Compact Portable 2 Stage Harbor Freight Dust Collector

Convert Harbor Freight single stage dust collector into a 2 stage dust collector. In this we are using the peachtree 4" cyclone kit.

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[pcrengnr]

Buddy and Dad, thx for making this video and sharing this excellent design. I used to have a vacuum cleaner that had the impeller before the filter and large items eventually destroyed the impeller. So putting the large stuff catch bucket/filter ahead of the blower was a great choice, and what I had in mind for mine. After that first stage all that is left are small particles and dust. That gray ring is a bit of a cyclone separator. That second stage will capture a lot of the smaller stuff and fine dust while the canister filter will capture the remaining fine dust that gets by the second stage cyclone.

Since your unit is on casters you can roll the whole assy outside for dumping without contaminating your shop air. So, bags may not add much value to the unit.

Excellent design. An HFT product is an excellent place to begin on projects where an upgrade will be done.

Again, thx for sharing.

[AusMiner]

Love the modifications to the trolley and the mounting arrangement for the motor / blower. I'm looking at making mine a "fixed" extractor mounted outside my shed - but you have given me a lot of food for thought in this video. If I keep mine inside the shed (and mobile) - I will use a Caterpillar outer air filter element to replace the bag. If I mount it outside, where I am I will get away with a length of 6inch metal duct tube pointing straight up and vent to atmosphere without a filter - this will further increase the efficiency of the dust extractor unit.
Instead of using the two 90 degree elbows in the dust collection drum, you will get a far better result with only one elbow mounted in the manner that you have done. The second hole in the drum lid (the air outlet) should be in the centre of the lid, with a length of rigid pipe running straight down (no elbow) about 6 to 8 inches inside the drum. This outlet should connect directly into the intake of the blower mounted above. Believe me, the "cyclonic" effect will be much better if you do it this way, and you will end up with virtually nothing in that bucket under your filter cartridge.

[kevinintheusa]

I bought one of these to remove blown in insulation and that worked like a champ. I had to cut out the safety bars over the intake so it is a bit more dangerous. My wife asked me what I planned to do with it now that we have all the insulation gone and replaced with rockwool. I showed her this video. Great video and best design I have seen for this modification. I run some Grizzly stuff in my garage and it fills up with wood dust pretty fast. My son will appreciate not having to sweep so much once we get done. I ordered a different filter that was about 100 bucks cheaper than the Wynn from Amazon.

[awlthatwoodcrafts]

I recently purchased the Dust Right 750 Mobile Dust Collector, mostly for it's size and mobility. If I had seen this video when it came out, I would have seriously considered this design. While it is taller than the Dust Right 750, the footprint is about the same. I'm sure the total cost, even with the Wynn filter, was less than the $550 or so that I spent. Plus, you're probably getting a stronger suction with the 2hp Harbor Freight motor, even with the cyclone separator, than I am with mine, without a separator.

You have one of the best HF dust collector adaptations that I've seen on YouTube.

[l.rod]

Nice vid, Father and Son team. Good idea!

[MarriedManWoodworking]

I watched Josh's video at Graff Woodshop and he mentioned your channel as one to follow. I am now subscribed and looking forward to watching your content.

[timedwards]

The work is very nice however it would be great to see a parts list as well as a source for the items used in the build.

[jazzizgreat]

Great build and video, thanks. Your motor is mounted on top of the Thien Baffle, which makes sense for the direction of airflow, but are the bearings on the electric motor shaft able to take the downward loading? Are the bearings on the motor shaft, thrust bearings?

[gregoryvanek]

Forget the Rikon upgrade. Get a WEN impeller. $35, and free shipping if you order online….and in stock!

[paulbergman]

I purchased the HF unit and want to do what you did to make the second collection system. Q#1 - Where did you find the clips & straps to attach the custom fixtures? Like the ability to still have the unit on castors! Other than mounting the motor up, this looks pretty straight forward of a modification. Q#2 - Where did you get the special lid for the 5 g bucket? Thank you!

[michaelmckenney]

I like the build and the ability to roll to the source of the dust. Great job!
How often do you have to replace the filter on top?

[steveferguson]

Love the video and how you explained it. Also love the Ryobi blue tools. Lol. I just gave my son all of my blue tools and now have the green. An update you might want to consider is get the rikon 10” motor impeller to replace the HF 8”. It will give you much more CFM.

[bobwallis]

QUESTION! I just bought the HF DC ... I've done nothing but unbox it so far ... waiting on filter and a cyclone for my build. The blower w/ motor is pretty heavy. By raising it up, I was a little worried that it might make the thing a little top heavy and tippy. Doesn't look like it did for you. Any comment? May I ask how high you mounted the motor bracket from the top of the cart? Great build! Thanks for showing us how you did it.
👍👍👍

[randsipe]

Nearly identical to mine. I am considering replacing the Lowe’s bucket with a bag because dust builds up on the ledge and is a pain to clean out.

[leeverge]

so you attach the thing to the thing? lol.. that was actually great commentary. looks good guys.

[stevesiefken]

How much did your mods increase performance?

[colemine]

I'm loving the added metal rack for the blower unit. I want to do a metal one too. I keep seeing all these made out of 2x4 and I always thought a metal one would be better.

[coulterjb]

Your blog said the system was pretty quiet. Mine is not. I don’t have the bag/filter on it but at 10 feet its 90 decibels (iPhone app reading) = too loud.
I’m hoping I can quiet it down some by correcting the off-center fan and adding some foam dampeners between the mount and the motor/fan system.
Do you only hear the wind/vacuum?

[gutierrezc]

Where do you get a fiber drum like that?

[aticafloorable]

What kind and model of filter and where can I buy it. Thank you