Worth it? Shopsmith DC3300

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Cmiles1985

Cmiles1985

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Aransas Pass, TX
Is this dust collector worth while? I currently use a Shop Vac which is on the noisy side for my little garage and old house with a two year old trying to sleep while I'm turning. Just curious if anyone has experience with the Shopsmith DC3300.

Thanks!
 
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Hmmm.... It may be too noisy for my garage. I've emailed the guy to see about checking it out tomorrow. I was considering the small HF DC for $100 less a 25% coupon, but if this will fit my garage, it could be a winner. Plus, all I have is a bandsaw and lathe, and I'm not talented enough to use both simultaneously.
 
Clark; Woodcraft sells a dust collector made by Ricon that is supposed to be super quiet and will handel your two machines. Jim S
 
Thank you Jim. I've been following a thread on that one as well. If I see some more review on that machine, I'll probably invest in it. I've been looking for a reliable decibel comparison of each DC under controlled circumstances. If I had the coinage on hand, I'd do the study myself and publish it!

Thanks again for the input.
 
Cmiles1985 said:
Is this dust collector worth while? I currently use a Shop Vac which is on the noisy side for my little garage and old house with a two year old trying to sleep while I'm turning. Just curious if anyone has experience with the Shopsmith DC3300.

Thanks!
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My experience with two year olds(and I did have a few of them around) is that they can sleep through about anything - the old "shhhhh you'll wake the baby" is nonsense. That being said....my dust collector makes about as much noise as my shopvac but I don't know about that one but all dust collectors are moving air, and moving air makes noise.
 
Moving the air isn't the type of noise I'm worried much about. It's more that high pitch noise that is typical of most vacuum cleaners/shop vacs. I'm not well versed in dust collectors, but if it's a lower pitch, that is manageable. I just don't want to buy something to replace the shop vac (for this purpose) and have it be as loud as my direct drive compressor!!

Thanks for the input.
 
Cmiles1985 said:
Moving the air isn't the type of noise I'm worried much about. It's more that high pitch noise that is typical of most vacuum cleaners/shop vacs. I'm not well versed in dust collectors, but if it's a lower pitch, that is manageable. I just don't want to buy something to replace the shop vac (for this purpose) and have it be as loud as my direct drive compressor!!

Thanks for the input.
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When I said moving air makes noise I was including all noise associated with it. I think most of the high pitched sounds are associated with the air being compressed to go from the room into the restricted pipe/tube on the device. My dust collector is louder than my shop vac.
 
Hi Clark, I don't have one of these but found this review, hope it helps.
Don't get so excited with eBay prices that you pay more than the price of a new tool! The current MSRP of the Shopsmith DC3300 Dust Collector is $549.99.


Most folks don't know that there have been two models of DC3300 Dust Collector sold by Shopsmith; The original was very successful but had two slight problems that SS was later able to address:

  1. The unit was loud due to a metal body and metal diverters inside that all the dust and wood chips impacted on their way to the bag.
  2. The second issue was the impeller was prone to breakage.
You can bear this out by looking at the list of "Most Frequently Purchased Service Parts" on SS's web site. If you happen to have one of these older units an it begins to develop a Whump-Whump-Whump" roar, you should look into replacing the impeller. It's a quick install and the replacement part comes with excellent installation instructions.

Anyway, the newer (current) version of the DC330 has a plastic body and can be easily identified by the relocation of the on-off switch from the back of the unit to the top of one of the legs. Either way, this is a great Dust Collector.

Mike
 
I purchased this dust collector several years ago and been happy with it. It doesn't have the loud high pitched whine of a shop vac, it has more of a loud hum. I can still hear the radio playing above its sound. It's good for individual tools but not for whole shop applications.
 
Clark,
I have owned and used this system for over 20 years and it still works fine. Not excessively noisy. I did install a remote start so it doesn't continually run. I also purchase bags by the dozen, as surfacing wood fills the bags quickly. I have not repaired or replaced parts since purchasing, if you are wondering about durability.
Bill Sampson, Richmond
 
Thanks for the reviews everybody. I'm (hopefully) going to take a look at it today and see if it will fit in my garage. If not, I'll have to go with something smaller.
 
Clark,

I have owned and used this system since the early 70's and it still works fine. Not excessively noisy. I did install a in line separator to keep large stuff from filling the bag quickly and prevent damage to impeller. I have the old style. I have not repaired or replaced parts since purchasing, if you are wondering about durability. It has been operating in my garages since new (I've moved a few times).
 
And I'm now $100 less in the cash department, but should be better off in the long term health department! I bought the DC3300, it works very well and isn't all that noisy. It's far quieter than the Shop Vac I've been using. Now I get to move my bandsaw out some and put this in. I'll also be adding another new circuit to my garage as I'm simply out of plugs.

Thank you greatly for the input everybody!
 
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