WILL A SHOP VAC WORK AS A DUST COLLECTOR??

DUST COLLECTION SYSTEM! SHOP VAC GOOD ENOUGH FOR A DUST COLLECTION SYSTEM?

Hi everyone! Here is a much needed review for all wood workers and shops that are interested in their own dust collecting system! This test, in my opinion, will make any person happy with the results as it will be easier on your wallet when it comes to this project!

This video includes a dust collection system, shop vac style vacuum, dust collection fittings and the Dust Deputy and how it works.

Why does anyone need a shop dust collecting system? A dust collector will assist with keeping you healthy and your shop clean! Dust will avoid your lungs and enter the shop vac. It will suck the majority of the dust through the piping of the dust collector and stay off your wood shop floor!

Thanks again for watching this dust collecting video! All support is greatly appreciated!!!

-Alex Q

[akaredcrossbow]

I have a 2” system with the same Dust Deputy mounted on 2 Home Depot 5 gallon buckets(one inside the other to prevent collapse) connected to a Ridgid 5.0 HP vacuum and I feel the system sometimes has to much suctioning power. If I placed that plastic bag near any of my ports it would’ve violently ripped it out of my hand. Yours has power and will work, but I think you need to either get a more powerful vacuum or reduce the size of the catch bucket and your results will be much better. You did a great job installing the pipe! Double check if you have leaks in the system. I noticed with all your blast gates closed the sound of your vacuum didn’t change, indicating something open or a leak. 👍🏻👍🏻

[robthompson]

This is one of the most complete and detailed dust collection setups I've ever seen. Well done!

[kenhunter]

Hi Alex. I don't often respond to workshop videos (there's not a lot of really new and innovating stuff out there). You've done a great video here. But I would really like to commend the great father that you are. You have a wonderful son, and that is in every way due to your respect and treatment of him.

[PaganWizard]

I've never seen anyone do a video with a Dust Deputy on a larger trash can like you did. This was very well done, and very well explained. If I may offer a suggestion to you, it would be to always have at least one blast gate open while your shop vac is on. Having all the blast gates closed puts a lot of strain on the vacuum motor. Even if it's for just a few seconds until you get to the desired tool, all those seconds each time you turn the vacuum on, add up, and eventually can cause damage or failure to the shop vac.

I think it's awesome that you're bringing your son into the workshop to get him interested in learning something that is no longer being taught in most schools.

[agrm]

I would have preferred to see the wood chips being vacuumed vs watching them in the dust deputy. Obviously they end up there, but the performance/suction at the end node seems like it would be more crucial to see.

[keithedwards]

Nice setup. I have a very small shop and I have been looking at how to make a similar one for my lathe. Thank you for sharing this.

[GlockmanGG]

I made one of these for dust collection, I used a HF 4 horsepower vacuum and it works great, if the five gallon bucket starts to cave in the sides, the line has a clog in it and will cause this to happen, picking up aluminum chips will cause this to happen. Great job on the video .

[rushrocks]

I have the same sit up although mine is from habor freight with a 5 gal bucket I am now going to be using the 55 gal thanks for the information it helps many 😊

[dougprentice]

It'd be nice to see an update on this video. I can't see this working with planer and table saw. I think the planner will clog the small pipe. And there isn't enough cfm for table saw.

[fightington]

Cool vid and a very polite/friendly/genuine comments section. Good job guys, a very rare thing in what is usually a toxic swamp

[nore]

Just subscribed to your channel because this setup is a lot cheaper than I thought. Thanks for the tutorial. ❤

[divennarayan]

Thank you so much!! This is what I was looking for. You answered my question about using 2" pipe and a shop vacuum!! Cheers 🍻

[johnford]

Very interesting. I hope you have a follow-up video showing the effectiveness when you're using the tools. Thanks for the video.

[jeffwolf]

Nice setup and explaining how you did it.. Still far from cheap but 1K+ to a $130 shop vac.. You have a winner

[charlescheesman]

CFM vs. Static Pressure, defined
Air volume is measured in cubic feet per minute (CFM) or liter per second (l/s)--the volume of air that the device can move from its intake to its exhaust in a given amount of time.

Static pressure is measured in inches of water (often referred to as inches water column, or inches WC), as in, how many inches the suction device can lift water up a pipe, or in millibar (mbar).

In simple terms, static pressure determines how much resistance (“static pressure loss”) your dust collector can overcome in order to move a given volume of air through the hoses and pipes. When it comes to designing a dust collection system, the raw CFM figure is initially more important than the raw static pressure figure, though static pressure does come into play once you start designing your ductwork (more on this later).

Is that enough CFM and static pressure?
WOOD Magazine has a great article on calculating CFM and static pressure requirements for dust collection. Although the worksheets in the article may look intimidating at first glance, they aren't too difficult to fill out. The article includes some typical CFM requirements for various tools, some of which I've included or summarized below.

Table saw, radial arm saw, miter saw, bandsaw: 350 CFM, 165 l/s
Belt, disc, or drum sander: 350-550 CFM, 165-260 l/s (depending on size)
Table-mounted router: 195 CFM, 92 l/s
Thickness planer, up to 13": 400 CFM, 190 l/s
Thickness planer, 14"-20": 785 CFM, 370 l/s


Remember, I said that was under ideal conditions. This is where static pressure comes into play. Every inch of pipe or hose, every turn, and every change in diameter produces resistance which your dust collector (or vacuum) must overcome. You can use one of the various static pressure calculators such as Bill Pentz's static pressure Excel spreadsheet to calculate the static pressure drop produced by your ductwork and hoses. For the Grizzly 1hp dust collector we looked at earlier, the total static pressure drop can be no more than 2.76"/7 mbar. If you plug only 500 CFM/235 l/s and 7 feet (2 m) of 4" (10 cm) flex hose into the calculator, you'll see the static pressure drop is almost 3"/7.5 mbar, so we already need to look at a more powerful dust collector.

Although this is the simplest way to size a dust collector, you don't suddenly go from 500 CFM to 0 CFM. The excessive static pressure loss simply reduces the airflow through the system. Some manufacturers or magazines provide the CFM curves at various static pressures, which is helpful in determining whether you can sacrifice a few CFM for a longer run of pipe or hose while maintaining the recommended 4000 FPM air velocity.

Other considerations
In addition to the fact that a Shop-Vac just isn't suitable for stationary power tools, one of the dust collector's greatest advantages over a Shop-Vac is that it has a larger hose and is less likely to clog from chips and shavings. Whereas a Shop-Vac typically has a maximum hose size of around 2-1/2 inches/6 cm, a dust collector hose (or pipe) is typically 4 inches/10 cm or larger and is less likely to clog.

Getting back to your questions, you asked whether a dust collector can (1) pick up or (2) filter things that a shop-vac can't. We've already answered the first question (yes, a dust collector can “pick up” more). HEPA-rated filters can remove 99.97% of particles down to 0.3 microns. You can buy these types of filters for both Shop-Vacs and dust collectors, so technically the answer to the second question is yes but it just depends on what type of filter you buy (and, in some cases, how determined you are to adapt such a filter to your machine if your manufacturer doesn't offer one).

Of course, even the best dust collector will not capture all the dust, and even if you pony up the cash for a HEPA filter your dust collector will disperse some amount of fine dust back into the air. That is why you should try to exhaust your dust collector outside if it is practical (while also venting outside air back into the shop), and you should still wear a well-fitted respirator with replaceable P100 (HEPA-equivalent) filter, regardless of any other precautions.

[MultiChuckleberry]

I built an almost identical system in the UK using 50mm (2") pipe. It works like a charm. I used transparent flexible pipe for the corners so I can see the dust/chippings shoot around the bends. I have a good domestic tub vacuum-cleaner to power it and it is perfectly adequate. ypu need a minimum of 50mm (2") diameter pipe. Any smaller and there will be a tedency for a chip from the router-table to jam in the sytem and then you have the issue of finding where the jam is. Do not be tempted to use a 40mm (1.57") or 1 1/2" pipe. To keep costs down you can make your own blast-gates from high density polyethelene. There are plentry of instructionals on Youtube on how to do this. You can everything you need on ebay. Good system. Thx for the vid!!

[jcv]

Thanks for the demo! I'm going to consider this configuration!

[kevinchappell]

I have a similar setup but am using a FEIN shop vac enclosed in a power vented felt lined box. Only 58 dBa, below speech volume! Great as I use the vac to suction a hand sanding station that is a long and quiet operation. The dust cyclone is a perfect addition as it allows the shop vac to keep it's efficient and filters clean. I did have to use 4 4" duct booster fans ($100) to keep the vac at 36 degrees C.

[rb-today]

Strangely, I have the same shop vac, Dust Deputy and big plastic garbage can as you have. My garbage can kept collapsing so I cobbled a vacuum brake and inserted it atop the Dust Deputy. Now it relieves the vacuum if the line gets plugged for some reason. The makeshift valve "whistles" when the line is plugged that works as a tattle tale also. My garbage can doesn't collapse anymore either.
I use a remote pendant to control my shop vac. I do like your piping system. Thanks.

[chrisdelamain]

Nice work. Looks like you have your own Dust Collection Engineer there. He’ll be running that table saw before too long. lol.