# Is my Delta AP400 sufficient for this shop setup ?



## sawdust4brainz (Mar 29, 2014)

Good evening LumberJockers everywhere. Lend me your ears…...and knowledge.

Since moving I've claimed a room in the basement as my shop. 17' wide by 20' long with 8'6" ceilings and exposed joists add another ~10" in the spaces between. One window is somewhat awkwardly positioned near a corner, but I can't use it to externally vent because it opens up out onto the floor of the deck (it was remodeled that way).

My set up is oriented lengthwise, with two 8' working surfaces on each side and a ~40" gap between the benches to accommodate planer, jointer, etc. I don't have a CMS but have a dedicated RAS on the opposite side with similar infeed/outfeed setup. Powermatic bandsaw sits in the corner until needed, and then is hooked up on a home run to the Delta AP400 DC. The other 98% of the time the 4" flex hose is routed to my Delta hybrid table saw (1.5hp) which sits in the middle of the shop, with sizeable RH and outfeed areas that double as working surface when the TS isn't in active use.

What I'd like to do is run a short portion of flex vent from about 30" off the ground up to about 72" off the ground, and then transition to 2" PVC up each long side of the wall, across the joists (only applies to the side of the shop that the DC isn't on), union those up, and then run that through a 2"- 4" 'reducer' and into the wye that's set up under the AP400.

Please rate my setup (don't worry about hurting my feelings, i have thick skin) and let me know whether the AP400 in conjunction with a homemade air cleaner will be sufficient.

Why a run of flex hose ? Because i need to adjust for the dust ports and positions of several different tools that don't have a permanent living space.

Why PVC ? Well, PVC because i know how to work it, it's cost-effective, my local big box store stocks it, and i *think* i can accomplish what i'm wanting in as few as 3 90-degree elbows and one T union.

Why 2" ? The AP400 is only 1 hp and i'm not certain whether it would maintain even, sufficient suction if i ran 4" or wider. Also, up until the move my Shop vac with 2" flex hose was sufficient for everything except the table saw.

Separately, I have a spare air mover (some folks call them floor dryers) on hand; i'm no electronics whiz, but might i be able to re-purpose the blower from this for the DIY air cleaner ??

I've read through most of the dust collection threads and posts, and a lot of folks seem to favor the Harbor Freight 2hp collector; is it literally twice as good as my Delta AP400 ??

I'm sure the AP400 could use an upgrade; right now i have the OEM micron-rated filter bags top and bottom.

Thanks to all in advance for your comments and collective wisdom.


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## SawSucker (Nov 10, 2015)

If you use 4" pipe, large radius elbows, keep your runs and flex as short as possible you MIGHT be able to get away with it if you use blast gates. Or just wheel the unit from machine to machine, which is what I do with a 1 & 1/2 hp Delta 50-760 with an onboard separator. I have a brand new set of Delta 5 micron bags for the AP400, yours are probably 30 micron. The HF 2 hp Dc is, well it's wayyyyy over rated, and you get what you pay for. I would not recommend it.


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## sawdust4brainz (Mar 29, 2014)

> If you use 4" pipe, large radius elbows, keep your runs and flex as short as possible you MIGHT be able to get away with it if you use blast gates. Or just wheel the unit from machine to machine, which is what I do with a 1 & 1/2 hp Delta 50-760 with an onboard separator. I have a brand new set of Delta 5 micron bags for the AP400, yours are probably 30 micron. The HF 2 hp Dc is, well it s wayyyyy over rated, and you get what you pay for. I would not recommend it.
> 
> - SawSucker


Why 4" pipe and not 2" pipe ? If i'm concerned that 1hp may not have enough umph to get it done, why double the dead space dust and chips have to get sucked through ? Is there something about the physics of suction systems that i'm missing here ? I get what you're saying about the wide-radius elbows, as i don't want to lose too much suction around a sharp corner, but i'm lost on the 2" v 4" pipe.


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## SawSucker (Nov 10, 2015)

2" probably won't move enough air. DC's are not designed to run with small pipe, shop vacs are though.


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## sawdust4brainz (Mar 29, 2014)

> 2" probably won t move enough air. DC s are not designed to run with small pipe, shop vacs are though.
> 
> - SawSucker


ah-ah…..shows you how much i know LOL. Hence the screen name.

So going back to your first reply, 3×4" runs with blast gates wouldn't be too much for the 1hp DC then ?


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## SawSucker (Nov 10, 2015)

Keep the runs short, and shut the blast gates on machines not being used.


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## AZWoody (Jan 18, 2015)

I tried a 1hp Harbor freight blower and trying to use it with any kind of run with 4" pipe is very, very inadequate for dust removal.
You might be getting some kind of chip collection that will help keep things a little cleaner but not much.
At 20', and 4" S&D pipe, it had a lot less capacity than the 2hp HF running the same length of pipe and I found the 2hp woefully insufficient for my needs.

I did a lot of side by side comparisons and and I found both of them to not be worth it. I even tried the 1hp unit with a wye on the discharge side connected to 2, 1 micron bags to help reduce back pressure and it still did not help much.

If the unit is right at the machine, with a minimal length of hose, it might be of some use but I still think it's not that great. I am actually going to try to run it with my panel saw and see if I can use it in a dedicated setup with it.


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