I moved a couple years ago and sold my dust collector, an older model Delta, and I have survived as a project woodworker using my Festools. However, some current and planed projects require the use of the planer, jointer, and table saw and so I need to step up and get some basement shop dust collection. My default is the Oneida Mini Gorilla (220v) for use one machine at a time. There are cheaper single stage machines (e.g. the Jet 1200) that I can upgrade with a HEPA filter, but it seems the Oneida machine is the easiest choice. What do you think?
Dust Collection
- Thread starter Hotwheels
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Max Fracas
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I have a Mini Dust Gorilla, partly based on the good review in Fine Woodworking. I have two issues with it. First, it leaves quite a few chips behind when I use my jointer/planer in planer mode. Second, I’ve grown to really dislike the bin changes. So much so that I’m looking at a replacement that has a bigger bin and something other than the “3 latch” method of attaching the bin to the DC. Engaging two of the latches (best I can do with two hands) pushes the bin out of alignment with the mating surface, and because of that I find it’s always a wrestling match to get a decent connection of the bin to the DC.
derekcohen
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- Jun 22, 2008
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This is my temporary solution - temporary as this is a 2 hp DC and I need something bigger.
The bins are easy to empty. Both can be unclipped for access …
Regards from Perth
Derek
The bins are easy to empty. Both can be unclipped for access …
Regards from Perth
Derek
Max Fracas said:
I have the same. What helped with dust bin is marking with a marker allignment locations. THen its easy enough to allign the clips and clip it in. same spots everytime. I did also notice that it leaves chips behind on my planer. might reach out to support and see if it can be improved.
Reading the word basement shop, I can't state how important a HEPA filter should be to you as it is the fine dust particles that cause the most damage to ones lungs. Something like a Dylos air quality meter is something many of us use to monitor our air health quality. The larger dust collector will help clean the air as needed for times like when hand sanding.
I have a 3HP Jet cyclone dust collector I bought supa cheap on Ebay, then proceeded to spend a lot of money on an Onieda HEPA filter as I knew the filter would be of high quality. Starting with Onieda isn't a bad thing.
I have a 3HP Jet cyclone dust collector I bought supa cheap on Ebay, then proceeded to spend a lot of money on an Onieda HEPA filter as I knew the filter would be of high quality. Starting with Onieda isn't a bad thing.
MikeGE
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John Russell said:
When I designed my basement shop, the starting point was the dust collection system. For the reason Peter stated, I need to reduce the likelihood that dust will make its way into the living space above. My shop is below grade with no external doors or windows, so everything created has to be captured in the shop. The dust collection system is in a 1x2-meter closet.
I use a pair of Wynn Environmental 35B222NANO filters (MERV 15) and a pair of 18FP30 filter pans (no longer available) in a plenum at the output of a 3HP blower. This gives me just over 500 square feet of filter surface area. The cyclone is the Oneida steel Super Dust Deputy and the ducting is 120mm steel tube. To augment the dust collection, I have a Record Power AC400 air filter and monitor the dust with a Dylos DC1700 air quality meter. I will be upgrading the ducting and cyclone later, but will keep the filters and catch pans.
Mike: nice setup, that is enviable dust collection. My space would be constructed to build a closet like yours, so I have to find other solutions.
Peter: I'm convinced of the need for HEPA filtration in my basement space. Oneida and Grizzly and probably others offer HEPA upgrades for single stage machines for somewhere between 400-450 USD. My Festool vacs have HEPA filters in them and I have one of the DIY air clears with MERV 15 filters.
The easy solution is the Mini Gorilla if it can adequately collect dust from the planer, jointer, and table saw. It is small enough and seemingly has enough CFM with a 10' hose to work well-enough. But, I wander into the idea of a 1.5-2hp single stage machine with a HEPA filter and wonder why not?
Peter: I'm convinced of the need for HEPA filtration in my basement space. Oneida and Grizzly and probably others offer HEPA upgrades for single stage machines for somewhere between 400-450 USD. My Festool vacs have HEPA filters in them and I have one of the DIY air clears with MERV 15 filters.
The easy solution is the Mini Gorilla if it can adequately collect dust from the planer, jointer, and table saw. It is small enough and seemingly has enough CFM with a 10' hose to work well-enough. But, I wander into the idea of a 1.5-2hp single stage machine with a HEPA filter and wonder why not?
Tom the Remodeler
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John Russell,
I used a Oneida Mini Gorilla for several years and found that it was a decent little collector. It kept up reasonably well (but not as well as my RL 160) with my A3-41 (16") jointer/planer, and did fine with a saw or shaper. It did struggle when collecting dust from a 16" wide belt sander, but I don't fault it for that, as this is a pretty extreme use case.
My primary gripe with the Mini Gorilla was the 19 gallon collection bin. If I wasn't paying attention it was easy to overfill it when planing or running the shaper. When the bin fills, all of the excess debris is pushed out to the filter, which can be a time consuming and messy task to clean up. I learned to keep a bright LED flashlight near the unit and would frequently check the fill level.
That being said, it's meant to be a compact, mobile unit, so the 19 gallon bin makes sense in that context, I just outgrew it.
So long as you're using a 10' long, 5" hose, it should keep up just fine with most machinery.
I used a Oneida Mini Gorilla for several years and found that it was a decent little collector. It kept up reasonably well (but not as well as my RL 160) with my A3-41 (16") jointer/planer, and did fine with a saw or shaper. It did struggle when collecting dust from a 16" wide belt sander, but I don't fault it for that, as this is a pretty extreme use case.
My primary gripe with the Mini Gorilla was the 19 gallon collection bin. If I wasn't paying attention it was easy to overfill it when planing or running the shaper. When the bin fills, all of the excess debris is pushed out to the filter, which can be a time consuming and messy task to clean up. I learned to keep a bright LED flashlight near the unit and would frequently check the fill level.
That being said, it's meant to be a compact, mobile unit, so the 19 gallon bin makes sense in that context, I just outgrew it.
So long as you're using a 10' long, 5" hose, it should keep up just fine with most machinery.
I have never had to deal with dust collection in a basement and basements don't exist in Australia thank the lord. Collecting the fine dust at the machine is a priority as is collecting it at the filters and filter quality is obviously important. I have never seen a single stage bag extractor that does not leak so using one in a basement would lead to high dust levels and should be avoided if the air is being returned and should never be in the workshop itself. A lot of wide belts as mentioned above have insufficient air intake at the machine so not all the fine dust is collected through no fault of the dust extractor and steps have to be taken to add more air by modifying the machine. I think work shops in basements require a particle meter to firstly judge if the dust extraction is doing its job and when that is the case to monitor dust levels after that.
Tom Gensmer said:
I also have a Mini Gorilla dust collector. It works well for me. I use it with a A3-41, router table, table saw, and drill press. I use a single flex 5" hose that I move from tool to tool using MagPort connectors. The bin size is only an issue when doing a lot of milling with the A3-41.
I added a bin sensor (based on a design I found online) to tell me when the bin is full. Oneida now has a Bin Sensor that looks pretty good, I would probably just get that if my DIY one dies.
IMHO, the Mini Gorilla is good choice for size, price, HEPA filter, and suction. I am sure that a larger system would be better, but it would take up more room and be considerably expensive. Given the bin size, a sensor is needed.
Bob
Im also looking at dust collection systems these days since Im thinking of replacing my Felder AF-14 1.5hp DC with something smaller that better fits into the corner of my small shop. Which small (Height 6" or less) systems is there out there that can handle a Hammer A3-41 jointer with spiral head (and a Hammer K3 Tablesaw) - do anybody has any suggestion for what to look at?
I picked up a New unused Laguna CFLUX1 for my Hammer A3-31, N4400 & K3 but have yet to try it out. The Magports just arrived the other day and awaiting the rubber couplings to attach the Magports to the machines. I'm going to be using 5" Dust Collection hose from the Dust collector to the machines. The Laguna is just about the height your looking for.
I purchased a Laguna 3 hp cflux 2 months ago and have slowly been buying Nordfab pipe on the used market, man that stuff is expensive. Over 5500 quoted for new piping and not even my whole shop. I did the math on my own and figuring that each drop is approx 750 to $950 so if you want 8 drops you can see how expensive it is.
On the bright side of things for having bought the Laguna I removed a cabinet in a corner to install the DC and low and behold I discovered Formoson termites, they've been in here for at least a year or more. Im been attacked on all four fronts. I'm having to gut the whole shop. Not a fun job. Re-wiring everything as I go also. No photos as I can't place them in the post, don't know how.
On the bright side of things for having bought the Laguna I removed a cabinet in a corner to install the DC and low and behold I discovered Formoson termites, they've been in here for at least a year or more. Im been attacked on all four fronts. I'm having to gut the whole shop. Not a fun job. Re-wiring everything as I go also. No photos as I can't place them in the post, don't know how.
I have had several cyclones through the years, most work pretty well, Clear Vues worked exceptionally well but are LOUD. I agree with a previous poster, its the super fine dust particles that pose the greatest health risk. Read up on Bill Pentz white papers on this issue, its quite scary. However there is solutions. The most elegant is exhausting the fine particulate outside. Not always possible for a few reasons, specially in extreme weather areas, costly to re cool or heat the replacement air. The other issue with cyclones is NOISE! I have a PFlux now, and it has significantly reduced noise, but only get the with tall cyclone, as the shorter lower hp version does not drop the dust as well. Noise is not an issue for everyone, but being downstairs, or close neighbors, noise matters. Even for our health, noise matters.
More importantly, I have been reading and watching a lot of great reviews on Harveys new style Gyro dust collectors. They seem to have solved the noise issue and the fine particulate issue. The one big downside that I see is the LARGE footprint. I am considering buying one and putting it under my TS outfeed table. Any users here?
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https://www.harveywoodworking.com/c...Vkg9D7FVTUfNsOxX78c3J5MrthMBOJQRoCKRwQAvD_BwE
More importantly, I have been reading and watching a lot of great reviews on Harveys new style Gyro dust collectors. They seem to have solved the noise issue and the fine particulate issue. The one big downside that I see is the LARGE footprint. I am considering buying one and putting it under my TS outfeed table. Any users here?
View attachment 1
https://www.harveywoodworking.com/c...Vkg9D7FVTUfNsOxX78c3J5MrthMBOJQRoCKRwQAvD_BwE
Attachments
Given what you’ve posted, it seems like you’re going back to a hobby that you already know you like. Therefore, if you have the money, I’d buy the “good” solution, not the biggest/best industrial one, but something suited to heavy hobby use. If you were just starting out and unsure of what to get, I’d suggest more moderation. But jointer/planer/tablesaw is a lot of chips and dust. To manage that, you need a cyclone (in my opinion).
I have this in my basement shop: https://www.canadianwoodworker.com/webstore/wecs.php?store=wood&action=display&target=CWI-DCP030H. I don’t know that the brand matters as much as form factor here.
Stay away from the dust collectors with cloth bags. Those are as much a dust hazard as they are a means to pick up chips. Watch someone fire one up and the cloud of dust that puffs off the bag when it is running.
Stick with drums, cartridge filters, and plastic bags.
I give the dust collector I have a very solid rating. It collects both dust and chips very well and the noise is perfectly manageable in a house. A lot quieter than the tools it is hooked to and the limits on dust collection seem more in the tools themselves than the dust collector.
Others experiences may vary, but I’ve appreciated the size and quality of this machine and its ability to do the work in my space. Price when I bought was $2k Canadian. It’s a lot more these days… that’s a shame, because it works well.
I have this in my basement shop: https://www.canadianwoodworker.com/webstore/wecs.php?store=wood&action=display&target=CWI-DCP030H. I don’t know that the brand matters as much as form factor here.
Stay away from the dust collectors with cloth bags. Those are as much a dust hazard as they are a means to pick up chips. Watch someone fire one up and the cloud of dust that puffs off the bag when it is running.
Stick with drums, cartridge filters, and plastic bags.
I give the dust collector I have a very solid rating. It collects both dust and chips very well and the noise is perfectly manageable in a house. A lot quieter than the tools it is hooked to and the limits on dust collection seem more in the tools themselves than the dust collector.
Others experiences may vary, but I’ve appreciated the size and quality of this machine and its ability to do the work in my space. Price when I bought was $2k Canadian. It’s a lot more these days… that’s a shame, because it works well.
