Best home shop dust collector with outside venting

[davco]

Looking for a decent quality cyclone dust collector in the 2-3HP range that will readily
adapt to venting outside and won't break the bank ($750 - <=$2K).

What recommendations do you guys have?

[FS7]

Do you plan on using a cyclone?

Both dust collectors that I've used can pretty easily adapt to venting the fine dust outside. I would think that most can.

[davco]

Do you plan on using a cyclone?

Both dust collectors that I've used can pretty easily adapt to venting the fine dust outside. I would think that most can.

Yes, definitely want a cyclone

I actually have an aftermarket cyclone pushing chips to a trash can on my old Delta dust collector that I removed the filter bag from and it's venting outside.

I think it's 1.5hp, just getting ready for when the motor craps out to replace it with something nicer and more well integrated.

[fredhargis]

There are a lot of folks who will answer (quickly) the HF unit and modify as needed. I am not one of them. I would look at specs (not CFM, other stuff) and check the impeller size. Other stuff like filtration won't be as important if you vent out (great approach). Insist on a 12" impeller minimum, larger being a plus. Staying with 3 HP will insure (probably) that you won't overload the motor with the outdoor venting. I would start by looking at the Grizzly units, and don't forget to check the local ads (no matter how small the chances of finding something) for a used one.

[Cabinet Monkey]

Any cyclone that uses a horizontal round or square flange to mount the cartridge filters is a good candidate for piping the exhaust to the outside.   Lots of manuf. have them.

Oneida
Grizzly
Clearview 
Penn State

Cyclones with filters integrated into the impeller shroud will be problematic to vent outside

[RPE1]

Looking for a decent quality dust collector in the 2-3HP range that will readily
adapt to venting outside and won't break the bank.

What recommendations do you guys have?

I have a Penn State cyclone.  I think it's called a Tempest.  It had a huge filter bag that hung from the impeller discharge.  I'd forget to empty the trash can.  It would fill up and that would cause  the dust to go into the filter bag.  Then i"d have a huge mess cleaning that up.   I vent mine outside now because I still forget.  I have a wye on my impeller discharge that widens to two 6" openings.  Then I hard ducted it to two 6" dryer vents  (they can be found) that go through the wall.  You can do this with any cyclone.

[®smpr_fi_mac®]

To get good suggestions, edit your post to define your "bank".  What you can afford and what I can afford are likely different.

[Just_Dave]

Looking for a decent quality cyclone dust collector in the 2-3HP range that will readily
adapt to venting outside and won't break the bank ($750 - <=$2K).

What recommendations do you guys have?

Depending on where you live I don't know that I would recommend venting outside.  I live in the PNW so we can see 100 degree days in the summer and below zero in the winter.  I had the great idea to do this in my old shop.  I have to admit it worked great the old shop was almost sawdust free.  But you have to make up that air you are exhausting so in the winter I would suck every once of heat out of the shop in minutes when I used the DC.  In the summer I could keep the shop comfortable until mid to late afternoon, by leaving the windows open all night and using a fan to recirculate the air.  All bets were off once I turned on the DC, if it was 90 outside it was 100 inside.  Now if you are in a milder climate and can live with pulling the air from outside then disregard my comments.

[davco]

Depending on where you live I don't know that I would recommend venting outside.  I live in the PNW so we can see 100 degree days in the summer and below zero in the winter.  I had the great idea to do this in my old shop.  I have to admit it worked great the old shop was almost sawdust free.  But you have to make up that air you are exhausting so in the winter I would suck every once of heat out of the shop in minutes when I used the DC.  In the summer I could keep the shop comfortable until mid to late afternoon, by leaving the windows open all night and using a fan to recirculate the air.  All bets were off once I turned on the DC, if it was 90 outside it was 100 inside.  Now if you are in a milder climate and can live with pulling the air from outside then disregard my comments.

Yeah, I'm already doing it with a converted old Delta DC that had a filter bag which is now replaced with a metal shroud and duct work to the outside and an after-market cyclone into a trash can.  Maybe I'm oblivious, but I don't notice the temperature impacts that much and I live in NY state.  I'm just sthopping around for when the motor on the Delta craps out, maybe I can move up to something better.

[MarkWells]

Looking for a decent quality cyclone dust collector in the 2-3HP range that will readily
adapt to venting outside and won't break the bank ($750 - <=$2K).

What recommendations do you guys have?

I am in the process of assembling a ClearVue Cyclone that vents outside.  I have done a lot of research, but since it's not running yet, my practical experience is lacking.  Anyway, here's my research summary.

The best forum for dust collection is in Australia:  https://www.woodworkforums.com/f200  In particular there is an active member there named BobL who worked in clean room technology at a university and has a wealth of knowledge.  Most of what I have learned is from that forum.  It's much easier to digest than Bill Pentz.

Often the most inexpensive way to improve the air quality in your shop is through ventilation.  You want fans at one end and inlet at the other end with as few dead spots as possible.  Most of the fans are far too optimistic in their ratings, so target 20 air changes an hour.  Centrifugal fans work better than axial fans.

For duct work, you want 6", either metal or PVC.  Don't assume PVC is cheaper.

That forum has a lot of details on how to modify a 2HP dust collector to work better:  https://www.woodworkforums.com/f200/gene...-dc-171247  Even after all the work, it won't be great, but venting outside covers a lot of sins.

Cyclones rob a lot of static pressure from the system, so effective cyclones start in the 4-5HP range.  If that's too expensive, then I would stick with a bag collector, especially since you are venting outside.  Put the DC outside protected from the weather or inside an air tight closet that vents outside.   You can use 30 micron bags to maximize air flow.  The Powermatic PM1900 is a 3HP bag collector with a 14" impeller and 8" inlet is supposed to work well.  I have seen these come up for sale on Craigslist list in my area several times.  The collector needs at least a 13" impeller.  Just because a collector is rated for 3 HP, if the impeller is small or the inlet is restricted, the HP is wasted.  My impression is that the Powermatic would be roughly equivalent in power to a ClearVue Cyclone.

In your pricing consider duct work because it often costs as much as the collector, sometimes more.  In the used market, look for people who setup their entire shop and then have to move.  Now they have all this duct work to disassemble, which you could help with for a significant discount.

I looked and looked and looked for "simple and effective" solutions for dust collection and concluded that other than ventilation, there is no free lunch.

Good luck.

Mark