Harbor Freight 2hp Dust Collector

[Papa]

My latest HF catalog has the HF 2hp DC on sale for just under $150. I also have a 15% on any item cupon, which brings it down to about $128. This looks like a good buy to me. What do you HF 2hp DC owners think?

Thanks,
Papa

[LCHIEN]

that would be a pretty good price for the HF unit. The HF 2HP DC is OK, just remember its got a smaller impellor than the seemingly equivalent or slightly worse spec Jet, Delta, and Penn State 1.5 to 2 HP units... the CFM rating of the HF unit is way overstated and its actually below those units in air moving capacity, but better than 1 HP units. And the bags used to be 30 microns, almost useless and had to be replaced before any serious use. They have improved them (or maybe just changed the description!) to 5 microns but you need to replace them with 1 microns or smaller for good quality air exhaust for your work space breathing safety.

P.S. Per request by L.R.
I resolved the filter bag issues by getting a Grizzly canister filter for the top for about $165 plus a set of 10 heavy duty plastic bags from Penn state for the lower bag.
The advantages of this set up are:
1. the filter area is 10X a pair of normal bags due to the pleated filter; this reduces air flow restriction even as the filter loads up and the lower bag fills.
2. the filter action is more consistent than bags which normally don't filter well when cleaned but need a cake ont hem (which also reduces air flow).
3. the grizz has a beater bar that causes dust trapped on the filter surface to fall down into the lower bag; the beater bar "flips" the pleats to release chips and fines trapped in the pleats.
4. The canister is a perfect fit for the filter ring on the HF DC and other units (the 20" ring is a sort of defacto standard). The after-market replacement canisters from Jet, Grizz, and Penn State all will fit too and cost is about the same.

[Rich P]

I've had one for about 3 years. Only problem was the switch blew (which forced me to relocate the replacement where I could reach it without bending over). I use the heavy clear plastic bag (the Jet one) on the bottom in a metal garbage can and an aftermarket 1 micron felt bag on top. IMHO, $128 is a good price but you'll need to figure at least that much more (and probably even more) for hoses, connectors, bags, gates, etc. As Loren points out, a DC without the proper bags is just a "fine dust pump", and my experience is that even with a good bag you will probably need an ambient air cleaner as well.

[BizCoach]

I'll echo what's been said above. you can get a canister filter instead of the bag on top - mine is made by Wynn - do a search and you'll find them.

My switch blew also but I was using a remote control switch to turn power on and off at the plug so I just hard wired the switch on the machine to be always on.

[BobSch]

Here's the info on the Wynn filter conversion.

http://www.wynnenv.com/9e300bl_conversion.htm

Well worth the extra bucks.

[LinuxRandal]

that would be a pretty good price for the HF unit. The HF 2HP DC is OK, just remember its got a smaller impellor than the seemingly equivalent or slightly worse spec Jet, Delta, and Penn State 1.5 to 2 HP units... the CFM rating of the HF unit is way overstated and its actually below those units in air moving capacity, but better than 1 HP units. And the bags used to be 30 microns, almost useless and had to be replaced before any serious use. They have improved them (or maybe just changed the description!) to 5 microns but you need to replace them with 1 microns or smaller for good quality air exhaust for your work space breathing safety.

First, are you sure it is the same model? I thought they changed the model number and did something else (plastic lower bag if I remember correctly) on the lower micron bag unit.
Second, When you reply to these, please consider adding your information about the Grizzly filter with paddles you went for. (I believe a better value then the Wynn)

[kramer katt]

hf DC

HF website has both old and new listed
45378 is 14 amp 30 micron
97869 is 20 amp 5 micron
HF spec's YMMV

[LCHIEN]

First, are you sure it is the same model? I thought they changed the model number and did something else (plastic lower bag if I remember correctly) on the lower micron bag unit.
Second, When you reply to these, please consider adding your information about the Grizzly filter with paddles you went for. (I believe a better value then the Wynn)

I added to my prev post theinfo about the grizzly canister.

As for the model number, I think they have changed the number and the linked manual is new. But the unit is still basically the same- with the following changes I can see from the on-line item description:
1. plastic lower "catch" bag (replaces 30 micron lower bag, this will give more air flow resistance than a filter bag)
2. 5 micron upper bag - better than the 30 micron bag but still too large particle, 1 micron is preferable.
3. locking switch vs standard switch
4. the specs now say the motor is 20A peak... the old one used to be like 14.7A or 15A or something like that... might make a difference on a 15A circuit...
5. Claimed air flow is 1550 vs the old 1600... I have no idea what they are smoking when thay make up these numbers... maybe its the theoretical volume in the impellor times the RPMs...

other than that the dimensions are close, the construction looks very much the same.

[Rich P]

harborfreight.com only has the "new" model number. harborfreightusa.com has both.

On the 45378 the web says 14 amps but the owners manual says 20. Go figure.

On my unit, the intake "Y" has two 4" ins and a 5" out. Also, the hose between the blower and the "collector" is 5". On both web sites both models say 4" in and 4" out. Don't know if this is correct but I doubt it.

Hopefully the casters on the 97869 have be changed to actually swivel without hanging up on the lip of the base. On mine I had to add some spacers to provide clearance.

Maybe someone at HF could get the folks who write stuff to take a look at the product from time to time?

[mpauly]

I have the original HF DC with a Jet canister that I added on(picked up used) and have put in the Thein baffle, all told, I have about $275 into it including taxes. It works adequately when wheeled around and hooked directly to a machine and has served in my make ship shop for about a year and a half. I consider the canister or upgraded bags as a requirement though, the stockers still dump a ton of fines in the air. As others have already said the performance figures are inflated and I'm expecting performance to drop significantly when I start plumbing in some dust lines to other machines as my shop is starting to take shape.

If I had to do it all over again, I'd spring for a larger true 2HP, 220v machine with a canister already on it for about $500 and call it a day. Don't ask me which machine though....still researching and dreaming about a cyclone.

Michael

[John Hunter]

I have been using mine for over 3 years with no problems at all.