# HF DC upgrades - what order?



## bcurrey (Dec 6, 2012)

I'm looking at getting the harbor freight DC in the next couple weeks. I have a table saw, bandsaw, joiner, router and planer. 

Once I get it I would like to do some of the mods I've seen online. I won't be able to do all the upgrades all at once, so in what order of the mods should I do? What order makes sense? Also, are there any cheaper alternatives to the Wynn filters? Just curious. 

Thanks for the help!


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## mobilepaul (Nov 8, 2012)

bcurrey said:


> I'm looking at getting the harbor freight DC in the next couple weeks. I have a table saw, bandsaw, joiner, router and planer.
> 
> Once I get it I would like to do some of the mods I've seen online. I won't be able to do all the upgrades all at once, so in what order of the mods should I do? What order makes sense? Also, are there any cheaper alternatives to the Wynn filters? Just curious.
> 
> Thanks for the help!


You may find cheaper filters but you won't find as good or better for cheaper. Hard to beat .5 micron filtration on a hobby DC. I am not sure what mods you are talking about when you say that you won't be able to do all the upgrades at once. I, personally, would do the filter first, that eliminates the fine dust from your shop and keeps it out of your lungs. The plastic bags, for the bottom of the HF, are included in the price from Wynn...Then, ASAP, do the Phil Thien separator, that will keep your filter cleaner. The separator won't set you back much. Other than those two things, I cannot think of a mod or upgrade to the HF that would be worth the money. Unless you mean breaking the DC apart and stacking it into a combined DC/Thien Separator. Something like this http://jayscustomcreations.com/2013/03/modified-harbor-freight-dust-collector/

Paul


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

IMHO, the best upgrades the the HF DC are the Wynn filter, and Thien baffle. You can at a later time build a pre-separator on a trash can called a "Thien Top Hat". Side flip the impeller housing so that the outlet of the impeller shoots straight into the inlet of the separator ring, put the Thien separator under the impeller and you have eliminated at least 1 unneccesary bend and about 3 feet of flex hose that kill performance. 

My rig is, and has been for several years, a Wynn filter, and a Thein separator in a barrel. Not ideal, I need to do the side flip thing still... That will allow me to have the easy to empty trash can, along with keeping stringy shavings out of the impeller, so you don't get clogs there... It's a bit of a project, but nothing like building a dresser or anything like that...


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## cburdick1 (Jan 22, 2010)

My suggestion would be:

1 - Replace the filter bag with a Wynn Filter
2 - Add some sort of seperator 

I did all of them at the same time, the seperator only cost as much as the MDF I used to make the Thein baffle.

Now, I get plenty of suction through 5" metal HVAC duct to collect all of the debris from my table saw and miter saw (which have dedicated lines running to them) and a flexi hose that connects to my band saw, planer and router table.

I have mine set up like this:









Right now, the flexi duct leading off to the right (to the plastic bag/filter) has been removed and that component is now mounted directly to the blower where the flex hose is in this photo. When the can is full of dust, I can use a couple of clamps to lift the Thein Baffle off the can, which i can then easily remove and take to the dump.


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