are dust collectors quiet?

[michelevit]

I've got an odd question. I currently use a wet/dry shop vac
in my garage. It is a medium sized unit that that I hook up
to my BT table saw to collect dust. It works great.

Last Saturday I went to a local woodworking show in Santa Clara
and found that several booths were running routers and tablesaws
with DC units. What suprised me was how quiet these dust collectors tools were. I was accustomed to the jet sound of my shop vac and the dust collectors they were using were very powerful and also very quiet. I have
never seen or used a dust collector.

My question is... Are these dust collectors that they are using modified
for show use? Or will I be able to purchase a dust collector that is just as
quiet. I use ear muffs now and my complaint about my shop vac is that
it is loud and also fills up quickly.

thanks for any responses in advance.

MV.

ps. i picked up a WW2 blade at the show and it is amazing. cuts like a
lazer cutting butter.

[vanguard]

I'd be interested in hearing about the sound levels on the HF 2HP unit especially.

[Crash2510]

have the hf 2 hp that i set up as a cyclone and it is pretty quiet only loud when starting up then less noisy than a sweeper

[Tom Miller]

I have a Grizzly 2HP DC, and a Ridgid 16gal shop vac. I regularly use the DC w/o hearing protection, but wouldn't consider doing the same with the shopvac.

Regards,
Tom

[Popeye]

I've got the HF unit, I can leave it running and live without hearing protection. I'd go banannas leaving my small shop vac running even with hearing protection.
But to call it "quiet" I'm not sure I'd go quite that far. Pat

[Knottscott]

I have a Grizzly 2HP DC, and a Ridgid 16gal shop vac. I regularly use the DC w/o hearing protection, but wouldn't consider doing the same with the shopvac.

Regards,
Tom

I think I have exactly the same two machines as you, and agree with your observations....the SV is much louder and has a much more piercing frequency.

[dlminehart]

I have two shopvacs, a little Ridgid one and a big Craftsman one, complete with a muffler. The Ridgid is a loud, high-pitched whining thing. The Craftsman is moderately loud, with a medium-pitch. I also have a HF 2HP DC. It is quieter than the other two, with a lower pitch. More like a loud hum than a whine or screech. I've placed the DC in a lean-to on the other side of my garage wall, and can now hardly hear it.

[rickd]

I have a Grizzly 2HP DC, and a Ridgid 16gal shop vac. I regularly use the DC w/o hearing protection, but wouldn't consider doing the same with the shopvac.

Regards,
Tom

i've got the exact same machines as tom and feel exactly the same way. the grizzly dc is way quieter than the 'boeing 777' shopvac by ridgid!

[Russianwolf]

Someone on here has done some decibel level research on these things, but I think that the concensus was that the DB levels were similar, BUT that the frequency of the DC was at a much lower, near inaudible level.

I know my HF 2HP unit seems alot quieter than the SV. The main thing I hear from the DC is air moving.

[Tundra_Man]

I've got the HF 2 hp dust collector as well. I wouldn't classify it as quiet, but it is certainly quieter than my shop vac. Probably about the same volume as my belt sander running without a load.

[just4funsies]

My 1.5hp Delta DC is not quiet by any means, but sound levels are decidedly less than my ShopVac, even with the muffler installed on the SV. And the SV has an annoying whine that cuts straight through my nerves.

[kmk]

Are there any quitest DCs around under $250?

[maxparot]

I wouldn't call a DC quiet but in comparison to a shop vac the DC is significantly quieter. I have the HF 2hp DC and a 5hp shopvac.

[JR]

Here is Loring's excellent analysis of tool noise. There is a lot of discussion about qualitative vs quantitative analysis. Interestingly, the audiometer numbers don't seem to me to support the human experience that a DC is quieter than a shopvac. But I find the two sounds to be radically different.

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=17990

[vaking]

JR,
Sound numbers are not very straightforward. Numbers that Loring published do support that BT3100 and HF DC together make less noise than shopvac alone (DC and BT3100 together are 93db max, SV is 94db). Different story - DC or shopvac - you will run it together with the tool usually and I always put on earmuffs when I turn on any tool.