# Dust Collection bargain returns



## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Dust collection is one of the first things to put into a shop. Just found the Harbor Freight ad and once again they're selling the 2hp DC for $199. Didn't notice a super coupon that applies to it, but this price is good and will help you save your lungs. There is a long string about upping the suction on this if you want more. So far pretty much everyone is happy with these, I have two and really like them. 
Sale is on now.


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

At that price everyone should have a dust collector. :wink:


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

Sale is on now.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

I spent more than this jiggering together parts to try to make my own. Never was able to get really good collection that way, but I have a huge collection of unused 4 inch connectors.


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## TenGees (Sep 12, 2012)

Up here, one that looks identical to the green one is on sale for $399 Canadian. So that sounds like a great deal Tom. With the exchange rate, $199 US would be around $250 Can.


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## mgmine (Jan 16, 2012)

On September 4th they have a 25% off coupon. If its not already a super coupon deal you could get it for $150.


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## Bushwhacker (Jun 16, 2009)

mgmine said:


> On September 4th they have a 25% off coupon. If its not already a super coupon deal you could get it for $150.


My son gave me a 80 dollar gift certificate for harbor Freight. I thought that was a very nice thing to do, but what would I buy from Harbor freight. 
Lets see 50 bucks off with the coupon and then my 80 dollars gift card, that's... lets see, now where is that calculator?


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## chessnut2 (Sep 15, 2011)

Thanks for keeping us up on these sales, Tom. I think a lot of members have been able to have an effective dust system in their shops at an affordable price because of you.


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## CharlesWebster (Nov 24, 2015)

It's on my list for Monday shopping!


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

I couldn't find the coupon, but that makes it even sweeter! Put off the tool and get the DC. In my small shop, I added the Wynn folded filter (canister type). It costs about as much as the DC on sale, but I don't have any sawdust flying around any longer. Uline has 30-50 gallon fiber drums with metal tops, or use a trash barrel. Rockler has the connectors needed to turn the drum into a chip collector, and the 4 inch fles hose to hook it all together.


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

Just an email from HF- the 25% is good for 9/3 and 9/4! Sometimes you can get the coupons off the flyers in the store. Might pay to get on their mailing list. Got a big sale flyer a few days ago. So much stuff, so little money! Would like to have their DC but I don't have room for it. I could put it upstairs in the corner bedroom but that would cut down on the wife's sewing room. Always something!


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## Ray Newman (Mar 9, 2009)

_CAVEAT EMPTOR_: Good price, but observed the units I saw advertised (item#97869 and item#61790) only have a 5 micron filter bag. 

Based on personal experience, I would not put much faith in a 5 micron bag. A .5 filter yes, but not a 5 micron filter

At one time I had a Delta dust collector with a 5 micron bag, 5" hose, and 2 HP 220 volt motor on an independent circuit. Powerful machine. But I still had dust in the air as the bag was too coarse to prevent the fine dust and the dust I could not see, but breathed in, from escaping! And a much more efficient bag was almost as much as the price paid for the system.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Ray Newman said:


> _CAVEAT EMPTOR_: Good price, but observed the units I saw advertised (item#97869 and item#61790) only have a 5 micron filter bag.
> 
> Based on personal experience, I would not put much faith in a 5 micron bag. A .5 filter yes, but not a 5 micron filter
> 
> At one time I had a Delta dust collector with a 5 micron bag, 5" hose, and 2 HP 220 volt motor on an independent circuit. Powerful machine. But I still had dust in the air as the bag was too coarse to prevent the fine dust and the dust I could not see, but breathed in, from escaping! And a much more efficient bag was almost as much as the price paid for the system.


If you can wheel it outside when in use, the 5 micron is OK. But if you are using this indoors, then you should consider the Wynn canister filter, which gets down to 1micron. If you must use the bag indoors, wear a good quality face mask while working. In addition to hooking it to your machines, you can also get a 4 inch tube about 3 feet long with a floor sweeping attachment. Very nice for shop cleanup. 

The picture is pretty much how my shop unit looks. The garage unit gets pulled outside but will also be getting a Wynn filter before too long.

The other picture is what my 30 gallon chip collectors look like. Most sawdust and all large bits land in the collector. Make sure the nozzles in the barrel are aimed in the direction water wants to drain, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, clockwise in the southern. Put casters on the drum, you'll probably move that more than the DC itself.

I post this because once fine sawdust gets in your lungs, it's there to stay. Look at how many carpenters have COPD. No fun.


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## Everend (Mar 15, 2013)

I got mine a few months ago when Tom posted that they were on sale. ITS [email protected]! I just assembled it yesterday because I don't have room to put it. 

I started building a 'closet' outside my garage yesterday, looks like it won't fit under the garage AC unit. After deliberating and discussing, I've decided to move the AC unit out of the garage wall and install it in the back wall of the closet (above the house AC unit), then duct the cold air through the closet, into the garage. That will allow me to make the closet tall enough for the dust collector, hide the AC unit from view of the street and allow me to match the roof line of the closet to be an extension of the roof line of the house.


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## Everend (Mar 15, 2013)

Now that I've read the above posts about how much dust this doesn't collect, I wonder if I need to do something to the closet to keep it from filling up with fine dust? I also intend to put the air compressor in the closet. Please advise!


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## CharlesWebster (Nov 24, 2015)

Well, sometimes a bargain isn't such a bargain.

I picked up my HF Dust Collector this morning, $149.99 after 25% coupon. I also used a 20% coupon on the Dust Collection accessories kit.

Things went a bit sideways right out of the box when the M8 hex bolts supplied to mount the casters would not go through the holes in the base. So I enlarged the holes. Then I discovered that while they had provided the necessary number of bolts (16) there were only two nuts of the appropriate size. I went to the hardware store and rather than buying M8 nuts, I bought 1/4-20 x 3/4" hex bolts. I have a box of 1/4" washers and a box of 1/4-20 nylock nuts already and 1/4-20 bolts are lots cheaper than metric nuts ($0.13 ea vs $0.38 ea).

Once I got the casters mounted, things seemed to go smoothly with most of the bolt holes more or less lining up, and most of the pieces fitting as they should (I guess). The instructions were vague, incomplete, and often just plain incorrect. And there was a bunch of hardware left over. I estimate that there are 16-20 M6 machine screws, washers, and nuts that are not called out anywhere in the instructions.

I hooked it up to my table saw with flexible ducting laid across the floor and held together with duct tape (that's what it's for isn't it?), and I'll replace the flex with rigid metal duct as I figure out how and where I'm going to connect tools.

I'll also replace the "5 micron" bag with a Wynn 1-micron canister filter soon.


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## Everend (Mar 15, 2013)

CharlesWebster said:


> I'll also replace the "5 micron" bag with a Wynn 1-micron canister filter soon.


Anyone recommend where to get one of these? Are they really more expensive than the whole HF unit?

thanks
Everend


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Everend said:


> Anyone recommend where to get one of these? Are they really more expensive than the whole HF unit?
> 
> thanks
> Everend


Wynn Environmental Filters. Model 35a, and they now ship to Canada. This thing comes in a pretty good sized box. Maybe you Canadians can use this?

https://wynnenv.com/woodworking-filters/

35A274NANO Cartridge Kit

Permanently closed at the top, open at the bottom with gasket, MERV 15, Nano fiber filter media, 274 sq ft., 17.5″ diameter, 23″ tall, no inner cage.

Included: Instructions, (2) clear poly dust bags, (3) FGL-U latches used for mounting the filter.

Filter price: $188.00. $150 +188 = $338. About the price of a cheapie brand name, 1hp.unit. Wish DC were cheaper, but it sure beats suffering with COPD.

What converted me was an OSHA study that found home shops have the worst level of sawdust particles, far worse than commercial shops. I noticed some breathing problems and decided to set up dust collection. I started building my own setup, but it just wasn't effective and I spent a LOT more that $338 on it. Not only does this put the woodworker at risk, but also for garage shops, the family gets exposed as well. And if you smoke, well, you're just asking for it.

This can be an expensive hobby, that's for sure, but if you're not working strictly with hand tools, do think through the question of dust collection.


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## dovetail_65 (Jan 22, 2008)

I hate the Wynn unit, I own it and tried to return it. Unless they upgraded it with a paddle handle to clear the filter I am not interested. 

Wynn told me a handle and paddle will hurt the filter, well it sure doesn't hurt my Jet. I scrapped my Wynn and the filter sits on a shelf becasue when the cartridge is full of dust it make an enormous mess to clean. That totally defeats the entire purpose of having a canister in the first place. 

So I found another unit to fit the HF that has the handle and paddle to clear the dust and am much more happy. I still use the Wynn on one HF unit(I have several 2HP collectors) and it sits unused because I simply dont want to drag it outside and try to clean the canister.


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## CharlesWebster (Nov 24, 2015)

dovetail_65 said:


> So I found another unit to fit the HF that has the handle and paddle to clear the dust and am much more happy. I still use the Wynn on one HF unit(I have several 2HP collectors) and it sits unused because I simply dont want to drag it outside and try to clean the canister.


So, can you tell us who makes the filter you like, and where we can purchase one, please?

If there's a better alternative to the Wynn, I'm interested.


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## dovetail_65 (Jan 22, 2008)

The Grizzly work and bolts right on the HF, I prefer it over the Wynn by a pretty big margin. Even if the specification on the Wynn were 10 times better and they are not, the dust during cleaning the Wynn is so messy that the Wynn just isn't better overall. I breathed in more dust cleaning the Wynn filter even with a mask then I breathed in using a canister with a handle in 10 years. These canisters just have to have some sort of cleaning device like a slide or paddle and until the Wynn does I cant support them and I want to I like the filter itself.

This is one I highly recommend for the HF:

https://www.amazon.com/Grizzly-H578...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=1MJ43AJHYXP6KT4FX3YK

I'll find the other unit and post the link.


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## Dejure (Jul 27, 2009)

Just for reference, several more knowledgeable than me recommend blowing the filters out, rather than removing them and such.

TOO, I have found I have to shake both my big Jets (four bag/two bag and two filter), my little 1-1/2 hp Jet and my HF collector after knocking the canisters or bags clean. Otherwise, the dust falls down, lands on the plate between the filters and the collection bags, then is all drawn back up the next time I start the unit. After I started shaking the beasts, I noted a vast improvement from cleaning.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Thanks for the "shaken not stirred" hint Kelly. Makes sense to me. If you take the bag off, you and your lungs will be coated in fine sawdust, even if you're standing upwind. You want to contain the hazard.


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

> The instructions were vague, incomplete, and often just plain incorrect.


I have noticed over the years that foreign countries write their instructions in poor English or hard to understand English.
Case in point- A charcoal grill made in China had a warning label on the lid- "Watch children and pets while burning." :haha:


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Knothead47 said:


> I have noticed over the years that foreign countries write their instructions in poor English or hard to understand English.
> Case in point- A charcoal grill made in China had a warning label on the lid- "Watch children and pets while burning." :haha:


I don't know about you but I like my children roasted to a nice maple color. 

I do a lot of writing for a living and one of the most difficult things to do is to say exacly what you mean, and in a way that an ordinary person can comprehend, follow and make use of the information. Getting words to do that is like wrestling a snake, you get the head under control and the other end is wagging loose, breaking your ribs. 

Sometimes it takes my half an hour to write a post that describes a process. And even then, I often come back and rework it after another hour or so. But then, you guys and gals are worth the effort.


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## CharlesWebster (Nov 24, 2015)

DesertRatTom said:


> I don't know about you but I like my children roasted to a nice maple color.
> 
> I do a lot of writing for a living and one of the most difficult things to do is to say exacly what you mean, and in a way that an ordinary person can comprehend, follow and make use of the information. Getting words to do that is like wrestling a snake, you get the head under control and the other end is wagging loose, breaking your ribs.
> 
> Sometimes it takes my half an hour to write a post that describes a process. And even then, I often come back and rework it after another hour or so. But then, you guys and gals are worth the effort.


I started my 30+ year career as a tech writer by re-writing instructions and specifications written in "Japlish." That's what we called the written in Japanese, translated in Japan english version. It was pretty amazing the stuff the engineers left out when describing procedures.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

CharlesWebster said:


> I started my 30+ year career as a tech writer by re-writing instructions and specifications written in "Japlish." That's what we called the written in Japanese, translated in Japan english version. It was pretty amazing the stuff the engineers left out when describing procedures.


 @CharlesWebster I think it's called Chinglish these days. Your point about what they leave out is really often the biggest problem. I think sometimes the parts lists are set in type, then someone substitutes another part, but there's no update to the instructions. Happily, the assembly of the DC is almost intuitive. Start with the base, then the motor mount and assembly, then to bag holding assembly..


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## subtleaccents (Nov 5, 2011)

DesertRatTom said:


> I don't know about you but I like my children roasted to a nice maple color.
> 
> I do a lot of writing for a living and one of the most difficult things to do is to say exacly what you mean, and in a way that an ordinary person can comprehend, follow and make use of the information. Getting words to do that is like wrestling a snake, you get the head under control and the other end is wagging loose, breaking your ribs.
> 
> Sometimes it takes my half an hour to write a post that describes a process. And even then, I often come back and rework it after another hour or so. But then, you guys and gals are worth the effort.


I was once told be an older gentleman (at least older than me)
"When dealing with adults one must make it child proof".
I understand, when you say you proof read then modify what you have written. With me, it sometimes takes three or four proof readings and changes to have what is in my mind understood by others. I use to write process training manuals for manufacturing companies.


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## CharlesWebster (Nov 24, 2015)

The remote control for the DC system arrived today. A $13 wireless controller and 2 $7 remote controls. I can now start the DC system from every tool to which it's connected. For $27!

We'll see how long it lasts...


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## AudioHTIT (Jul 26, 2017)

I should have gotten one of these before starting my current project, lots of sweeping and vacuuming. One thing I wondered is how they might handle lacquer overspray? I normally build a tent in the shop out of thin painters plastic, but inevitably lacquer dust gets out and coats everything. Would a dust unit help remove this, or would it just get gummed up (the lacquer dust is pretty dry, but still slightly tacky)?


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## Dejure (Jul 27, 2009)

I should note they are not talking about removing the filter and neither was I. Clean it on the machine, shake the tar out of the machine and get back to it.



DesertRatTom said:


> Thanks for the "shaken not stirred" hint Kelly. Makes sense to me. If you take the bag off, you and your lungs will be coated in fine sawdust, even if you're standing upwind. You want to contain the hazard.


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## AshleyJ (Dec 1, 2017)

For all interested... my latest HF ad shows the 2hp DC for $199.99 _with a 25% coupon good Dec 31 and Jan 1 only_. The $149.99 DC bargain is back.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

*Not Fair!*



AshleyJ said:


> For all interested... my latest HF ad shows the 2hp DC for $199.99 _with a 25% coupon good Dec 31 and Jan 1 only_. The $149.99 DC bargain is back.


Heckuva deal, Ashley! Here's what you get up here...for twice the price.
https://www.kmstools.com/king-industrial-1-1-2-hp-dust-collector-102672


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

I'm very happy with the performance of the HF unit. I will be getting the paddle type filter for the second one. More expensive, but the paddle, plus a few jolts to get the cleaned out sawdust into the bag, seems like a better setup than the Wynn. I think Grizzly makes the paddle filter, and it is more expensive.


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## A-1jim (Jan 4, 2009)

In my area (Oregon) the HF DC is always $199 and they have 20% off coupons close to every week that brings them down to the $160 range.


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## Everend (Mar 15, 2013)

I finally used mine for the first time Saturday! It worked great. (it only took 8 months to get it installed


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## A-1jim (Jan 4, 2009)

The $150 is a better deal,I have three already 2 outside to cut down on noise and save on floor space,I find it easier and cheaper to have several HF DC units than to run a bunch of ducting. The three I have have been great for a number of years I highly recommend them.


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## A-1jim (Jan 4, 2009)

Seems like someone was asking for an alternative to a Wynn cartridge upgrade, According to Paul on another forum, you can use a Donaldson truck filter number P181099 on your HF dust collector.


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## CharlesWebster (Nov 24, 2015)

A-1jim said:


> Seems like someone was asking for an alternative to a Wynn cartridge upgrade, According to Paul on another forum, you can use a Donaldson truck filter number P181099 on your HF dust collector.


I can't imagine how you could use the specified filter on a HF dust collector, the OD is listed as 6.08" and the ID of 3.48". I think he might have mistaken the length (15.3) for the diameter. See this web site https://damnfilters.com/products/p181059-donaldson-torit-oem-replacement-dust-collector-filter


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## A-1jim (Jan 4, 2009)

Here's a follow-up number he gave as an alternative, according to him"The p181038 is identical in size to the Wynn 35A "

I 'd send the link but I understand that's a no-no here.


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## CharlesWebster (Nov 24, 2015)

That one might fit. But the first number was no where near fitting.

You still have to manufacture your own mounting method and perhaps cleaning paddle. These filters are air intake filters for heavy machinery and are intended to go into a can or mount of some kind. There is no mounting hardware or rim on this.


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## A-1jim (Jan 4, 2009)

I'm sure you have that write Charles


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## BrianS (Nov 7, 2004)

A-1jim said:


> I 'd send the link but I understand that's a no-no here.


Who says? Links are allowed once you attain 10 posts. The 10 post limit is there to prevent someone logging in, and spamming the heck out of us. As long as the link is in good taste. or is offered up to help the community, there is no problem.


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## twmv86 (Oct 14, 2018)

A-1jim said:


> Here's a follow-up number he gave as an alternative, according to him"The p181038 is identical in size to the Wynn 35A "
> 
> I 'd send the link but I understand that's a no-no here.


for anyone else thinking about this donaldson filter i found some specs. $116 at amazon

http://www.michelecaroli.com/info.asp?
oempartnumber=69008917&donaldson=P181038


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KNINQH8/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

DaninVan said:


> Heckuva deal, Ashley! Here's what you get up here...for twice the price.
> https://www.kmstools.com/king-industrial-1-1-2-hp-dust-collector-102672


Holy rodent poop, Batman, that is the same machine. Most likely made in the same fatory. You guys have to overthrow your government. They are milking y'all dry up there! Stop being so dog gone nice, A :grin:.


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