gamblin_man's Full Review: Wmh Tool Group Dc-500, Dust Collector
Any woodworker, shortly after acquiring tools that generate lots of chips and sawdust, begins to pine for a dust collector to gather that shwarf up at the source instead of having to sweep it up later. If the dust is small, like from sanding, the nose, throat, and lungs also start clamoring for relief. When we had a large shop on the right coast we had a large collector with lots of piping to accommodate our entire collection of chip and dust generating tools. Now with a much smaller shop (it shares a garage) we still find the sweeping of chips and dust and the need to wear a mask to protect the lungs made us wish for a dust collector.
Jet DC 500 Dust Collector
There are generally two types of dust collection in use these days. One, mostly used in larger installations and preferred, is called a cyclone collector. The other is the one we now have. It uses a large motor-driven fan to suck air in through a large diameter opening. The air and anything the air collects is directed through the blades of the fan and exhausts into a couple of fabric bags. There is one positioned above the level of the air and another below the level of air. The theory is that, as the air slows down though baffling, the larger particles fall into the lower bag and the cleaner air is exhausted through the upper bag where some of the finer dusts is filtered and, ultimately, falls into the lower bag later.
The DC 500 from Jet is rated at 500 cubic feet per minute (CFM). This means that with the bags removed and the inlet port wide open, it pulls 500 CFM of air from the outside through the impeller. The ½ hp motor draws 4.5 Amps. It drives a 9 ½" impeller, pulling air through a 4" diameter opening located below the center mounted motor and baffle assembly. The cloth bags are 14" diameter. The top bag is 24" high. The bottom bag is 21" in length and has a clear plastic port on the side to see how full it is. Unlike our earlier Delta that used metal bands to hold the bags to the collector, the Jet has flexible bands inside the bags. You push them into the openings, then pull them back for an easy airtight seal.
The main assembly mounts on rather lightweight tubular legs. There are two wheels on the bottom to make it portable. Assembly is simple and tool-less. It is pretty light, the heaviest part being the motor and impeller. It feels a little wobbly when moving but is actually pretty stable. The noise is a little high when it is running, but no more than any other power tool. The bags are rated for filtration down to 5 microns. This isn't the greatest level of filtration since it is the sub-micron particles that are most damaging to lungs. The good news is that as dust collects on the inside of the bags, the combination of that additional filtering and an electrostatic force actually makes the effective filtration better.
We are using the Jet Dust Collector mostly with a dust hood on our Jet midi lathe while making pens of wood or plastic. We have placed it where we can easily move the hose to our scroll saw, but seldom do so. For us the wheels are mostly useful to get it out of the crevice we were able to put it into for bag emptying. The paddle power switch is easily reached at the motor and inlet end of the center-mounted baffle assembly. It has a key that can be removed to keep little hands out of trouble. The air movement is adequate for use on a lathe or other chip generating tool like a miter saw. It would fall short if we had tried to use it on our large dual sander or likely even our 12" planer we had on the right coast.
We are happy with this purchase, especially since we were able to get it on sale for around $100.00.
Quick, tool-less assembly Rigid, light weight frame Quick install filter and collection bags Large wheels for mobility 500 CFM performance for efficie...More at Amazon
The new JET DC-500 Dust Collector is perfect for small shops with limited space. The lightweight design combines a ridged tubular frame for strength a...More at Global Industrial
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