I’m looking for an outdoor dust collector that would be powerfull enough to collect dust from 9 different tools including my Shapeoko. I already purchased two of these:
I need an outdoor unit so I don’t have to deal with the noise from my shop vac. I found this on Amazon, but it’s not for outdoor.
My budget for this is $500 max. I appreciate any help.
Can this be installed outdoor? and what is 740 Watt air power?
What about putting it up agains the outside wall and building a little house around it? Like this?
Shop vacuums and central vacuums are best for tools with small dust ports (i.e. hand held power tools). Dust collectors are best for machines with dust ports larger than 2.5 inches. Air power is the product of static pressure and airflow. Vacuums are designed for high static pressure with reduced airflow wheras dust collectors are designed for high airflow with reduced static pressure. You are wise to put it (or at least exhaust it) outside!
9 tools, How many at once? One? two? I have 9 or 10 stationary tools that I can hook up to my dust collector/cyclone. It is inside now, as that’s where I wanted it. I built a box for my old Harbor freight unit (similar to the shop fox pictured above.
The issue with being outside is that you must make a good tight enclosure. Otherwise, birds and other vermin will come in and destroy the filter. But in all honesty, I am in the woods and dust can go outside with no issue.
$500 gets you a small cyclone like the dust deputy and I’d put in front of the shop fox or HF type unit. And $100 for materials to enclose it. A good cyclone is $1000 min new. Used is good option.
I do not run/work on all tools at the same time. Maybe 2 or 3 at the same time. All what I need is to get rid of the noise generated by the 2 5HP shop vac.
Also I forgot to mention that I already have a dust deputy.
You will find very little that will go outside in weather that is anywhere near your price point. Oh, the imperium vacuum is household vacuum. won’t be worth anything for dust and chips. Again, At your price point, get something like the shopfox and build enclosure for it. But it will be a bit noisy outside…
If you had 9 tools but only used one at a time the 2HP Shopfox would work. If you need to run multiple machines at once I do not think anything for $500.00 is going to work for you. The thing that works for clearing sawdust and chips is high CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute). with duct work for 9 machines a 5HP machine would have issues with collecting dust and chips. A good system is the Gorilla line from Oniedia. they have the cyclone built right in. Grizzly also makes some cyclone machines as well. If you are going to buy a new dust collector try to get the ones with the cyclone build right in. The DustDeputy is a good cyclone for small tools. You need at least 4" pipes to do a good job of collecting dust. Six inch would be better for that many machines.
Would I get more suction power if I buy two of these and connect them in parallel and put them outside in my backyard in a housing unit to protect it, and run the hose through my window?
same peak power
if you intend to split them up between tools that are running at the same time you could have more power available.
You might want to consider at the information provided here and here before proceeding. Note that there are potential serious health issues. For woodworking, if you only use one machine (with >2.5 inch dust ports) at a time and close the blast gates on those you aren’t using, a 1 HP dust collector is all you need with properly designed ductwork (plastic is fine). Shop or central house vacuums can simultaneously support 1-2 tools with < 2.5 inch dust ports and are far less critical of ducting because of their significantly higher static pressures and reduced airflows.
While browsing Facebook Market last night, I came across a used Ridgid DC20000 dust collector. The seller was asking $200. I offered him $100, and he said $125 and it’s yours. I went and picked it up today. The seller is a 78 years old man. He has a huge shop/work area in a big heated/finished shed in his backyard. That man has all kinds of woodworking machines. I asked him about a Laguna 8" jointer he has, he said, “you can have it for $300”. I ended up getting it for $150 and it came with 2 extra sets of cutting knives. The dust collector came with approximately 75 ft of 6" ducts, 12 4" hoses, airflow control doors, mounting brackets, etc… I think this trip was worth it. The Laguna jointer avg about $900 on ebay. Now, I need another 2HP dust collector to connect it in parallel with the Ridgid.
Wow. That was a good deal on the jointer. If it has the helical head you really stole it. If it has straight knives it was still a good deal. You will need to get a knife jig to change the straight knives unless it is the type that self align called TERSA. Some of the higher end like Felder and SCM have a TERSA knife that self aligns and eliminates the magnetic jig for setting the knives.
@gdon_2003 It came with the helical head, and the 2 extra sets of knives are Tersa HSS knives made by American National Knife.
I know I’m going to catch hell for this but as I live on 10 acres of land I have adapted a vacuum motor head to a home made box that collects the dust. I then blow the whole mess outside. The waste material is consumed by mother nature. Wal-La problem solved! I know most of you can’t do this but may be able to adapt a settling trap outside that will keep the noise and dust down. Just idle thinking.
The only issue with blowing it outside is you make nesting material for rats and other vermin. I would suggest you collect the saw dust in a bin or something like the bags for dust collection. I had a friend that was dumping his sawdust next to his wooden fence. The fire department showed up one day because the pile of saw dust caught on fire. In the summer the saw dust can catch on fire and being next to your shop could have tragic results. There is nothing wrong with getting it out of the building but you will be surprised how much saw dust you can create. If you have any animals that you use the saw dust for bedding make sure if you have walnut you do not use for horses or other hoofed animals. There is something in walnut that will make a horse lame by destroying their hoofs. Also other exotics like tropical hardwoods can have adverse affects on other animals like rabbits.
And cedar (and likely other aromatics) will kill reptiles… don’t ask how I know…
I must not make as much dust as yall. My pile is not really a pile it’s more like a mulch ben. I add the clippings from a 1/2 acre front lawn and turn twice a year (reduces fire hazard). The worms consume most of the pile every 4 months or so. I have more worms than I can count. As for exotic woods I don’t buy such most of my stuff is mdf, pine and palette wood. Worms just keep eating and I keep fishing!
Like I said I’m own several acres so most people can not do as I do.
If you happy then I am happy. Just make sure you clear the dust away periodically. Maybe you can start a worm farm. I understand worms can be profitable. You can use the profits from the worms to buy more tools.
