Need recommendations for a Dust Collection unit.

[JMRoberson]

We are looking for a shop vacuum to suit our dust collection needs and is compatible with the ringneckblues DC hood.


As you can see our "workshop" shares the same space as our dining room right now but we hope to move into a garage sometime in the next year. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Jen

[cnsranch]

If you do a search with quotation marks around your search words, you'll get tons of info (I searched "collector", and "dust collector" about an hour ago).

Don't use a shop vac - do a search for that, and you'll find out why.

BTW, I found out that the HarborFreight 1hp units that run around $100 will do you fine.

I've got larger DC in the shop, but I wanted to find something I could dedicate to the CW, and small enough to go under the CW, and sort of out of the way.

[myshop1044]

Jen go to Amazon.com and look up a booklet call Woodstock International W1050 Dust Collection Basics
Book. It tells just how to set up a collection system for you shop or garage. It will give you many hints as to sq. footage and design layout.
Then look for a DC unit that is at least 650 CFM, nothing less, Rockler, Grizzly, Harborfreight, Lowes also sell some nice small units just for your CW machine.

Perry

[PCW]

Jen

I have a dedicated 650 cfm for carving and it works well with the Ringneck's collector. Don't know where you are located but if it's warm I would use it outside. JMO but way too many safety issues carving in the living area. I can see you have small children in the house as well... I'm sure others will chime in. Good Luck

[fwharris]

We are looking for a shop vacuum to suit our dust collection needs and is compatible with the ringneckblues DC hood.


As you can see our "workshop" shares the same space as our dining room right now but we hope to move into a garage sometime in the next year. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Jen

Jen,

As others have stated 650 cfm is probably the smallest you want to go with. Carving in the house does pose some issues with the dust. Most units have a 5 micron filter which is ok for things like table saw planner etc. but not good enough for the CW because of the small sized dust. If you do really plan on carving inside take a look at this filter system http://www.wynnenv.com/35A_series_cartridge_kit.htm or any of the lower rated (micron) filters for what ever DC you do get. The link also has a lot great info on dust collection as well.

[cnsranch]

Here's a pretty good one, and shipping's not bad, either...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Used-Baghous...item2ea7b7d71c

[LittleRedWoodshop]

That is all good advice - That is an awesome picture ... shows dedication to your craft and it looks a little different then the last time I saw it. Absolutely love the sign hanging on the wall ...

[jaroot]

OK I guess I'll weigh in on this one. Here is what we have done. We bought a HF portable DC, the red one. It worked pretty well hooked directly to a "Fredricks" DC head. Problems were that the bag filled pretty quickly and until it "caked" it would leak a bit of dust, the CW creates really fine dust. Once it "caked" it worked pretty good until it "caked" too much. Emptying the bag is a pain and a mess.

Next thing we did was to incorporate a venturi system to separate the larger particles which helped the bag filling problem but it wasn't as efficient at actually clearing the CW.

When I get the time to do it I'm going to try to build the DC head designed by Bergurd (apologies for butchering your screen name)

Now all that being presented if there is anyway that you can locate the DC unit outside of your shop or at least vent it to the exterior DO IT.

The fine dust that escapes a DC unit is the most harmful for your lungs and if you have allergies or are susceptible to them they can be a big problem and have cause severe issues in some people.

Just my opinion and worth every penny you paid for it.

[fwharris]

Jim,

Worth every cent and the check is in the mail!

I did the same as you with the just let it run and build up but was still seeing lots of fine dust plus seeing a reduction in air flow at the carver. I am running a Delta 1HP 650 cfm with a 5 micron filter bag. 5 micron seems to be about the standard size on most units sold but have seen some at 10 and even 20 micron.

The A35 filter system I got is rated at 0.5 micron and increase in air flow with the larger surface area of the filter. I can defiantly tell the difference in the taste of the air with the new filter.

Jen does have a special situation with carving inside the house. It would help if they could figure out a way to install the DC on the outside wall by the CW. Not sure how that window works but would be a place to start.

[dltccf]

Here's a pretty good one, and shipping's not bad, either...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Used-Baghous...item2ea7b7d71c

Nice, but I was expecting slightly less for a used one.

dave