# 4 inch hose for 2 hp Harbor Freight Dust Collector



## bbc557ci (Sep 20, 2012)

Hello gents… I just finished putting my HF dust collector together. Small shop (about 20×24) is in my basement so dust control is an absolute. I need some 4 inch hose to run to run from the DC to the power tools. The 5 inch hose that came with the DC seems to be decent stuff, pretty smooth inside and flexibil too. HF sells 4 inch hose on line, but I don't know if it's the same type that came with the DC. Anyone using the 4 inch hose from HF? Is there a better product out there, that won't break the bank?

I'll check back in later. I'm leaving to go pick up a few supplies to fab a Thein type pre-collector )

Thanks in advance for feed back on this!!

Bill


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Bill, I bought some 4" hose from grizzly, bought out a shop with 3 or 4 different kinds of 4" hose, I have some 4" pvc and some 4" metal duct type. It may take a little fiddling, but you can usually make it all go together.


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## LeChuck (Jan 6, 2010)

The 4" clear hose from Harbor Freight is very good. There isn't really anything "better" to be found. Would be even better if they sold it in store or had free shipping…


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## bbc557ci (Sep 20, 2012)

Don - I'm used to fiddling around to make things work, been doing it most of my life. I'm confident that once I get all the parts/pieces together, it'll work…. hopefully work well !!

LeChuck - thanks for that info. I never had a DC before. Used to have the shop in my unfinished 3 car garage. I'd do what I needed/wanted to do, then use a leaf blower and or shop vack for clean up. I recently bought a house with no garage so now I'm exploring new terratory with this dust collection thing.

Got back from the box store a while ago, looking at parts for the Thein and lines for the DC system. Left with no material, but lots of questions. I think it's best to get the hose first, then move forward with the rest. Plus I'll surf LJ a some more and see what others have done. This is a great site, lots of info for a DC newbie !!

Thanks again for the feed back.

Bill


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## History (Dec 22, 2012)

I doubt that an overated HF 2 hp dust collector has enough CFM to run a ducted system, especially with a separator.


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## MichaelJ (Aug 14, 2009)

SawSucker, why would a separator make it worse? I was under the impression that it makes it more efficient when it comes to CFM and suction.

I have a HF DC with a thien baffle that is exhausted to the outside of my garage and it performed better, not worse.


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## History (Dec 22, 2012)

Adding a separator is like adding more ducting to your system. I use a Thien separator with a 1 1/2 hp DC, but I don't use a ducted system, I go from machine to machine with the hose.


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## mprzybylski (Nov 21, 2011)

Rockler currently has their 4" hose, 10' for $19.99 on sale. It's highly rated on their site and I just picked some up this morning but haven't used it yet. Worth a look/try.


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## bbc557ci (Sep 20, 2012)

Well SawSucker, the HF DC is not really over rated to me, as I have done enough research on it to realize it prolly isn't 2 hp, given the amps it draws. As far as the ducted system my plan is to run a single 4" over head line from the DC to a given spot in the shop, and as all my heavier tools are on casters, plan is to move tools to the DC line, as needed.

Michael J - I also plan to duct outside. Cleaner shop air in the long run, and should provide for better air flow….least that's what I figure/hope.


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## bbc557ci (Sep 20, 2012)

*I go from machine to machine with the hose*

See that…great minds think alike….kind of.


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## Woodmaster1 (Apr 26, 2011)

If you have a Menards that is nearby they sale 4"hose plus other components.


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## derosa (Aug 21, 2010)

I picked up mine from woodcraft on sale. Got two gates and a 10' hose along with a fitting for the end of the hose to make it slip in and out of tools, think I spent about 40.00 for all of it. I also plan on picking up a 2.5" hose to go to tools that use that size from Lowes or HD and have a 4->2.5" adapter for the collector that came with another tool.


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## History (Dec 22, 2012)

Most true 2 hp motors require 240v, not 120v like the HF does. Right there alone tells me that the hp is over rated, plus the fact that it has such a small impeller. You get what you pay for, it's Harbor Freight what do you expect ?


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## bbc557ci (Sep 20, 2012)

*Most true 2 hp motors require 240v, not 120v like the HF does. Right there alone tells me that the hp is over rated, plus the fact that it has such a small impeller. You get what you pay for, it's Harbor Freight what do you expect ?*

See post #8


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## jim454 (Oct 17, 2011)

You need to go to Bil lPentz website and read about Dust Collection http://billpentz.com


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## MichaelJ (Aug 14, 2009)

Sawsucker, I agree that the HF DC is not really 2 HP. But I've had DC's that cost double to triple the $119 that I paid for mine and it was garbage by comparison.


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## bbc557ci (Sep 20, 2012)

Woodmaster1 - there is no Menards around where I live (central NY State) that I'm aware of. And other suppliers/retailers for the hobby type wood worker seem to be limited. There was a Wood Workers Wharehouse here but they packed up and left town a few years ago. I guess for the most part, it's either the box stores, HF, or a www. supplier. But thanks for the heads up!! Think I'll order the 4 inch hose, and a few other items from HF, as the hose seems to be a pretty good bang for the buck.

Michael J - I believe Mr. SSucker has left the building LOL


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## History (Dec 22, 2012)

Yeah Michael, what a surprise that someone doesn't think much of Harbor Freight . Really ? Nah, I haven't left the building just yet. All I can say is don't make your main trunk very long, and duct it wisely, no sharp bends, and thats going to be as good as it gets for a system. If your lucky you won't get any clogs in the line, and a colapsed separator..


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## iamwelty (Nov 14, 2009)

I have the HF dust collector and it works great. Don't let someone who has no experience with the machine rain on your parade. I purchased the hose "kit" that is sold at the harbor freight store. Came with 2 10 foot hoses plus several attachments seems like it was around $30 with the 20% discount. I have table saw- jointer- router on one hose line with blast gates to each machine and then a seperate hose that moves between drill press- mortiser- 12" grinder- kreg tool- Ridgid oscillating sander- ect. 
I have never tested the output of the motor since it works great- I don't really care. My only issue is the crappy clamps they use to hold the bags on. Would like to find a replacement. I do not have a seperator, but I'm confident you will have no issues. The ducting to the outside may be another issue. Does HF sell junk? YES! Is the collector a good bargain? Yes.


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## Alan72 (Oct 31, 2012)

HI eveyone, I had 2 dust collectors a delta 1 hrs and a HF which I bought used. I sold the delta and set up the HF with the Rockler dust separator setup. I use PVC drainage pipe and I vent the DC outside into a garbage can. One problem I had at first was that the seperator didn't work! I found that HF DC was pulling all the saw dust out of the seperator drum into the outside garbage can shooting sawdust into the neighbors yards. So I came up with the idea of putting peg board over the garbage can to stop the sawdust from flying out, that didn't work! My brother came over and gave me the idea to use landscaping mess over the garbage can with the pegboard. It seemed to give enough resistance that the sawdust wasn't being pull out of the seperator drum and kept the sawdust out of the neighbors yards.


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## bbc557ci (Sep 20, 2012)

Alan - I've heard mixed reviews about the Rockler separator, that's why I plan to make up a Thein based unit.

On another note, Because of the noise I'm thinking of putting the DC in another room in the basement, and running a line from the DC to the tool location. The run would be +,-18 feet and I'm not sure if 4 inch or 5 inch line would be better. Ultimately 5 inch line would provide more air volume. However, I believe 4 inch line would, or should, provide more velosity. And I'm thinking more velosity would reduce the chance for clogs in the line. What do you guys think about this??


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## TheFalconJetDriver (Aug 20, 2017)

I know this was posted years ago but it may help someone else, the dust collector drum/ trash can wether it be used with a Cyclone a Thein Baffle or a Rockler seperator has to be airtight if not it suck all of the dust out of the can as you described. You do not have an airtight seal at the drum/ can


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## ArtMann (Mar 1, 2016)

At one point, my friend bought a used HF dust collector and he had it over at my shop for a while. It was the factory configuration. We hooked it up to a 10 foot hose and compared it to my Delta 1-1/2 horsepower dust collector with a similar 10 foot hose. Both filters were cleaned to even the playing field. The Delta had the standard 1 micron filter and the HF had its (inadequate) standard 5 micron filter.The Delta outperformed the HF to the extent that we didn't need any instrumentation. The Delta was so much more effective that there was no contest. That is not to say that the HF machine isn't worth buying but the horsepower ratings are meaningless.


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