing your space usage? Like for example my DC is on a stand I built that puts it directly over the air compressor. Sort of a squeeze, but it works!


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