# The only WW machine I've regretted to date



## playingwithmywood (Jan 10, 2014)

simple solution extend the legs and go buy yourself a used 55 gallon metal drum with lid and swap out you small drum for a bigger one and then empty it more often problem solved


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## Bear1219 (Apr 7, 2016)

> simple solution extend the legs and go buy yourself a used 55 gallon metal drum with lid and swap out you small drum for a bigger one and then empty it more often problem solved
> 
> - playingwithmywood


You completely missed the point of this review. Oneida sells the bin sensor for around $200, although it's a standard feature on the portable dust gorilla, the cost is added onto the final price. The 2hp portable dust gorilla is currently selling for the same price as the 5hp super dust gorilla but the super dust gorilla comes with no bin, no sensor, and no remote. Why is that….. because the cost is added on…

When I hundreds on something, I expect it to work. When my product is still under warranty, I expect it to be resolved to at cost to me, not be offered to buy more stuff from them to resolve an issue that should have never happened. When I have an issue with a product I paid nearly 2 grand for and is still under warranty, I expect to get a response in a timely manner and not have to wait 2 months and send dozens of e-mails and phone calls to finally get someone to just give me a bogus answer.


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## TheDane (May 15, 2008)

Glad I bought a Laguna 2hp cyclone … went together without a hitch and performs flawlessly.


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## Bill_Steele (Aug 29, 2013)

I'm sorry that you got a lemon and lousy customer support. I can sympathize with your frustration. It would really irritate me if I had researched, purchased, and installed/setup an expensive woodworking machine, only to find out it did not work well.

Unfortunately I have come to almost expect hobbyist level equipment (not that your 2hp DC in hobby level) to have one or more inherent weak design points or outright flaws.

With regard to my Oneida experience-I have an Oneida Mini-Gorilla that has performed well for me for about 4 years [knock on wood]. I did not get the dust bin sensor on my dust collector. I have made the mistake of letting the bin fill up and then it's a mess to clean out the filter-'cuz it all get's blown into the filter after that point. Early on I had problems with the remote (on/off) not working consistently. Oneida provided me with good customer service and replaced the remote components (free of charge) after having me go through a troubleshooting process with them.

With regard to the bin sensor, I noticed someone else on LJs that just drilled a hole in the bin lid and placed a rubber stopper in the hole. When they want to check the bin level they just used the plug hole. I like that idea and think I may do that to mine.


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## GFactor (Jan 8, 2014)

Pretty simple to dispute the charge on your credit card; this always gets their attention.


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## JBrow (Nov 18, 2015)

Bear1219,

I trust this is not the end of the story. From what I gather the correct answer is that Oneida refunds your money. At the very least, I would think a new bin level sensor and filter sound appropriate. The problem is that you know the right answer but Oneida is resisting the right answer. Here is one approach that could be considered to get Oneida to come around to the correct answer.

First, stop the email and write a well-crafted succinct letter that recounts your issues with the product, the efforts taken by Oneida and you to resolve the problems, where things stand now, and what you would like to happen. Including the written representations Oneida makes regarding the product could be helpful. Second is to contact the Georgia Attorney Generals' Office (AG) for their consumer fraud division's address. Third, send the letter to the AG with a copy to Oneida (that is addressed to the AG and a copy to Oneida), including copies of the Oneida warranty, representations made on their web site, and your exchange of email. This may be just enough for Oneida to assign someone with the responsibility of making you go away. If you have a responsive consumer affairs division in the AG's office, they will probably call Oneida for their side of the story. In so doing you may get the satisfaction to which I believe you are entitled for $2000 piece of equipment and a lot of your time and aggravation.

Given your experience with a poor performing dust bin level sensor, making it easy to look inside the dust collection bin is probably something to consider. However, I would not make this suggested or any other modification to your existing system until your issues with Oneida are resolved to your satisfaction. In my system, I have a view port into the dust collection bin and LED under cabinet lighting shining into the bin but mounted outside the dust collection bin. The view port and lighting ports are sealed with polycarbonate sheets and silicone and could be mounted to the dust collection bin lid. Turning on the lights and looking through the viewport tells me at a glance whether it is time to empty the dust bin without opening the bin. The sensor is relegated to a back-up system.


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## Bear1219 (Apr 7, 2016)

Thanks JBrow for the advise. In one of my last e-mails to them, I did request either a new unit or a refund but no one was willing to discuss that option with me. Oneida has offered me a new sensor after the 2nd time this happened a few months ago but the issue still persist. They again offered me another sensor when I finally got a hold of them last Friday but that was all they offered. I told them there's no point in continuing to replace the sensor since "it I can't relied on it" those were the words that came from the person i spoke with. Kind of defeats the purpose of having a sensor if you ask me. After that phone call and nothing was resolved, that's what lead to me writing this review.

Then I get another e-mail from another person at Oneida today asking me to reach out to him and he will try to find a solution at all cost. I'm not sure if they ran across this review or if it's something else. I basically told him the only way to make it right is to send me a different unit, within the same price range as my unit with the same performance or refund me my money and they are more then welcome to come get their system back from my shop.

I told him I was sorry for coming off rude but I'd fed up with this whole ordeal and their leak of communication. I spend more time cleaning out my DC than I do using it. That's a shame if you ask me.

I was also advised by a few other members of another forum I'm active on to cut out a window on the bin so I can see through it. You make a good point not to deface the unit in any way until everything is resolved. At this point, I don't think Oneida is willing to do make else and I was ready to just give up and live with this unit until I save up for a different cyclone from another manufacture. After reading your post, the AG route sounds like a good idea.


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## JBrow (Nov 18, 2015)

Bear1219,

From my perspective, a working bin level sensor is certainly in order. Its primary job is to alert the operator when the bin is full. If the sensor fails and the equipment continues to operate with a full bin, as you well know, the filters become overloaded. I have to believe that sending all that dust directly into the ultra-fine filter system reduces performance and/or life of the filter each time this happens. Overloaded filters, I would think - but do not know, is more than simply a nuisance because it could reduce system CFM until the filter is finally replaced (I really doubt that compressed air can effectively clean the filters to a like-new condition). If you are persuaded by my argument, perhaps contacting a filter manufacturer to confirm or refute my thought would either strengthen your argument for a new filter or assure you that your filter is going to continue to give you its spec'ed performance.


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## Bear1219 (Apr 7, 2016)

JBrow, I know for a fact that compressed air will not bring the filter to like new condition. I've spent countless hours trying to blow the dust out of the filters with no luck. I've sprayed the filters inside and out and fine dust will still somehow continue to come out, to the point my air compressor motor would get extremely hot. At one point, one of Oneida's engineers told me I could wash the filter with water from a garden hose. Somehow, I don't see how water + paper filter + fine dust = clean. In fear of ruining my filters, I opted not to wash my filter.


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

Fine filters need a dust layer to work right …

M


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## loupitou06 (Apr 17, 2009)

Hi Bear1219,

I understand your frustration with this unit I have a similar one (I have the 3HP Gorilla I bought in 2011). I ran into the same issue 3 times myself (filling the filter). 
Let me ask you a question, did you get the bad liner (piece of rigid plastic that hold the bag in the sides of the drum), the only times I had the sensor failing was when I didn't have the bad liner and I assume the bag in the drum was collapsing into the sensor.

Second point, as you mentioned in your review and JBrown pointed out, when the HEPA filter is clogged the first time, it's pretty much impossible to get it back to it's original performance/state. When my first clogging happened, I too spent hours in my driveway trying to clean the filter with compressed air and light brush. But I noticed after that clogging happened much faster.

JBrown, for the record, I did was my old filter (after I got the new one  ) with water and it did help but the dust collector was not as efficient after I cleaned it (but better that before the wash)!

So last year I bought the bullet and ordered a new filter ($332 + $45 shipping) and since then haven't had a clog.

Perhaps you should ask Oneida for a replacement under warranty since the first clogging was due to a sensor defect.

Overall, despite all these troubles I remain happy with my purchase (definitely a huge improvement over my shop vac) and hope this could help you too.

Have a great day


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## Bear1219 (Apr 7, 2016)

Hi loupitou06,

I do have a bag liner including the liner hold down for my bin but opted not to use it after the first few times. To me, it seems the bags they offer for the 35 gallons bin is way to big, causing a lot of folds around the rim of the bin and could cause an air leak. I noticed a lot more dust was getting into the filter when using the liner so I stopped using it. I now have a dust pan I keep near by and just scoop out the dust from my bin into a brute trash can with a trash liner in it. Tie it up when it's full and throw it out on trash day.

Last night, the GM of Oneida reached out to me via e-mail asking me to contact him so he can help me resolve my issues. I spoke with him on the phone for about half an hour this morning and he said he would speak with his team on how my situation was handled and will figure a plan to fix my issue. I have good reason to believe he caught wind of this review either on this forum or another I had posted on. Said he'll get back to me shortly with a solution that would work out for both of us. We'll see where this goes.


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## ssnvet (Jan 10, 2012)

My take on it… Faulty Design…

They design a small bin to accommodate low ceilings (basements) but the bin is ultimately too short and relies absolutely on the bin sensor to avoid troubles.

But the bin sensor design is not 100% reliable.

1 + 1 = big headache.

KISS is the best design principle in my book and a visual way to gage the bin level would make this a no brainer.

Also, I think any serious DC should have a DP gage (preferably a magnahelic) as standard equipment. DP tells all and monitoring it on a daily bases is key to managing the system performance.

I just completed overseeing a 60 HP, 20,000 cfm blower, 40' tall 124 bag bag-house DC set up with return 28" welded seem main headers, rotary air lock, material transport loop discharging into a tractor trailer, return air, engineered muffler, high speed abort gate, spark detection and fire suppression systems where I work. And even with an expensive and powerful system like this, you have to monitor it daily and take immediate corrective action. When I saw DP climbing and sounded the alarm bell, our maintenance lead blew me off and filled the tower with 12 cubic yards of dust and chips. :^o

DCs are great and necessary systems to have…. but you have to monitor their performance.

And with all that said, I think single stage systems are adequate for most home and small industrial shops.


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## Manitario (Jul 4, 2010)

With so many hobbiest woodworking machinery companies these days, you'd think that a company would want to separate itself from the pack by providing excellent customer service…eg. Most of the reviews on LJ's for Grizzly involve something broken/not fitting properly/damaged during shipped etc, but Grizzly CS has such a stellar reputation that they still sell a ton of machines. Contrast this with Laguna which probably mostly sells great machinery, but for years has had terrible CS, which keeps a lot of ww away from their products.

Not a fan of the Oneida design either. Granted they've sold a lot and I assume that the majority function properly. However, looking at their cone design on this DC; they have no separation between the dust bin and the cyclone, ideally they should have at least 6" of tube between the end of the cyclone and the dust bin, fine dust separation is less efficient otherwise. Also, the bin level sensor should be located further from the dust bin inlet; that close to the inlet it will pick up a lot of the swirling dust and chips coming down from the cyclone and falsely trigger. I used one of the Oneida sensors on my Clearvue cyclone but located it near the rim of the dust bin and never had an issue with false triggers.


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## Mtwoodwrkr (Mar 17, 2016)

Really sorry to hear of the troubles you are having with Oneida and one of their systems. I have always thought of them as being a good standup company, but your experience is causing me to reconsider my impressions of them. I have a ClearVue on order now, (also American Made, by the way) and wanted to utilize Oneida's duct planning department to design a proper duct plan for my shop, and I would buy the duct work from them. To my surprise, they refused to offer their service to me as I was not buying the dust collector from them; I was willing to pay for the service. Their loss, I will be buying from Nordfab, who never required a purchase to perform the plan.

I really hope Oneida honors their commitment to you and their warranty. Your story is a real shame!!
Side Note, ClearVue will help you purchase their system by use of a lay-a-way program, and you can get a lot more bang for your buck.


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

Short bins and cyclones don't play nice together. Clogging issue aside, separation efficiency suffers when the bin starts to get full and that happens quickly with a short bin. As others have commented, the lack of a hose between the cyclone and bin hurts collection efficiency and it also means there's little buffer between a full bin and a clogged filter.

The sales rep's advice to check the level every hour is laughable. I fill two 55 gallon drums in 30 minutes with a regular 15" planer.


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## Bear1219 (Apr 7, 2016)

A little update, a few days ago I received an e-mail from the Jeffrey the GM of Oneida asking me to reach out to him so he can help resolve my issues. This was during the evening so I gave him a call the next day. We spoke on the phone for about half an hour and discussed my issues and concerns with the portable dust gorilla. He assured me that he would take care of me, whatever it takes were his words.

We exchanged e-mail throughout the day on different solutions before we finally settled on replacing my system. Yesterday, we agreed that Oneida will send me a V-3000 system with the 55 gallon steel drum (I cover some of the price difference) and are now working on a way to either send my old system back to them, or have me sell it and send them whatever amount I sell it for.

I have to say that Jeffrey has been very pleasant to work with and he's very responsive to my e-mails. I'd receive e-mails from him as early as 6am and late as 10pm, so I know he's dealing with this in and out of work hours. I wish the same could be said for my contact person during the last few months I've been dealing with Oneida.

So, does this change the way I feel about the portable dust gorilla? Not at all, I still think the bin sensor is useless for the most part and can't be trusted. The system works great when everything works, but when it doesn't it's a huge headache.

Does this change the way I feel about Oneida? Yes and no. Unless their customer service team gets their act together, I'm afraid not much will change. The GM of the company can't handle every complaint/issues personally. However, I do feel that Oneida finally stepped up to do me right and are working with me to make sure I'm happy with what I have. I just wish it didn't take this long or had to go down this route.

Will I buy another Oneida in the future? Maybe, I'll have to see how this new system performs and how their customer service team responds If I need their help again.

Nothing has been finalized yet so I will continue to update as things unfold more.


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## jody495 (Mar 24, 2011)

Hope things work out for you. This might sound dumb, but you might half to put a chip separator drum ahead of the dust collector.


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## playingwithmywood (Jan 10, 2014)

> Hope things work out for you. This might sound dumb, but you might half to put a chip separator drum ahead of the dust collector.
> 
> - jody495


Well this totally would defeat the purpose of having a cyclone to begin with…


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## ArlinEastman (May 22, 2011)

I have a PSI dust collector and we are hard pressed to find another one but it does not have the problems yours has. I teach disabled vets like me how to turn on a lathe and some flat work and we need a good dust collector in the worst way and I know I will never buy from Oneida again. Several years ago I bought the Dust Deputy and the top cracked off on the first use. I called them and they told me to epoxy it and I did and it still cracked and came off and I asked to return it.. They told me to CA glue it and that would work and now 5 years later it is still broken and they will not replace it. Being a 100% disabled vet I do not have a money tree and every dollar counts and I supply everything to the vets who come over so this burned my backside when that did that.

How much did you pay for it? If I lived closer I would check it out to see if we could use it and get it from you, that is if it will work right.


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## Bear1219 (Apr 7, 2016)

They ended up replacing my unit with a new system. I opted to go with the V3000 system and paid the difference in price. They also asked me to try and sell my old system locally so they didn't have to go through the trouble to trying to have it shipped back to NY.

Arlin, the system still works you just can't trust the bin sensor to tell you when its full. Some time's it works, some times it doesn't. You really have to stop and check every now and than to make sure it's not full. You are a good drive from Atalanta and I'm not sure if it's worth the trip for you. You can PM me if you're still interested in it.


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## amt (Sep 11, 2013)

I have heard of another user installing two bin sensors for this problem, so your problems are certainly not isolated. I am wondering if the clear vue sensors solution is more reliable.

For some a sensors is absolutely necessary when the dust collector is in a different room.

I am also curious if some kind of pre filter could be installed between a cyclone and the filter. This is essentially what's in place for many shop vacs when a cyclone is added. It would certainly prevent the filter from getting packed.


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## JBrow (Nov 18, 2015)

amt,

I can attest to the reliability of the McRabbet Bin Level Sensor sold by Clear Vue. Sometime ago I was aware that the dust bin will getting full, and then that information just evaporated from my mind until, while face jointing at the jointer, I heard the cyclone spit and sputter and then shutdown. The bin level sensor was wired to shut down the dust collector should the dust bin overfill. I wondered what was going on and then I remembered the dust bin. When I emptied the barrel, it was indeed full but there were no shavings or dust above the optical sensors. The McRabbet Bin Level Sensor saved me from hours of backwashing the filters with compressed air.

For the McRabbet Bin Level Sensor to work reliably and properly, the optical sensors must remain in alignment. Therefore, if the optical sensors are mounted to a lid that must be removed when emptying the dust collection barrel, alignment should be regularly checked.

I suppose that an additional filter could be inserted between the cyclone and the filters. However, the pre-filter, if not properly sized, would rob the dust collector of air flow. Also the pre-filter must be kept clean somewhat defeating the purpose of the pre-filter. It would increase the footprint of the dust collector.

My opinion is to use a cyclone that is well designed and keep the main dust bin from overfilling. A well designed cyclone will remove an overwhelming majority of the dust before the air reaches the filters. I believe a well-designed cyclone should offer a long tapered funnel and an inlet ramp to direct dust and chips in a downward direction. Unfortunately, finding data that show the percent of captured dust separated by the cyclone is information I could not find from the various manufacturers. Perhaps it exists somewhere in a back room but I never called manufacturers to find out.


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## builtinbkyn (Oct 29, 2015)

I know this thread was revived due to spam, but I have to admit I did the same thing the OP allowed to happen, with my Dust Gorilla Pro. The entire bin, half of the cyclone and the entire filter were filled and packed with chips and dust. I was too caught up in finishing my yard projects to ever check the bin. I do not have a sensor to rely on. I only have my good sense to check it when I should, which I failed to do. This did however prove to me, was how powerful the Dust Gorilla is, to be able to continue to collect chips, shavings and dust even when it's overcome with them. Surprised the OP didn't see that. I'm very happy with my purchase. There was nothing wrong with the fit or finish with my machine.


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