Dust Collector Comparison

[cams2705]

A while back I posted asking opinions about purchasing the 3HP Powermatic dust collector seen here.  My plan was to turn the intake of the impeller section 90-degrees and use it along with a super dust deputy (SDD) I already own.  Going price now is ~$1430 and I was waiting for a potential sale as well as for the new Powermatic cyclone to hit the market for comparison.  Take note of the specs.

In the mean time, I also looked at Laguna's P-Flux 3 as well as their C-Flux 3 which are going for $2500 and $1800, respectively.  Again, take a look at the specs.

Looks like the new Powermatic cyclone has now hit the market here.  Besides almost falling over when looking at the $3K price tag, I'm a little floored that Powermatic doesn't have the specs laid out the same way as their other non-cyclone units.  The "air flow" listed on the 8" inlet is 4380 CFM which is way outside the range specs of the other Powermatic and the two Laguna's.

And just to make sure I'm not crazy, I even looked at Oneida's V-3000 which lists their airflow as 1349 CFM at a going rate of $1860.

Is this just Powermatic using voodoo magic to fool people into buying this?  Does anyone here think the higher price tag for their cyclone warrants buying it over either Laguna or Oneida whose air flows seem to be comparable ... or would I get the same performance out of the Powermatic old style two canister collector with the SDD that has a published air flow at 8" of 1782 CFM knowing that will be reduced with the addition of the SDD most likely down to the levels of the other three cyclones?

Please help .. a little torn at the moment.

[cvillewood]

You’re dust collector is in Coma Prison!! Holy $!/&, let’s wake it up and bust ‘em out!!!

[packerguy®]

A while back I posted asking opinions about purchasing the 3HP Powermatic dust collector seen here.  My plan was to turn the intake of the impeller section 90-degrees and use it along with a super dust deputy (SDD) I already own.  Going price now is ~$1430 and I was waiting for a potential sale as well as for the new Powermatic cyclone to hit the market for comparison.  Take note of the specs.

In the mean time, I also looked at Laguna's P-Flux 3 as well as their C-Flux 3 which are going for $2500 and $1800, respectively.  Again, take a look at the specs.

Looks like the new Powermatic cyclone has now hit the market here.  Besides almost falling over when looking at the $3K price tag, I'm a little floored that Powermatic doesn't have the specs laid out the same way as their other non-cyclone units.  The "air flow" listed on the 8" inlet is 4380 CFM which is way outside the range specs of the other Powermatic and the two Laguna's.

And just to make sure I'm not crazy, I even looked at Oneida's V-3000 which lists their airflow as 1349 CFM at a going rate of $1860.

Is this just Powermatic using voodoo magic to fool people into buying this?  Does anyone here think the higher price tag for their cyclone warrants buying it over either Laguna or Oneida whose air flows seem to be comparable ... or would I get the same performance out of the Powermatic old style two canister collector with the SDD that has a published air flow at 8" of 1782 CFM knowing that will be reduced with the addition of the SDD most likely down to the levels of the other three cyclones?

Please help .. a little torn at the moment.

I dont get into all the CFM specs. At the end of the day does it do its job or not. I dont (and most of us dont) have 3000+ sq ft shops where you have multiple 50+ foot runs where it matters. 

For me I bought an oneida cyclone. Why? Its what they do. Im sure the PM collector gets the job done, but they didnt revolutionize anything. Afterall they are now in the business of paying contract manufacturers to make their products in Taiwan (unless something has changed in the last decade)

[EdL]

As packerguy said, call Oneida....my 3hp Dust Ape was/is the BEST thing I've ever bought for my shop.

The only dust in my shop is what blows in from the gravel road.

Ed

[fall]

Kind of funny about the CFM's of the Powermatic and the Laguna as if you look at the pictures of the two units they look like the same machines except for a few cosmetic differences???? Not sure how you can get that much difference of CFM's out of a machine that look that similar?

[fredhargis]

Look again, the 4380 is FPS, not CFM. They show CFM at 1543. That's still probably not correct, but if more comparable to what the others indicate. That PM DC has some bells and whistles you don't see on other models (vacuum to hold the debris bag, and a pressure gauge) but that probably doesn't justify the price. You also don't see an impeller that size (15.8") on a 3 horse machine normally, I'd bet it moves more air than the competition.

[Carl10]

cams,

That new Powermatic cyclone is the old Laguna, JDS and still for sale Jet. They all use the same short cone and 'turbo' type impeller. It is not a15.8 tall blade impeller like you are use to seeing. It is a larger diameter and much shorter enclosed/double sided impeller. Regardless, you will have better separation performance with the SDD than with any of the short cyclone designs. Laguna no longer sells the 'new' Powermatic cyclone design and have improved their design with C & P flux systems (but still short cyclone design). Soon after JDS got out of the DC business I talked with one of their guys and he told me they didn't design their DCs they contracted with an Asian company that fulfilled the requirements for a system and painted it in their color. When visiting the factory they saw other colored similar systems (of their competitors).

For you situation of mounting the blower to the SDD, you could do a couple things: 1) Buy the Powermatic and disassemble to make your system reusing one/both filters. 2) Buy a similar Grizzly for far less and doing the same. 3) Buy a cloth filter Grizzly for even less and buy a Wynn or equivalent filter and save even more. 4) Sell your SDD and get a V series from Oneida, which will give you the best performance of all your choices and the least amount of fabrication and hassle.

It all depends on what you want to do and how you want to go about getting it.

Hope this helps, let us know what you do.

Carl

[BandSawyer]

I agree with PackerGuy and EdL. My Oneida works great no dust in the shop.

[Cian]

For me I bought an oneida cyclone. Why? Its what they do.

As packerguy said, call Oneida....my 3hp Dust Ape was/is the BEST thing I've ever bought for my shop.

I agree with PackerGuy and EdL. My Oneida works great no dust in the shop.

I too will say that my Oneida cyclone is arguably my best shop tool acquisition, and if I were to start a new shop from scratch, from experience an Oneida would be one of my first major purchases.


I got mine a ways back and their prices have naturally risen, but their current “V” models seem to be good values:

https://www.oneida-air.com/inventory.asp...9DC8B19%7D

[EvilTwin]

I think I would go with the Oneida. American motor and dust collection is all this company does. Now if you want to save cash, you could always look around for used equipment. Lots of folks will upgrade their systems, even cyclones. Thats how I got mine, which BTW is an older Oneida unit.

Without knowing what your shop layout is or what machines you want to run to, its hard to give more specific advice. In general, most folks probably use 6" mains down to 4" branches.