# Dust collection



## Ksirp (Feb 20, 2017)

Hey guys, I want to put a dust collection system in my shop. All I know is that I wanted a wall mounted system for space. I've been looking at a few Rockler has and some others. I dont really care for Harbor Freoght in general. But I dont how many CFMs and such that I need? I have a 2 car garage and the garage door is open almost all the time so I usually have air flow with that. Any ideas?


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## rustfever (May 3, 2009)

Start by going on-line and reading about dust collection as written by Bill Pentz


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## ChefHDAN (Aug 7, 2010)

The Pentz stuff will scare the $hi+ out of you and while accurate to a certain level it's like saying it's dangerous to cross the street and you shouldn't ever cross the street.

FWIW, I am in a 2 car and have a 1.5hp DC with a .5 micron dust bag, (rolls on the floor). Generally all of my work is done with the the 20' door open and I'm not in an enclosed space where there is a lot of the fine dust trapped in my work space. I run the DC for all of the tools that make bigger chips because it's easier to clean up, ;-), when I'm sanding or on the rare occasions that I'm working with the cursed MDF I wear a 3m quick release half mask respirator. I do have an ambient air cleaner for when I'm working with the door closed, but after a year now I have yet to really see much in the way of fine dust in the pre filters.

When I get the opportunity to build the shop I dream of I will likely be going with a cyclone and separator but at the levels of my current this set up makes the most sense for $$$ and efficiency.


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## fivecodys (Dec 2, 2013)

I started by searching this site to see what conversations had already taken place. Then I went to the Bill Pentz site and studied that. My situation was a little different than yours in that I already had a dust collector I just wanted to modify it by adding a cyclone and duct work.

There is a wealth of information here at LumberJocks with so many folks willing to share their experiences. 
They were a great help to me.

Here is where I wound up. https://www.lumberjocks.com/projects/388617

Hopefully there is some information here that can be useful.


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## tvrgeek (Nov 19, 2013)

GOOGLE is your friend.

Do not confuse chip and sawdust with the fine stuff that is what kills you. HEPA filter, MERV13 etc.

I have a Jet 1 3/4 HP collector withe 2 micron canister. My HVAC has MERV11 filters on it and I did a DIY circulator with MERV 13 filters. My shop vac is a Fien with HEPA bags. I use it for portable tools and my band saw.

All I know is I an work all morning and there is no dust on the top of my coffee. I have not added cyclones as So far, I don; tmake enough to make the cost justification. I did get a little wind speed measurer and verified I need to change my ductwork.

Don't know where Dan got a .5 micron bag. Most are 50 or 20. Some as good as 5. But there are comercial "bag-house" bags that may well be that good.


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## Holbs (Nov 4, 2012)

> Hey guys, I want to put a dust collection system in my shop. All I know is that I wanted a wall mounted system for space. I ve been looking at a few Rockler has and some others. I dont really care for Harbor Freoght in general. But I dont how many CFMs and such that I need? I have a 2 car garage and the garage door is open almost all the time so I usually have air flow with that. Any ideas?
> 
> - Ksirp


please give additional info. 
1.) what machines do you have now and in the next 3-5 years?
2.) square footage of workshop?
3.) can you put up with moving a single hose from machine to machine or will go ducting for multiple machines?
4.) $$$ you want to invest
5.) are you after simple chip collection or actual dust collection?


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## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

Dust collection is a never ending battle for me (most?). In order to do it right you've got to put some money into it. I've got a Delta 1hp model with the bags. A HF would be approx. similar in performance. It collects my woodchips so that I don't have to scoop them up off the floor. Keeps things clean that way but the dust gets out through the bag and covers everything over time. Also, unless you've got a short run from your farthest dusty tool you need to jump to at least 3hp to get it to work with all machines.

You could put a pleated filter on a less expensive collector but it still wouldn't make it anymore powerful. And the filter costs about as much as the collector.

You could get a more powerful dust collector and put a pleated filter on it but it really raises the price.

So, what it boils down to is. Less expensive with not having to sweep much but still a lot of fine dust around, or more expensive to get most of the stuff but the price really jumps to do this.

My next goal. To get a second cheap collector and mount both of them in a space in my garage which is outside of my shop. Send both the chips and the dust to another room where I'm not breathing and by having two, split the collecting load to get pickup from all machines.


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## ChefHDAN (Aug 7, 2010)

> Don t know where Dan got a .5 micron bag. Most are 50 or 20. Some as good as 5. But there are comercial "bag-house" bags that may well be that good.
> 
> - tvrgeek


Whoops you are correct, my error, the Bag is 1 Micron, would like to go to one of the Wynn filters, but it's as much as I paid for the entire DC as Daniel said above…


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## EarlS (Dec 21, 2011)

Check around, I thought there were 0.5 micron bags out there somewhere in addition to the 1 micron version.

Honestly, you don't really need the fancy 2 stage set ups. You need something that can effectively pull the chips, dust and super fine particles into a DC that can remove them. That means you are probably better off spending your time and money making sure the places where you are making dust have the most optimal flow and vacuum to capture the dust. Then, get a 1 micron bag or maybe splurge for a pleated filter to make sure the stuff is removed.

That is my 2 cents worth based on a lot of DC experience both at in my home shop and also as an engineer that has dealt with dust collection and pneumatic transport systems at work.


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## ibewjon (Oct 2, 2010)

American fabric filter has 1 micron bags. A 14-20' x 48 " long is $95. Better bags need to be large to get the airflow needed.


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## Ksirp (Feb 20, 2017)

So I've got a 20 ft by 20 ft two car garage. I've got a miter saw, table saw, band saw, bench sander, planer and router (at least that's what I use the most). I preferable want a wall mount system like the ones rockler and grizzle offer. I dont really want to spend over $300 on the system at least for now and I do not plan on adding additional piping around the shop to collect. I like the idea of having the wall mount system and being able to bring it to which ever tool I'm using at the time.


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## ibewjon (Oct 2, 2010)

From everything I have read, the rocklerr wall mount is a waste of money. With enough hose to leave unit on wall and run the hose to the tool you are using, you will lose most of the airflow with the length and ribs of the hose. Go for a bigger DC is on a cart. You will need to move the DC to the tool to be useful. When u got tired if moving, I parked my DC in a corner and ran a duct along each wall. The duct is cheap, the fittings cost the $.


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## EarlS (Dec 21, 2011)

Keep an eye out on Craigslist. 2 hp dust collectors are fairly common and should be in the 150 to 200 range. Seems like the old dust collectors are better made than the newer stuff.


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## MrWolfe (Jan 23, 2018)

Look online at Craigslist.
I just scored a Rikon 2 HP dust collector with a 12 inch impellor that came with a super dust deputy cyclone and a 37 gallon canister and it had the wynn 35C222 nano filter. The previous owner's wife gave him a late Christmas gift upgrade so he sold me the whole set up for $500.

I used 5 inch HVAC ducting from H.D. and just had a very short run (about 12 feet) and I have a 4 inch flex hose that I am using to connect to my tools. All the duct, connections and hoses probably cost me around $120 but I also chose to vent it outside. That meant building a small utility closet connected to my shop. Its been suggested that since I am venting outside of my shop that I swap the wynn filter for the cloth bag filter to increase air flow but I have such a short run I don't see the need to do that. I also want to keep the fine dust levels down in the utility closet, its very tight in there.

I will probably continue using my 3m respirator when I am making dust and airing out my shop when I am finished for the day. I also have a couple of air scrubbers for the ambient air.

My point is that I would not have bought these tools new because of my budget but I scour CL daily and jumped on it.


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## whope (Sep 15, 2011)

I had a $300 unit with a garbage can chip collector for a number of years. But when I got a good joiner, it couldn't keep up and I replaced it with a $1,200 unit because it was the largest 110v unit I could find. Now that I have to put in another 220v circuit for a planer, I'm wishing I had done it earlier to get a bigger DC.

Buy once, cry once.


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