# Delta 50-850 or HF 2HP Dust Collector?



## Newbiewoodworker43 (Sep 18, 2011)

Greetings,
I am on the hunt for a DC for my basement shop. I have a table saw, band saw, mitre saw, router/router table, 13" planar. I have the opportunity to get either a Delta 50-850 (1.5hp) or HF 70 gal (2hp). Either would cost about $150 but the HF would come with the connection kit (hose, 2 4" adapters, 1 ts adapter). The HF was never used and Delta has only a couple of hours on it. I think both have 5 micron filter bags but I am not certain with the Delta. Could be 30 micron.

I am planning on building a Thien Baffle and getting a 1 micron Wynn cartridge filter regadless of which I buy.

So if it was up to you, which would you go for?

Thanks


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

The bag tightness is important, and I wouldn't have 30 micron bags. That said, be sure to compare them on a common basis. The HF is actually more of a 1.5 HP and only has a 10" impeller, the Delta likely has an 11" impeller for quite a bit more air movement. (Not knocking the HF, just suggesting some realism in the comparisons.) Still, if you have to replace the bags on the Delta, it will cost $150 give/take. But then, I don't see 5 micron being acceptable either…so for me, either one would have to have new bags or a canister.


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## Newbiewoodworker43 (Sep 18, 2011)

Thanks Fred, I did not know the difference in the impellers. I agree about the 30 micron, even the 5 micron is not sufficient based on what I have learned by doing research. Either the 1 micron bag or the Wyn cannister filter is the way I want to go.

By the way, anyone have any idea if you can leave these stationary and run maybe 15' hoses and still get decent dust collection. I know they both can move around but space is tight in my shop and I understand from others that moving these around gets old fast.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Look at the amperage. Sometimes manufacturers exaggerate
horsepower.


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## Wildwood (Jul 22, 2012)

Can only find reviews on Delta 50-580 at amazon.com. Could not find a price there say they are unavailable. Could not find a review here at Lumberjocks on that Delta DC. Did find more than one for the HF DC.

After reading reviews on both Delta & HF would buy the HF. Yes, HF horse power rating optimistic. I have the HF DC and it works for me, but noisy as can be. Suspect Delta would be about the same.

Think much more expensive Jet vortex cone hottest DC's around now. If were buying today would look into one of those.


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## VTXSteve (Feb 21, 2014)

I have had a 50-850 for 15 years and it is still going strong. I recently added a Super Dust Deputy, I could not be happier with the results. I think you need to look at the manufacturer, the Delta is well made, the motor as quiet as a dust collector motor can be. I would go with the Delta, you will not be sorry.


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## Wildwood (Jul 22, 2012)

Really do not care what DC, OP buys. Before posting did some looking.

Cannot find that Delta 50-850, pulling 850 CFM or 1200 CFM model sold anywhere but E-Bay. Can find a 50-760 1 ½ HP & 50-761 2 HP models. Not sure who is running Delta now, only see 2HP model listed at there web site.

http://www.deltamachinery.com/products/dust-management

Would not look to Delta for my dust collection given models coming and going.

For less than $200 with 1 ½ HP motor Harbor Freight claims optimistic 1550 CFM. No, have never measured CFM on my dust collector pretty sure not getting close to 1550 CFM.

Think Jet Vortex Cone DC's claim 1100 or 1200 CFM. If going to spend more than $200 for a DC would definitely look at Jet.


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## Newbiewoodworker43 (Sep 18, 2011)

Thanks for the advice. I know that many JLs use the HF DC but I decided to try for the Delta DC.

The guy is asking $300 but I went with $100 considering the additional costs of upgrading to 1 micron filter, hoses, adapters, etc.

If it falls through there is always the HF DC available from the other guy or I could always buy it new ($179 coupon, $40 for kit ($50 with 20% coupon).

Doubt he'll go for it but ya never know…


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## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

Delta all the way, you can upgrade the bag to something better down the road (sooner than later) when you're ready. BTW the finer dust that can get through most factory bags is the most dangerous.


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## toolie (Mar 16, 2011)

The 50-850 is a dual voltage unit. The HFCS is 110 only. That's all the reason needed.


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## sawdustjunkie (Sep 12, 2013)

I gave the HF, but got the Wynn filter for it. The 5 micron bag isn't any good. I think everyone is correct, The HF is 1.3 to 1.75 horse, but really seems to move a lot of air.


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## Newbiewoodworker43 (Sep 18, 2011)

Well I have scored the Delta 50-850! 
The original price was $300. 
I offered the $100 and he countered with $275. 
I countered with $125 citing all the costs I will have to upgrade to 1 micron capability and the hoses and adapters I will need (it doesn't have any). 
Things went quiet…
I just got an emails saying $150 and come and get it.
I accepted!!!!


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## Newbiewoodworker43 (Sep 18, 2011)

IT LIVES!!!
I am happy to announce that I finally got the Delta 50-850 DC up and running. I had ordered a Wynn C1425C Filter and was having some trouble getting it installed. I ended up using the two donut method. Other LJs helped me out and after much head scratching, frustration, pain, and making two router trammels, I finally got the filter installed tonight. I also made and installed an internal Thein Baffle.

I hooked up the lower bag and the hose and then cleaned up all the saw dust I had made when making the donuts and baffle.

The DC works great! It has great suction and is also much quieter than I expected. Once I get the other dust ports, connectors, etc. that I ordered from peachtree I will complete the dust collection set up for my table saw. Then I am going to tackle the sliding mitre saw but I know this will again take some considerable effort.

My plan at the moment is to drag the hose from machine to machine as I need it but I can already tell that this is going to get old real fast. Now that I see that the DC has really good suction, I am starting to think about running 4" PVC around the shop and putting dedicated dust lines on the major tools.

Thanks for all your advice. I am really happy that I went with the Delta 50-850.


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## Rick Dennington (Aug 27, 2009)

Howard,

Glad to hear you went with the 50-850…...It's a good d.c., and will serve you well…...Glad you got the Wynn hooked up the way you want it…..You mentioned running 4" PVC around your shop…..If you would like an idea, go to my Blog, and look at my Woodshop Pictures 2 , and see how I did mine…..Might give you some ideas about how you want to run your piping…......Good luck with the new d.c.


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## Newbiewoodworker43 (Sep 18, 2011)

Thanks Rick,
 I checked out your workshop and your blog pictures of your workshop. First off, I am having a severe case of shop envy! The shop you built is AWESOME! There is so much space and the lighting is great. The layout is very clean and clearly well thought out. You also built some terrific shop furniture.

One thing I learned was that any concern I had about the 50-850 being able to handle running through piping to my tools has been put to rest. If you are getting good performance in your MASSIVE shop then my dinky basement shop should be no problem for it to handle.

It looks like you ran the piping around the peripheral and then used wyes to make the drops for the individual tool stations. I like how you used the flex hose hanging down as opposed to more pvc and that you put the blast gates conveniently in-line with hoses for each station. It looked like you used plastic blast gates. I understand that the aluminum ones are supposed to be better. Any opinion on that?

It also seemed that you left some slack in the hoses so you could move the tools a bit. What I did not see was where you had the DC. I was curious how you take the out feed up to the piping system. From research I understand that 90 degree angles are to be avoided. So I was curious whether you used hose or an elbow.

My mind is spinning with plans. My basement shop is so much smaller, darker and has less head room than your shop. I am hoping that I can figure out how to run the piping and still be able to maneuver some of my machines around since I cannot always use them in place.


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## Rick Dennington (Aug 27, 2009)

Hello Howard,
Thanks for the nice comments on the shop…..When I designed it, I tried to make things easy, yet do the work it was designed to do…..Once I got the layout like I wanted it (basically layed-out on paper), then I began to place the tools where they would work in a smooth flow, like from RAS to jointer to planer, to tablesaw, etc..
I also built a 10' x10' room in the shop to store my d.c., another air compressor, etc. to keep the noise down as much as possible….I believe I have taken care of that problem, as you can barely hear the noise…..You are correct about running the piping around the room from each tool, and having drops to each tool…...It goes all the way around, and where it meets in front of the room, I used a "T", some more PVC, cut a hole in the wall, and and dropped 2 lines of 4" down to the 2 intakes on the d.c…...You mentioned the blast gates, and yes, the aluminum ones are far better, but since I had sooo many plastic ones, I decided to just use them instead….As you know, the 50-850 puts out about 1200 cfm, so to make it work even better, I close all the other blast gates except the tool I'm working on…..It sure cuts down on cfm loss, and keeping the Wynn clean makes it work even better…....I tried to use as few 90 degrees as possible, but sometimes you just have to…...As for moving your tools around to suit your needs: If possible try to put as many as you can on mobil stands and wheels, and it will help greatly….....


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## toolie (Mar 16, 2011)

congrats on the 50-850. it's a nice little unit. mine is wired for 220 so it only takes up 6 amps in my 30A subpanel.

in addition to 220v wiring, i'd humbly suggest adding a baffle (a frying pan, wok, thien baffle, etc) to the drum ring. really helps keep the filter cleaner longer without the CFM hit of a pre-separator. here's my modification:

http://lumberjocks.com/topics/40189

got my unit with a 2 micron canister filter for $150 from a woodnetter:










i operate it and my shop vac via a pair of daisy chained 110v ivac switches and a 110/220v contactor for the 50-850. cost of the ivacs=~ $90. cost of the contactor=~ $60. never having to look for a remote control fob to turn on the DC and another one to turn on the shop vac when activating a dust generating tool = priceless.










DC contactor (surprisingly easy to pull together for much less than something commercially available)



















when you really get into dust collection, check out this sysytem by alan schaffter, creator of the Ibox box jint jig sold by rockler(?). he posts frequently on the woodnet forum and the saw mill creek forum

http://www.americanwoodworker.tv/videos/5057_automatic-dust-collection/

and how about a pic or two of your newly acquired unit. no pics = didn't happen.


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## Newbiewoodworker43 (Sep 18, 2011)

Thanks Toolie, I never heard of a DC contactor. I will have to look in to that. It seems really convenient.

I did install the Thein Baffle internal to the DC. It seems to be working well. I had seen your post earlier about the frying pan baffle! It is amazing that it actually works.

I will take some pics and post them soon.


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## toolie (Mar 16, 2011)

Is yours operating @ 110 or 220v?


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## Newbiewoodworker43 (Sep 18, 2011)

It is operating at 110V. I do not have the basement wired for 220.


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