Harbor Freight Dust Collector

[Steve P]

Wondering if anyone is using this & any thoughts on performance. Attractive price.

12 Gallon OSHA-Compliant Dust Extractor

Amazing deals on this 12Gal Dust Extractor at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

I recently got one--have used it with sanders and have been very pleased with its dust extraction. Haven't had it long enough to know how it will hold up, but have found other of HF's Hercules tools to be good over time.

 

[mdbuntyn]

I recently got one--have used it with sanders and have been very pleased with its dust extraction. Haven't had it long enough to know how it will hold up, but have found other of HF's Hercules tools to be good over time.

What were you using before, and what sanders do you use?

 

[charlessenf]

I watched a pretty good review/impression video earlier today:

Opinions are ubiquitous.
He says, for instance, "this is a really heavy duty cord," but does not note the AWG of the cord. As he is noting it's generous length as well as it serving both the vac motor as well as the tool's motor.
He mentions HP ratings while ignoring the amperage ratings.
He talks about "this thing still has 'full suction' on it" without every testing the vacuum of any of them.
For a comparison of this to objective reviews take a look at Project Farm. PF's annoying voice and fast pace is worth getting past for the charts and graphs comparing apples to apples objectively.

 

[charlessenf]

Here's another one:

"This thing is very very sucky" - he ran his 'cheek test' in lieu of a vacuum gauge.

He only mentions the relative 'rated cfm' but never tests any of these claims.

It is always wise to consider the incentives behind the time, effort and expense required to produce a product advertisement of this sort.

Reminds one of W.C. Fields famous quotation.

 

[dmbtjclark]

I'm in the early stages of my HF DC thein baffle conversion. Here are some pics. I 3D printed the connections.
Hoping to start piping this weekend. 3D printing ball valve blast gates, hooked to a magnetic micro switch to turn is on and off. More pics to come.

 

[charlessenf]

Wow, you're serious!

Has anyone built their DC/DE hardware outside the shop?

 

[mdbuntyn]

Opinions are ubiquitous.
He says, for instance, "this is a really heavy duty cord," but does not note the AWG of the cord. As he is noting it's generous length as well as it serving both the vac motor as well as the tool's motor.
He mentions HP ratings while ignoring the amperage ratings.
He talks about "this thing still has 'full suction' on it" without every testing the vacuum of any of them.
For a comparison of this to objective reviews take a look at Project Farm. PF's annoying voice and fast pace is worth getting past for the charts and graphs comparing apples to apples objectively.

When Project Farm does a dust extractor comparison video that include the Hercules extractor, I'll be sure to watch it

 

[Mark Fogleman]

Air quality monitors are very inexpensive. Good ones are less than $30. They should be in every shop to tell you when you should wear PPE. Don't assume your dust collection gets everything because you can't see the particles that cause damage to your lungs. Wood dust in the 2.5 micron and below range (PM2.5 on the meter) above 5mg/cubic meter in shop air is hazardous.

 

[dmbtjclark]

I'm in the early stages of my HF DC thein baffle conversion. Here are some pics. I 3D printed the connections.
Hoping to start piping this weekend. 3D printing ball valve blast gates, hooked to a magnetic micro switch to turn is on and off. More pics to come.
View attachment 233916View attachment 233917

Updates.. piping and wiring done.

 

[charlessenf]

That's IMPRESSIVE WORK!
Any chance your model/design for the magnetic connectors could be scaled down to work with humble shopvac size tubing/hoses?
Also, care to share the info on the 3D printer used to print these (rather large _ It seems) attachments and valve bodies and such?
I don't know if you've ever heard of Instructables, but you might want to check it out - looks as if you've a contest winner for sure. Yours for the making - Instructables

 

[dmbtjclark]

That's IMPRESSIVE WORK!
Any chance your model/design for the magnetic connectors could be scaled down to work with humble shopvac size tubing/hoses?
Also, care to share the info on the 3D printer used to print these (rather large _ It seems) attachments and valve bodies and such?
I don't know if you've ever heard of Instructables, but you might want to check it out - looks as if you've a contest winner for sure. Yours for the making - Instructables

Thank you for the kind words.
There is a 2 1/2" version of the ball valve.

63mm / 2½" Truncated Ball Valve Type Non-Clog Blast Gate for Workshop Dust Extraction Network by PeterH1500 | Download free STL model | Printables.com

My 63mm ball valve type blast gate (Print 137795) works well, but is a little wide! This redesign slims it down. | Download free 3D printable STL models

www.printables.com

The 4" original design is from Peter as well.

100mm / 4" Truncated Ball Valve Type Non-Clog Blast Gate for Workshop Dust Extraction Network by PeterH1500 | Download free STL model | Printables.com

My 100mm ball valve type blast gate (Print 137794) works well, but is big! This redesign slims it down. | Download free 3D printable STL models

www.printables.com

I posted my design and files here:

Blast Gate Ball Valve with flange and stop by David Clark | Download free STL model | Printables.com

This is a modification of the blast gate ball valve with a mount for a micro switch. Also includes a built in flange. | Download free 3D printable STL models

www.printables.com

I am using a Prusa MK3S. Older model, much slower than newer printers. A friend has a Bambu labs P1P - he can print the case (1/2 of the whole) in 3+ hrs. My Prusa takes 9hrs. So as long as you are not in a hurry, the MK3S+ works and is a work horse.
Right now you can get a p1p for $499 on sale. A Lab A1 for $349. You can find several on Marketplace.