follow up to the drum sander question

[Russianwolf]

Okay, I'm pretty decided on the Grizzly 10-20 for the drum sander, and I know these things need very good DC. My 2hp HF unit won't power on any longer (starts to spin up and blows the fuse, I think it's the starter capacitor). So do I fix the HF unit, or get another unit entirely? I have a budget of about $200-250 for this. since that's what I'm saving on the sander. I did some looking at just a new blower (thinking I might be able to get a bigger assembly and attach it to the HF filter set up) but the better ones are $300+ from what I see.

 

[Frank Nemke sr]

I shop craigslist.org and find alot of small shops down sizing and selling tools at very good prices

 

[Hess]

if it is only a capacitor the last one I got for a 7 hp air compressor was 25 bucks just changed it out

The General machinery DC can be found for 175 up that's a 2 hp 1500 CFM unit

HF is not the only one that sells it

 

[IPD_Mrs]

Man do you ever have a tuff decision. My first question would be how well did the HF DC work for you when it was running? If you were happy with it then by all means fix it. That would save you some money in the long run so you can take the Mrs. out for a nice dinner. :biggrin:

Now if it did not do well for you then you should probably look at replacing it. We are talking about lung health more than dust collecting at this point. A long long time ago when I asked a friend which choice I should make on a purchase, his only response was quality vs. quantity. It still sticks with me today and fits the old, you can cry now or cry later.

 

[Russianwolf]

Man do you ever have a tuff decision. My first question would be how well did the HF DC work for you when it was running? If you were happy with it then by all means fix it. That would save you some money in the long run so you can take the Mrs. out for a nice dinner. :biggrin:

Now if it did not do well for you then you should probably look at replacing it. We are talking about lung health more than dust collecting at this point. A long long time ago when I asked a friend which choice I should make on a purchase, his only response was quality vs. quantity. It still sticks with me today and fits the old, you can cry now or cry later.

The HF unit is okay. kinda a best bang for the buck machine. Ain't the best by far and all know it. But, can I find a better machine or blower for the money?????

 

[IPD_Mrs]

Mike is your DC upper section a cloth bag or cannister?

 

[Russianwolf]

right now, cloth, since it was mainly used on the tablesaw and a planer I never got around to switching it to a canister. This is have to be done for the sander I know.

 

[IPD_Mrs]

Canisters are not cheap, but they last. You could probably get a canister that will fit your machine for $150-$175. If you can fix the start capacitor for $25, it will be like having a new machine. Two keys are to keep the filter clean and to make your runs to your machines as short as possible. Maybe adding a chip separator will help as well. I have a dog that will absorb more saw dust than the best DCs. :crying:

 

[greggas]

if it is only the starter capacitor that is wrong why not just replace it? Had the same issue with my table saw a few months ago and for $19 at Grainger and 15 it was fixed and like new...then you can spend the cash on other tools

 

[ctubbs]

Mike, an article was just posted in the library about moding the HF DC. This is the link;
http://content.penturners.org/articles/2011/HF Dust Collector Mods.pdf
I know it works as I made the pdf. Any questions not answered in the Tutorial, just pm me and I will help any way I can. Please do not knock me too hard about the stand for the trash can, I used scrap when ever possible.
Charles

 

[Russianwolf]

Well.... whet down and removed the extension cord and pulled it directly to the outlet to make sure it was getting all the power. plugged in and it stayed on longer, but "pop". I then went up to confirm with breaker it was and its only a 15AMP. I then found out that despite the labeling in the box, our Computer room outlets are on the same circuit as the sump also.

So I'll try swapping to a 20AMP breaker and see what that does.