1 hp HF Dust Collector

I don’t have one…yet…but if you do search for HF dust collector here in LJ you will find that a lot of people have it and they for the most part will say that it is the best value DC you can get. However might i urge you to make sure you replace the bag with a canister as i think it comes with a 5 micron bag and that is not quite good enough for healthy working. But yes from what i have heard and read it is a very good DC.

-- If you can't fix it with a hammer, You've got an electrical problem.

Have you considered the noise factor? IIRC those smaller 1HP HF dust collectors are quite loud, much louder than the 2HP.

If I decide to go with the 2hp model that is exactly what I was going to do. I am still a little curious about the smaller (1 hp) model. Either way I go I would use a chip separator

-- still wet behind the ears.....

If you are reffering to the small horizontal/portable one, yes I have this one. I put mine in a outsiide cabinet with exhaust just blowing out a dryer vent( no bag). There is only 10 feet of inside 4” duct, so it workes well for a single machine running. I still use a shop vac for smaller tools like handheld router and miter saw. Works well and would recommend with the above mentioned install. Hope this helps.

I have the 2hp and really like them,I mount mine outside.

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

I first purchased the little red one. Right out of the box, it was really loud and had a burning electrical smell. The motor used brushes. I took it right back to the store.

Now I have the green 1 HP model. It’s really quiet and I like it. The bag is 30 micron. It works well for me with a 2 1/2” hose. It is equipped with an induction motor.

-- http://www.garagebulletin.com/

This is the only pic I can find of the one I had. I had the hose going to a trash can with a separator lid. The can caught the chunks and the dust went into the bag. I would take the bag off, go in the back yard and turn it inside out and shake it to clean it.

This is the red harbor freight 1 h.p. It does work better than nothing, but hang on to your broom and dust pan.It’s not all that good. I believe the specs are over inflated.

I had a little over $150 in the whole deal buying everything new. Save your money and get a real dust collector.

-- It must be jelly baby, cause jam don't shake like that...

I bought the red 1 hp HF collector to build into the base of the router table I’m designing.
I got it for $50 with a coupon and on sale so my choice was this or a cheap shop vacuum.
I did not realize it had a universal motor (with brushes like a shop vac) till I got it, or I would have gone for the vacuum. Havent used it yet other than to turn it on an make sure it was not dead. Noisy as a vacuum.

I have the 2 hp HF collector for my other major power tools and it does a wonderful job.
If you can possibly make the room, the 2 hp is way more than twice as much machine.

-- Michael :-{| Diapers and politicians both need to be changed often; and for the same reason.

I posted a review of the Harbor Freight 31810 dust collector on my website…

http://shopngarage.com/2011/12/harbor-freight-31810-dust-collector/

-- http://www.garagebulletin.com/

Nice review Stephenw. When you had the impeller out of the machine, did you happen to measure the diameter?

I didn’t measure the impeller when it was out. Based on the back of the housing, I estimate it at approximately 10 1/2 inches.

-- http://www.garagebulletin.com/

Stephenw – Saw your video, and I am sold! My Ridgid shop Vac that I have hooked up to my Onieda makes at least three times as much noise as the HF collector. Gonna go get me a Christmas present, and connect it to the Onieda.

-- *Arachnoleptic*: The frantic dance performed just after you've accidently walked through a spider web.

Rosebudjim, if you get it, let us know what you think. I was planning on getting the Oneida cyclone from Woodcraft to use with mine.

-- http://www.garagebulletin.com/

Just as a note, there are two different ~1hp HF dust collectors. The red one with the universal motor, and an olive drab one which runs off an induction motor – I’ve got that one. I’m still running it into a 5-micron bag, but I’m also mainly using it for chip collection off my planer that this point via a trashcan lid separator – shopvac + dust deputy is handling all of the actual fine dust.

I’ve got the parts I need (minus the canister filter) to add a Thien separator to turn it into a baby 2-stage unit. One of my “coming soon” projects…

-- Ben - resident cheese whiz.

Thanks for the reply Ben…..... I’ll be sending you a PM soon trying to get some details on your set up

-- still wet behind the ears.....