Powermatic 75 Dust Collector

[lkazista]

Fellas,

Some guy in my neighborhood is selling off a Powermatic Model 75 Dust Collector. It is 3HP and single phase 230 volts. He claims excellant condition, and is asking $450 or BO. I have 220 in my shop, so that is not an issue. The machine is certainly a little bigger than I would like to have, but I know that I would NEVER outgrow it. I have been eyeing up a JDS 1.5HP for $300.

Any thoughts on this unit, the price, or what to look for when looking at it?

I am assuming that it has the 5 micron bags with it, but need to confirm that. I know I want to get better bags ASAP or even a canister, but I can not seem to find pricing on anything 1 micron for this machine.

As always, I appreciate anything you guys have to throw at me in the way of advice.

[thrytis]

$450 is a pretty good price for a 3 HP DC in good condition. I think new they run around $800, and you probably can't find a new one of any kind cheaper than around $500-$600. The cheaper ones have small impellers and small inlet/outlets that limits performance, which i don't think this model suffers from. A couple things to worry about going with one that large would be floor space, how loud they are, and height. Height isn't a concern if you're replacing the bags though, you could always find smaller ones.

5 micron isn't that bad - it is usually the 30 micron bags that people want to immediately replace. If you do want to replace the bags, you just have to find what diameter they are and find someplace to match them. There are also places like Process Systems and AFF that will custom make bags, and if you go with a canister you would just have to make an adapter to get it to fit..

[TheRic]

If you have the room and the money it sounds like a good deal. Are you sure he has the bags? I have found both bags and canister model 75s on the INTERNET.

When someone is getting rid of something like that I always ask myself, if not the seller WHY? Is there a problem with it, are they upgrading. Don't need it any more, getting out of wood working in this case.

At the bare minimum I would ask to hear it run, and see if it sounds OK. No funky sounds coming from it. Maybe see it in operation on a planner, or jointer. Try the Cheerio test.

[thrytis]

According to Powermatic's flyer, the bag diameter is 20". The upper bag is 48" long, the lower bag is 34.5", though the length isn't too important. Just look for someplace that has 20" diameter bags.

The sound rating is listed as 80-90 dB. The footprint is 55.5"x23", and is 99" tall. The JDS is listed as 66-77 dB and 68" tall. I'm didn't see what the footprint of the JDS was, but a comparable style Delta (50-850) is 27"x37".

The impeller is 14" and inlet is 8". That is about the best you'll find on a 3 HP DC. It would make a good blower for a cyclone if you ever wanted to upgrade in the future.

[lkazista]

*update*

So the unit was purchased new back in 1994, used several times a week till around 2000, then the owner took a few years off from his shop because he had kids. Now, back in the swing of things, he has upgraded to a onedia cyclone.

The unit does not look 13 years old, but never the less, it is. With it costing $800 brand new, what would be a fair price to offer? $450 is a little high for my budget, and seems a little high for the age as well.