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Location: WI
I see the Central Machinery 2HP 70 gallon DC is on clearance on the HF website. I guess it's not that surprising as many of the Central Machinery offerings have gone that route already. Maybe it will be replaced by a Bauer model but of course that will probably also mean a higher price.
Mine has been going strong now for about 20 years so no complaints here about the quality of the HF 2HP Dust Collector.
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05-01-2023, 12:10 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-01-2023, 12:11 PM by taxman.)
I also have one of these for many years.
Added a good filter and bought a improved impeller, and it's a happy unit.
It may be one of the only 120V 2hp out there.
That said, offering it on clearance for $279 seems higher than asking before clearance. Still, cheapest base unit you'll find.
https://www.harborfreight.com/2-hp-indus...+collector
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I've had mine for 11 years; it does not resemble the machine I bought back then.
Looking back, it's OK for what it was/is. If you can't afford better to start with, and will improve it in stages over the course of time, it's OK. Just OK.
If I were setting up from scratch today, I'd look for a serious DC. But my ability to afford that better machine is greater today than it was back then.
Ray
(formerly "WxMan")
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Do they still come with an undersized blower? 10 1/4" or something? I believe I'd start with 12" and save one 'upgrade'. Maybe try for a filter better than 5 micron too. Of course now I'm no longer at $279.
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I have one from many years ago.
Back when they were 169 and you could still use the 20% off coupons they were a decent deal.
Like almost everything harbor freight, they were a kit that could benefit from significantly upgrading, as mentioned.
The bigger rikon impeller, a Wynn cartridge filter and either a cyclone or a Thein baffle.
These days with the cost of the unit and additional upgrades that are required to get it on par with other available units, your better off finding a decent used dust collector.
There are a couple of DCs on Facebook local to me that are sub $400 and both have canister filters and one has a plastic super dust deputy. If I didn’t already have 3 DCs and a fourth doing duty as fume extraction on plasma table, I’d definitely go the used route before throwing $200 at the HF another $100 at the Rikon impeller and another $200 for Wynn filter and your $500 into kit that probably wouldn’t work much if any better than one of the used units.
