hdtran
Member
The Rikon 60-100 1HP dust collector was on sale at Woodcraft ($199.99; regular pricing is $229.99). I ordered one, and it just got in. (This specific sale is over, but Woodcraft is running other sales, so I'm sure you can get a discount).
Here's my review. In short, it sucks :biggrin: Seriously, now:
This is a 2-bag, single stage dust collector. Rated CFM is 650 CFM (rated CFM means no hose, or perhaps a single solid, straight 6" long inlet tube; and clean bags at output). The motor is a 1HP motor. It has a fairly small footprint (15"x30", and 60" high). It rolls on casters. The dust collector is a 4" inlet dust collector. It comes with no hoses, but comes with two bags: A plastic collection bag (14 3/4" diameter, 26" tall) and a 5 micron filter bag (same dimensions as collection bag). It weighs about 60 lb, and there's a handle for pushing it around on the casters.
How does it work? Well, it does suck. I just assembled it, and after buying a 4"x10' corrugated plastic hose, and some accessories (hose clamps & other adaptors), I did some bandsawing and drilling. This thing really likes to suck (I had stray pieces of sandpaper and paper towels near my workspace that got sucked in!) Got to be more careful with my space now! It won't grab big chips (but that may just be the non-tapered hood that I got), but does a really nice job sucking fine dust out of the air. I could see the drilling dust just get sucked from 8-10" away into the dust collector.
Negatives: The assembly instructions also suck. They use various different size hex-head metric screws for attaching the casters; attaching the motor mount to the base, attaching the motor to the motor mount, etc. The motor mounts on 3 screws to the mount, and the mount on 4 screws to the base. There is only one orientation of the base where the motor will point in the correct direction, but the instructions don't warn you about that. Attaching the blower outlet to the collector housing is a real pain; there are 3 screws where there is no room to use a ratcheting socket. Attaching the handle to the collector housing is also an interesting exercise. It would be nice to have better bags, and locking casters.
Positives: It works quite well, with plenty of flow and power for a small shop. It's not huge, and with the casters, maneuvers pretty well. I work in my garage on the garage ledge (a 4" step up from the garage floor). I assembled the dust collector on the floor, and easily moved it up the step to the ledge. Rikon has a 2 year warranty, but I just don't see what could go wrong (except the motor & motor starter)
Eventual upgrades (for me anyway): A 1 micron aftermarket filter bag (American Fabric Filter company), and maybe an aftermarket canvas collector bag.
Oh yes, one last thing: Now, hearing protection is going to be part of my regular protective equipment. The lathe by itself was not that loud, but add a dust collector that's always on, and things get a bit loud. (Putting a hose to the dust collector actually reduces the noise significantly from the collector operating without hose or tubes attached, but you definitely hear it).
Best,
hdtran
Here's my review. In short, it sucks :biggrin: Seriously, now:
This is a 2-bag, single stage dust collector. Rated CFM is 650 CFM (rated CFM means no hose, or perhaps a single solid, straight 6" long inlet tube; and clean bags at output). The motor is a 1HP motor. It has a fairly small footprint (15"x30", and 60" high). It rolls on casters. The dust collector is a 4" inlet dust collector. It comes with no hoses, but comes with two bags: A plastic collection bag (14 3/4" diameter, 26" tall) and a 5 micron filter bag (same dimensions as collection bag). It weighs about 60 lb, and there's a handle for pushing it around on the casters.
How does it work? Well, it does suck. I just assembled it, and after buying a 4"x10' corrugated plastic hose, and some accessories (hose clamps & other adaptors), I did some bandsawing and drilling. This thing really likes to suck (I had stray pieces of sandpaper and paper towels near my workspace that got sucked in!) Got to be more careful with my space now! It won't grab big chips (but that may just be the non-tapered hood that I got), but does a really nice job sucking fine dust out of the air. I could see the drilling dust just get sucked from 8-10" away into the dust collector.
Negatives: The assembly instructions also suck. They use various different size hex-head metric screws for attaching the casters; attaching the motor mount to the base, attaching the motor to the motor mount, etc. The motor mounts on 3 screws to the mount, and the mount on 4 screws to the base. There is only one orientation of the base where the motor will point in the correct direction, but the instructions don't warn you about that. Attaching the blower outlet to the collector housing is a real pain; there are 3 screws where there is no room to use a ratcheting socket. Attaching the handle to the collector housing is also an interesting exercise. It would be nice to have better bags, and locking casters.
Positives: It works quite well, with plenty of flow and power for a small shop. It's not huge, and with the casters, maneuvers pretty well. I work in my garage on the garage ledge (a 4" step up from the garage floor). I assembled the dust collector on the floor, and easily moved it up the step to the ledge. Rikon has a 2 year warranty, but I just don't see what could go wrong (except the motor & motor starter)
Eventual upgrades (for me anyway): A 1 micron aftermarket filter bag (American Fabric Filter company), and maybe an aftermarket canvas collector bag.
Oh yes, one last thing: Now, hearing protection is going to be part of my regular protective equipment. The lathe by itself was not that loud, but add a dust collector that's always on, and things get a bit loud. (Putting a hose to the dust collector actually reduces the noise significantly from the collector operating without hose or tubes attached, but you definitely hear it).
Best,
hdtran
