Hello everyone, I am trying to decide on whether I should purchase a 1.5” hose for my LR3 or just use the 2.5” hose I already have for my Rigid shop vac. I have dust collection in my garage and I figure I could plumb the 2.5” into easier if I wanted or just go straight to the shop vac. I just wanted to know if there was a real difference in the performance or either size.
Also for those with a full sheet table, how much hose do you recommend if hooking directly to the shop vac? I have the hose it came with, would a longer one be better? Or would the LR3 kind of pull it along with it?
@DougJoseph made an awesome 2.5" setup for the LR3 with hose hangers and the part by the router (my mind is drawing a blank for what that is called right now).
So, the pros and brains who understand this sort of thing tell us that … [quoting of many sources]
The most efficient dust collection system is a high volume, low pressure (HVLP) design. This means that the collector is slowly (1500 to 4000 FPM) in-taking large amounts of airborne particulate, across large cross-sectional areas.
To put it simply, while any dust collection is better than none, and shop vacs can suck dust, generally speaking, shop vacs are more “low volume, high pressure” while commercial dust collection machines are “high volume, low pressure” — and as such, if you can pipe a 2.5" hose instead of something smaller, it will do better. But one concern is that you don’t choke your dust collector, starving it for air. This (2.5" on a system made for 4") can be done a lot for short runs without burning up a system, but leaving it on for hours at a time, or all day every day, can result in damage, depending on factors.
I have both (shop vac and piped 4" dust collection system, the Harbor Frieght one), but the one I use for my LowRider is the piped 4" dust collection system, adapted down to a 2.5" hose for the last few feet. And I am careful not to leave it running for long amounts of time in this configuration.
The fact that my last mile is 2.5" hose means I can attach either the shop vac or the dust collection system at any time. The article I linked to above is interesting reading.
