Do you actually know how to hook up a dust collector?

[workinforwood]

Without question, the most important tool you own is a dust collector. Cant turn anything on without it. Sawdust will shorten your life. I have always used and owned them for decades. Over years of recognizing their importance i just bought a very expensive cyclone with canister filter. This dust collector had a warning label on the Y intake that got my mind confused. I dont have special woodworking training and even if i did, i doubt they teach you how to hook up a dust collector correctly. I used my man logic, and every shop i ever saw used the same logic. You have a Y splitter on the dust collector unless lucky enough to have a triple splitter. So you can attach 2 hoses. Or one hose and they give you a cap. So you cap the second port. How many tools are connected to a hose isnt important. It took a surprising amount of googling to understand what this warning label meant. Its not even something we need to get very technical about to understand.
Lets assume you have a Y on yours. You can only connect one hose to it. The second port must not be capped. It must stay open to the shops air. You must always have a minimum of (2) 4" ports worth of air sucking into the machine. Many machines have 2" ports. You would need to keep 3 of these machines open with no blast gate all the time. That second port on the dust collector is actually a whole shop air filter! While your working it is cleaning the shops air at the same time. When finished working you are supposed to set the timer for 5 minutes to clean the air your breathing. Its as simple as that!
You can even use your man logic to understand it. That Y splitter is really a 6 or more inch hole. Thats your straw. The size of your filter is your lungs. If you cap everything off to a tiny straw you dont get more suction, you get less.
Looks like a good time to throw away every blast gate i own and sell my overhead air filter. They both make air quality worse

 

[mark james]

Welcome back Jeff, i hope. I will say that I will review your suggestions, with caution.... I'm not ready to ditch my overhead filter and every blast gate. I do have hopes for a clean shop. I actually like my filters and blast gates. I believe the are doing what I hope they will do. For me, they are doing well.

 

[NJturner]

I am a little confused by your post. Stepping back a sec - your dust collector has a rated CFM - cubic feet of air per minute. To be efficient, it must be able to receive air at approximately that rate to be working at top efficiency. The CFM rating is typically listed at the dust collector, not through miles of piping. Each foot of pipe and splitters add air resistance and turbulence, reducing CFM's and ultimately efficiency. So, normal thinking is the least amount of pipe (of the required diameter) as possible is best. You also need to consider air velocity - larger particles need higher velocity to make it through the system. A well balanced dust collector is a match between CFM capability, air velocity and system resistance. If you think a long pipe with lots of splitters with little regard to the actual capabilities of the dust collector blower and filtering media will be a good system, you are mistaken.

Same with an overhead filter. What is better - no filter with lots of particulates in the air roaming free, or a properly installed air filtration system helping to clean the air?

I have a short 6" diameter pipe attached to a 1 micron filter media dust collector that I move from machine to machine. Very efficient, but slightly less ease of use. It is augmented by a ceiling mounted air filter from Rikon that sucks in free air, sends it through a filter media, and pushes cleaned air out the other side.

It does what I want. I will not run my tools without both filtering units on. I disagree that these two items make the air worse. Having nothing as you suggest would be MUCH worse in my eyes. Just my two cents......

 

[Curly]

What you should be doing is throwing that fitting beside the bandsaw and running 6" ducting, cutting the 4" ports into your machines and fitting 6" and opening the machines up to allow the air to flow through to that 6" duct. Actually 2 to 3 times the area. The 2x4" Y is barely useful at the bandsaw to have one pickup under the table and another over and behind the upper blade guard. Better is a 4" under the table, a 4" in the lower wheel cover and the third above and behind the upper blade guide. What you really should know is that due to the smaller pipe having greater surface friction along the walls you need 3 x 4" ducts to equal a 6" duct assuming the DC can really pull enough air which because it comes with the double 4" it is a 1 1/2hp or 2hp which is marginal at best. A 4" duct can flow about 400CFM and a 6" can flow 1,250CFM so three fours equal a six. The 2" or 2 1/2" stuff should be hooked to a shop vac and not a HVLP dust collector because it just doesn't have enough static pressure. The shop vac is a HPLV system with a high static pressure to overcome the sidewall surface drag of the hose.

HVLP = High Volume Low Pressure.
HPLV = High Pressure Low Volume.

Your lathe should have the shortest 6" duct run with a bell mouth hood on the end as it is the most efficient duct opening to get the fine dust. You can turn your own. Here is a short clip of one.

Spend a week of evenings reading Bill Pentz's site for a better understanding of dust and getting it.
https://billpentz.blogspot.com In a nutshell.
http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/index.php The long read.

 

[workinforwood]

You guys arent wrong at all. More airflow bigger ducts less pipe lengths. The bottom line is still airflow beimg opened up. Closing all your gates and blocking a pipe is wrong. You certainly can keep any overhead filters, but the filter in the dust collector is ten times better than that cheap filter you put in a jet air filter. So its kinda reduntant. I have to many flexible hoses atm, but thats mostly because i have my tools set up in a temporary position so i can move them. I purchased a monster of a lathe and it must travel all the way throgh my shop before i can really set it up good. I dont even have an eta on it. The best guess on the backorder thanks to covid was 1.5 years!
I ordered the fusion 1, 2 laguna cyclones, a lathe. Took 5 months to get the laguna stuff. When i unpacked the cyclones, 1 of them was crushed. It waa obviously crushed before it was packaged and shipped and now i must wait 5 more months.

 

[workinforwood]

If you guys are Wondering, why does this guy have 4 dust collectors? Its a big building and pretty much everyone in this forum MUST buy 2 dust collectors minimum. This is not a joke. Its super extreme important you guys have 2 dust collectors. You are making pens. Pens often involve cutting plastic. ALL plastic is extremely flamable. When you cut it, fine shavings enter the saw and dust collector. You will never get sparks cutting plastic. Now you go cut a piece of wood. You hit some bark, a staple, a tiny stone hiding inside a burl perhaps. Sparks will fly into your saw. The plastic shavings WILL ignite. They will turn into a huge raging fire in a matter of seconds. My laguna tablesaw is hooked to the powermatic collector. This saw combo is exclusive for cutting plastic only. The trash bag under the collector is always emptied when plastic gets cut no matter how much plastic you did or didnt cut. This is serious guys, not a joke, not something to take lightly. $2000 for a seperate saw and collector is much better and cheaper than burnimg your building down. Yes i learned this the hard way. If i wasnt in the shop, in about 5 minutes i woulda lost $200,000 and not have a new shop for over a year because of covid.

 

[montmill]

So the point is, if you have a dust collector with a "Y" fitting for input, don't use blast gates. Leave both open?

 

[workinforwood]

Mark. Assuming you have a quality dust collector, i can prove it to you that you should ditch the blast gates and overhead filter unit. Go into your shop. Grab a palm sander and a piece of scrap wood. 80 grit, start sanding that wood, no dust collection at all turned on. Do this for 4-5 minutes. Now turn on your overhead filter. Turn off the lights. Shine a flashlight on the air coming out behind your air filter. You will see all the fine dust going right through it. The cheap filters only grab big dust. Shine the flashlight around the shop you can see the fine dust floating everywhere.
Repeat this process. Make more fine dust. Open every port on your dust collector. especially make sure you have one port on the collector just open into the shop sucking air. Turn on collector, turn off the lights. You will watch every port in your shop is sucking in the dust, especially the big open port at the collector. Shine light at the canister filter. You cant see one particle escaping. Shine light around the shop you can watch the dust very slowly moving towards every suction hole.
Curly is like a dust collector expert. Hes 100% right about cfm. BUT, there is a factor at play in woodworking where losing cfm in your piping actually improves you dust collection. What you are trying to suck up requires a specific cfm for maximum efficiency. If you want to suck up rocks, you need major cfm. If you want to suck up the tiny dust particals that damage your lungs you actually need less cfm.
If you go purchase a Fein, or a Bosch dust extractor/shop vac. Both machines come with a cfm control knob. There is an actual chart you can use so you can adjust the cfm for woodworking tools. If you plug the bosh into your chop saw, you run full cfm. If you hook it to a palm sander the recommended cfm is all the way down. They tell you right in the manual that the finer the dust the less cfm you want. So it only makes sense that opening every port on a dust collector will reduce suction but improve air quality.

 

[workinforwood]

Montmill. Basically this is how your Y fitting should be. The second hole is just open to suck in air from the shop. If you want 2 hose coming off the unit, you remove the Y and install a triple. Unless you have like 2 dozen big tools hooked up, you probably dont need any blast gates at all. Most of your tools do not require maximum cfm. You might find that you have a few more larger chips landing on the floor because of reduced cfm, but you will find yourself dusting your shop less often. You cant breathe in chips, you breathe fine dust.

 

[Curly]

Jeff you are way off but like most dust discussions there is no point arguing so have at it your way.

I will point out that those Y fittings reduce the efficiency of cyclone or a single stage DC because of the turbulence they create. There should be several feet of straight full size duct to the DC to smooth out the airflow.

For the cost of those 2 Lagunas you could have bought a CV-Max, ducting, ended up with a better performing system, cash to spare and (not that it is important anymore) supported a North American Company.

Enjoy playing with your new toys.

 

[workinforwood]

Isnt grand prairie texas the usa? Says right on the machine, made in grand prairie texas. When i call them, texas answers. My lagunas all but one say made in the usa. The other was made in itally. Most of my tools, like the powermatics are made in china or tawan. Its difficult for anyone not to own alot of tools that are not manufactured overseas. These laguna cfuxes do a pretty impressive job from what i have seen. You pay more because they are made in the country called texas but worth it. They have a flare to the way they look that is very attractive in the shop too. Lets not forget, most of our shops arent factories, and most of us arent made of money. We want to clean the air best we can without spending thousands on buying 6" pipes, sealing them all, modifying every machine, so we get the maximum possible suction when its overkill.

 

[Curly]

Jeff while Texas is in the USA, the hobby line of tools are not made in the USA. I called the local dealer for Laguna tools and he confirmed all the hobby machines (lathes, small sliding table saw, including the dust collectors, etc) are made in Taiwan with the exception of a few of the bandsaws that are made in Italy. As far as I know (forgive my lack of knowledge of US towns and cities) there is no Taiwan in Texas and the country of Taiwan in Asia has not become the 51st state so my comment about North American made stands uncorrected. A small victory but uncorrected people reading the thread would be mislead.

Your lungs are yours to take care of and you can do as you like. However when you make statements about how to setup dust collection that fly in the face of modern knowledge and practice you will get opposition. Anyone reading it should delve into it deeper from factual sources before making decisions to follow your advice.

 

[workinforwood]

Part of my terminology is messed up. When i say less cfm is more effective at collecting small dust, i actually meant suction, not cfm. You want to have the largest airflow and smoothest piping you can afford. Like you say, get the cfm up. But thats alot to ask from most people. If you have lots of 4" piping and keep everythimg open, its going to improve your shop big time And extend the health of your lungs.
Btw clive. I never once insulted you or any of your comments. You hyjacked my thread and i praised your knowledge on optimizing the cfm of a dust collector, and agreed with most of your technical details.if i was building a million dollar factory i would hire you in a hot minute, but all you do is get upset then insult people. And try to pick apart every possible detail when Its not very important. And what country manufactures anythimg in a global market. Everythimg you buy contains parts manufactured worldwide. If you buy somethimg truly made in the usa, those people are probably using tools made in taiwan. Even if laguna manufactured every tool and part in taiwan, they still generate american jobs and taxes. If you could buy made in the usa only for everything, you be walking to work naked. Or looking for palm leaves.

 

[workinforwood]

We really got off point, and its rather funny because we both agree 100% about airflow. That was the point of my thread to begin with. We have to open up our dust collectors and let them breathe! If we installed solid 6" piping we would have the ultimate airflow. The increased airflow also reduces suction. Less suction removes more fine dust. More airflow moves more fine dust in a greater volume. They are both a team. More volume with less suction is the winning team. BUT, then we must look at shop size, money available, can that person adapt a machine by himself when he is a hobby penmaker in his basement? If you had only $1200, wouldnt you want to spend it mostly on the unit with a good filter instead of piping? The majority of us are going to have 4" hoses. The luckier people like me have 4" solid piping in most of my building and its inside the walls. This is why 6" piping is no good for most regular people. 4" crappy flexible pipe is just reality for most people. Knowing this fact, i think we both agree with what i was originally saying in that we should open all our blast gates. It costs zero money. It increases airflow, reducing suction and cleans your shops air far more efficiently. It will never compete with a 6". But if you set the timer on the collector for an extra 5 minutes after done using tools it is going to be a major improvement. Almost all the new tools you buy, the dust ports on them seem to keep getting smaller. Its like sucking through a straw. So if you have 4 tools hooked up to 2" ports and a blast gate on each one, thats not ok. You must let them all breathe.

 

[jttheclockman]

Man I disagree with so much here that I am staying out of this. Overhead airfilters are not usless . Wide open dust collector far from the truth. But have at it I will keep my shop set up the way it has worked for me for over 40 years. Good to all.

 

[mmayo]

Workinforwood

Thanks, I removed the cover on my Jet dust collection system. I ran it with it open. The vortex inside the Jet was amazing. I turned a few pens and the ribbons and chips disappeared like always. I would have never tried this.

I will not however ditch my two Jet air filtration units. The brown dust on both outer filters is evidence that dust is being captured by them too.

 

[workinforwood]

Its good your system is working right jt. You have the knowledge and skills to create a really good system and the money to buy good filters for shop filtration. You have to keep in mind that most people making pens are weekend warriors. They dont all have tons of tools and money and the skills to set up a dust collector at all. They have a shop vac and they were trained how to use it by mom In the living room. A shop vac uses suction, not cfm, to move debris. Dust is what you want to capture, not debris. Less suction picks up more fine dust. And the only word most people understand is suction. A dust collector uses cfm not suction. But your only realy understanding is the word suction. When you add a larger pipe you increase the cfm. This reduces suction. If you put on a smaller pipe you increase suction but reduce cfm. So obviously the larger the pipe with the slower moving but far greater volume of air will remove the most dust. Know that this is a penturning group and not a dust collector forum, you cant expect anyone will spend any money on proper piping and filters. Instead of scaring people away from getting some clean air to breathe altogether by telling them its 6" or waste of time and they must spend thousands on piping and fittings they can just open their blast gates for free. Pretty much every machine is set up 4" or less, most collectors are set up 4", its the only affordable solution you can expect from people working in their shop 2-8hrs a week. The system will still provide performance and improve air quality. You have to educate people with baby steps and words that they understand. I would much rather watch a friend sucking dust with a properly connected 4" setup than a ridgid shop vac. And thats all this thread was ever supposed to be. Not how to setup the most efficient dust collector, not what kind you have. Its a 4" system so you must let it open up and breathe. And opening up the machine takes zero time, zero money, zero skill.

 

[jttheclockman]

Well you are right about most people here are doing this as a hobby and it is geared around just pen turning which really does not require a shop full of expensive tools. Many people do use shop vacs or some sort of cyclone dust collection system and may work for what they are doing. But get into doing flat work and other large projects with full size tools then dust collecting and dust management is something that needs to taken serious and any means used that can cut down on it floating in the air and becoming a health hazard needs to be addressed. Filtering plays a huge role in this and just having a DC is just a first step. The golden rule to dust collecting is collect at the source the best way possible. Everyone good luck and stay healthy.

 

[workinforwood]

Overhead air filtration system should not be removed. They should be used. They can have an epic impact on air quality. I dont really want anyone thinking i want them to throw away or not use them. But heres the problem hobbiest have. The factory filter does not filter fine enough dust. Theres tons of filters that do. You must actually buy these filters and tons of them. The cfm is very high, so they will pull a ton of dust and clog up quickly. It is a constant expense, which drives people to not even turn it on. Every tiny shop my friend have i walk in and the overhead filter has 3" of dust on it. Yea, i need to order filters its on the list. 5yrs later, yea i still need to order those. . a decent dust collector with a canister filter will clean the air free right this minute. The filter can be blown out to clean it, free. It was actually designed to do this job. It will not ever perform like a properly working overhead filter. But its sitting right there in full working order and a quality filter on it right now. You only have to open the 4" hole on it. This is why you buy the dust collector, not an overhead filter, when your hobbiest. You get the best value on your money without constant spending on upkeep. Then if you expand you have something to build off of. Add more overhead filtration bigger pipes, whatever, skies the limit if you can afford it. I just dont feel like penturners are the group that will spend the money to have the best air quality possible. Instead they are better off using what they have more effectively.

 

[jrista]

I have the ubiquitous Jet AFS-1000B hanging from my workshop ceiling. It captures dust from the air extremely well. It has a two stage filter...the outer electro-static filter, which needs to be cleaned frequently and replaced fairly frequently, and captures down to 5 micron, and an inner filter with multiple "bags" to increase surface area that captures down to 1 micron. In about 20-30 minutes after a good extensive sanding session, with good filters, my shop's air is pretty darn dust free if I shine a flashlight around. My shop is relatively small, maybe 200-300 square feet, but it has a vaulted ceiling (its the third car slot in my garage), so I think the 1000B is about right-sized for the space.

I have a hard time believing that the ceiling air filter is unnecessary. I'm allergic to wood dust (also allergic to tree pollen, so I guess it figures), and also am very allergic to CA glue fumes and dust (or, they cause a severe toxic reaction in me). So filtration for me is extremely important, since my workshop is part of my garage (curtained off to prevent dust from contaminating the entire garage). I have little doubt a proper dust collector is important (I currently use a couple of shop vacs, but a proper dust collector with larger hoses/ducting (I guess 6", although I was considering 4" before) is at the top of my list. Still, even with a dust collector, I plan on keeping the ceiling air filter as well, as it is currently doing a darn good job!

 

[jrista]

What you should be doing is throwing that fitting beside the bandsaw and running 6" ducting, cutting the 4" ports into your machines and fitting 6" and opening the machines up to allow the air to flow through to that 6" duct. Actually 2 to 3 times the area. The 2x4" Y is barely useful at the bandsaw to have one pickup under the table and another over and behind the upper blade guard. Better is a 4" under the table, a 4" in the lower wheel cover and the third above and behind the upper blade guide. What you really should know is that due to the smaller pipe having greater surface friction along the walls you need 3 x 4" ducts to equal a 6" duct assuming the DC can really pull enough air which because it comes with the double 4" it is a 1 1/2hp or 2hp which is marginal at best. A 4" duct can flow about 400CFM and a 6" can flow 1,250CFM so three fours equal a six. The 2" or 2 1/2" stuff should be hooked to a shop vac and not a HVLP dust collector because it just doesn't have enough static pressure. The shop vac is a HPLV system with a high static pressure to overcome the sidewall surface drag of the hose.

HVLP = High Volume Low Pressure.
HPLV = High Pressure Low Volume.

Your lathe should have the shortest 6" duct run with a bell mouth hood on the end as it is the most efficient duct opening to get the fine dust. You can turn your own. Here is a short clip of one.

Spend a week of evenings reading Bill Pentz's site for a better understanding of dust and getting it.
https://billpentz.blogspot.com In a nutshell.
http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/index.php The long read.

What would "short" be here? I've been planning to replace a couple of shop vacs, which work ok but not great (HPLV after all), with a proper dust collector. I haven't done it yet, as I haven't figured out just yet how I'm going to route hoses and ducting.

I have two lathes, a drill press and a miter saw at the moment. Longer term, there will probably be a table saw and a planer. This is all in the third car slot of my garage...so the space is probably 25' long by 9' or so wide. I can probably only fit one dust collector.

 

[Curly]

What would "short" be here? I've been planning to replace a couple of shop vacs, which work ok but not great (HPLV after all), with a proper dust collector. I haven't done it yet, as I haven't figured out just yet how I'm going to route hoses and ducting.

I have two lathes, a drill press and a miter saw at the moment. Longer term, there will probably be a table saw and a planer. This is all in the third car slot of my garage...so the space is probably 25' long by 9' or so wide. I can probably only fit one dust collector.

With a 2hp DC the shorter the better but in your case if you can keep the DC at one end with the machines at that end and the hand working at the other you would be okay. What you want is to have 1,000CFM at the machine. When you look at a DC's specification it will give you a CFM rating. Unfortunately they usually flow about half that spec. They do the rating test with nothing on the impeller housing (no filters, transition fitting, hose etc) and take the reading in the middle of the airstream of a short test duct where the reading is highest and probably round it up. When the necessary parts are on it to make it a DC the flow is halved.

On an Aussie forum there is a discussion on modifying a 2HP DC to get some more flow. Basically cleaning up the intake duct transition and opening up the outlet. https://www.woodworkforums.com/f200/generic-2hp-dc-171247 It is a long thread but the info is good as are the rest of the threads in that section.

 

[jrista]

With a 2hp DC the shorter the better but in your case if you can keep the DC at one end with the machines at that end and the hand working at the other you would be okay. What you want is to have 1,000CFM at the machine. When you look at a DC's specification it will give you a CFM rating. Unfortunately they usually flow about half that spec. They do the rating test with nothing on the impeller housing (no filters, transition fitting, hose etc) and take the reading in the middle of the airstream of a short test duct where the reading is highest and probably round it up. When the necessary parts are on it to make it a DC the flow is halved.

On an Aussie forum there is a discussion on modifying a 2HP DC to get some more flow. Basically cleaning up the intake duct transition and opening up the outlet. https://www.woodworkforums.com/f200/generic-2hp-dc-171247 It is a long thread but the info is good as are the rest of the threads in that section.

Thanks! Appreciate the info. I'll check out that mod.

You mentioned CV-Max earlier in the thread. I checked that out, but at $2800 its out of my price range. What would you recommend after that...would a Jet DC do? Actually, would a Shop Fox do? They have a 1500CFM one for around $500... Some people at the local Woodcraft rave about Shop Fox, although I've wondered...

 

[Curly]

The CV-1800 is quite a bit cheaper at $1,755, sometimes going on sale for a little less. It is more than sufficient. Still spendy though.

If the Shop Fox is this one https://www.grizzly.com/products/shop-fox-2-hp-dust-collector/w1666 I would avoid it because the bag is a 2.5 micron and will let too much fine dust through it. Important as you said you have wood allergies. If going with that type of DC this one would be better. https://www.grizzly.com/products/gr...h-aluminum-impeller-polar-bear-series/g0548zp The flow in it is better in part because the welded duct between the impeller and the filter is better than the ones with a hose.

Once you start comparing similar DCs there are no major differences between them except for paint and the costlier ones from better known and established makers will be tighter and less prone to leaks. The corners have been cut with the really cheap ones. If you found a used bag filtered DC you could get an industrial filter like Wynn sell for them and might come ahead with the final price. https://wynnenv.com/product-category/woodworking-filters/

 

[jrista]

The CV-1800 is quite a bit cheaper at $1,755, sometimes going on sale for a little less. It is more than sufficient. Still spendy though.

If the Shop Fox is this one https://www.grizzly.com/products/shop-fox-2-hp-dust-collector/w1666 I would avoid it because the bag is a 2.5 micron and will let too much fine dust through it. Important as you said you have wood allergies. If going with that type of DC this one would be better. https://www.grizzly.com/products/gr...h-aluminum-impeller-polar-bear-series/g0548zp The flow in it is better in part because the welded duct between the impeller and the filter is better than the ones with a hose.

Once you start comparing similar DCs there are no major differences between them except for paint and the costlier ones from better known and established makers will be tighter and less prone to leaks. The corners have been cut with the really cheap ones. If you found a used bag filtered DC you could get an industrial filter like Wynn sell for them and might come ahead with the final price. https://wynnenv.com/product-category/woodworking-filters/

Thanks for the info! Especially about the welded duct... Extremely helpful. I guess I should probably start another thread on the subject if I need more. ;P

Good point about 2.5 micron, though...the idea is to capture as much of the fine sanding dust as possible, and I'd rather have a 1 micron or better. Are those Wynn filters 0.5 micron? It also looks like Grizzly has a HEPA filter that has a 1 micron first stage and 0.3 micron second, but its $450.

 

[NJturner]

Wynn Environmental offers a number of filters for replacing a bag - from Merv 12 to Merv 15 or so. Merv 15 is actually filtration at approximately 1 micron. Pick size based on CFM needed. They are not cheap, but neither is a new lung.

Despite some of the statements above, many overhead air filters also go down to 1 micron filtration. I have a Rikon 62-400 overhead and it has twin filters - first one (replaceable) pulls down to 5 micron. Second one is 1 micron felt filter bag (washable) operating at about 400 CFM on high. You can clean the 5 micron filter numerous times before replacing by pushing compressed air in reverse through the media and the felt bag cleans easily over and over, making the solution effective for good air filtering at a low cost.

I highly recommend both, as you need to get to 1 micron or better to make a true dust eliminator. Do your research before you spend much - as there is a lot of bad info on dust collection all over the web.

 

[workinforwood]

Try searching on facebook. Quite common to find good dust collection equipment people buy but dont know how to use it then sell it. you might find a cv max. I certainly recommend the powermatic pm1300 too. Its only a grand, doesnt use tons of space and is easy to clean. It doesnt really sound like you need a cyclone for what your doing you just need lots of air flow. Dont toss out the vacuum, just put a better filter on it or a better shop vac. Your still goimg to get some debris the collector doesnt catch, especially with a bigger pipe. You catch way way more dust but suck up a little bit less heavy stuff.That needs vacuumed up.
I use my chop saw alot. I think its the dustiest nastiest tool in the shop. I have 4 solid 4" pipes connected to it and a big hood i built and that thing still makes lots of debris. Its difficult to deal with a blade suspended in the air cutting from above.