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Rikon portable dust collector?

John Torchick

John Torchick

Joined
Jan 24, 2010
Messages
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Location
Cleveland, Tennessee
I am in the process of cleaning up the shop before finishing a dozen stair treads. My shop is rather limited for space. I did a search on Woodcraft's website and found the Rikon portable DC. I can also hook it to a Dust Deputy for extra efficiency. Might have to do some shuffling with tools and my wood stash. I feel the DC will cut down on the time spent in cleaning up the sawdust and shavings. The broom and dustpan work but I'm finding they're too slow. Your help is appreciated as always.
Edit- Three reviews give 5 stars.
https://www.woodcraft.com/products/rikon-portable-dust-collector-with-wall-mount?via=573621bd69702d0676000002,576455d369702d2f2f0013a2,5764562369702d3c42000be9
 
John, due to your small shop, I would think that the upright 1hp Rikon or Jet (Jet on sale now) would be a better solution. I have an old (1993) Seco UFO with the approximate specs as the upright 1hp Jet and Rikon that is the perfect size for my small shop, and the cfm is good enough.
 
Dan, thanks; will check it out. Going to "bum on stock" as my grandfather would say. Got birthday and Christmas coming up. Sort of like investing in futures?
 
Yes, John. Those are the ones. No preference for me. However, I have not compared the specs. I did add a 5 micron bag to mine which is probably not low enough.
 
John Torchick said:
I am in the process of cleaning up the shop before finishing a dozen stair treads. My shop is rather limited for space. I did a search on Woodcraft's website and found the Rikon portable DC. I can also hook it to a Dust Deputy for extra efficiency. Might have to do some shuffling with tools and my wood stash. I feel the DC will cut down on the time spent in cleaning up the sawdust and shavings. The broom and dustpan work but I'm finding they're too slow. Your help is appreciated as always.
Edit- Three reviews give 5 stars.
https://www.woodcraft.com/products/rikon-portable-dust-collector-with-wall-mount?via=573621bd69702d0676000002,576455d369702d2f2f0013a2,5764562369702d3c42000be9
Click to expand...

Sounds like you need a shop vacuum cleaner rather than a dust collector. Set up for collecting sanding dust, a dust collector will capture a negligible fraction of the chips.
 
Dennis, I have a Shop Vac but, IMHO, a DC would keep dust, shavings, chips to a minimum. I can hook up the SV to the TS, BS, lathe but it doesn't have enough suction to get the big chunks. I also need a system to put over the TS blade. We cut 12 stair treads and got sawdust all over the place. Anything would be an improvement. My wife's birthday and our anniversary are past so that eliminates those dates for a surprise.
 
The biggest issue with that cheap Woodcraft collector is the bag. It will not filter out fine particles and in fact will distribute them more throughly through out the shop and your lungs. The fine dust is what gets in our bloodstream and does the damage. It won't handle a lot of machinery unless you pull it around to every machine when you use it. Money would be better spent on something with a cartridge or felt bag material
 
I would never have a DC with a cloth bag again after having the pleated filters available now. I think Oneida makes the best systems out there, and they go vertical for space considerations if you are getting a roll around type. The DC is great for removing dust from the air, and if you want to hose up shavings and chips, they do great for pen turning type stuff, but lousy for bowl turning type of shavings. The scoop shovel and plastic garbage bags are best bet for those.

robo hippy
 
Seems like I just saved about $300. Budget won't take anything above that price even though I know what you fellows are saying about pleated filters. Got one on my box fan- redneck air filtration system.
 
Mark Wollschlager said:
This is the current model of the one I have had for years. 2 micron canister, no need to load up a fabric bag before you get to the rated filter level.
It is more expensive, but not excessively. I have it paired with a trash can cyclone to get the chips. 5 micron is not so good with fine sanding dust.
https://www.woodcraft.com/products/jet-dust-collector-model-650ck?via=573621bd69702d0676000002,576455d369702d2f2f0013a2,5764562369702d3c42000be9
Click to expand...
Mark, out of the budget but looks good. I guess I'll have to save up for one with the pleated filter as many have implied it is better than the bags..
 
The other thing with a fabric bag like the Rikon is how to empty the thing without creating a dust storm.
Kind of like beating a carpet to clean it.
Not a big fan of those 'magic' high dollar vacuum cleaners that get all the dust, but then you have to open it up and dump the contents in the trash with a small volcanic eruption of dust.
 
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