A couple recent (and not so recent) threads have mentioned the "stovepipe mod" I made to my Harbor Freight 2HP dust collector. Although the mod shows up in the background of several photos I've posted, I've never presented it on its own.
So, here it is.
A lot of dust collectors, the HF 2HP DC included, use a piece of 5" flexible hose to connect the impeller housing to the bag inlet ring. Given all the concern about reducing restriction in these small- to mid-sized units, this is a prime place to easily pick up some almost-free performance be replacing the ribbed hose with smooth-walled metal pipe. In the case of my own unit, the modification was a near necessity owing to the hose having gradually developed a permanent kink that reduced its free area to perhaps 20% of what it should have been.
My "stovepipe mod" required a single two-foot length of 5" diameter stovepipe, two 5" adjustable ells, and perhaps half a roll of electrical tape to seal the seams. Total cost: under ten bucks. Total time to complete: maybe an hour, not counting the trip to Home Depot to fetch the materials. (NOTE: At least in my neck 'o the woods, HD carries stovepipe in the 5" size but Lowe's does not.) The mod can be done using a single ell; however, I used two in order to make the sweeping curve from the impeller outlet up to the bag ring inlet as long and as gradual as possible.
Obviously, should your particular DC use something other than a 5" hose for this connection, the same thing can be done using whatever size pipe is required.
I don't have any means of quantifying the improvement this made, other than to say it was "a whole bunch."
So, here it is.
A lot of dust collectors, the HF 2HP DC included, use a piece of 5" flexible hose to connect the impeller housing to the bag inlet ring. Given all the concern about reducing restriction in these small- to mid-sized units, this is a prime place to easily pick up some almost-free performance be replacing the ribbed hose with smooth-walled metal pipe. In the case of my own unit, the modification was a near necessity owing to the hose having gradually developed a permanent kink that reduced its free area to perhaps 20% of what it should have been.
My "stovepipe mod" required a single two-foot length of 5" diameter stovepipe, two 5" adjustable ells, and perhaps half a roll of electrical tape to seal the seams. Total cost: under ten bucks. Total time to complete: maybe an hour, not counting the trip to Home Depot to fetch the materials. (NOTE: At least in my neck 'o the woods, HD carries stovepipe in the 5" size but Lowe's does not.) The mod can be done using a single ell; however, I used two in order to make the sweeping curve from the impeller outlet up to the bag ring inlet as long and as gradual as possible.
Obviously, should your particular DC use something other than a 5" hose for this connection, the same thing can be done using whatever size pipe is required.
I don't have any means of quantifying the improvement this made, other than to say it was "a whole bunch."
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