AXMINSTER AP357CEH DUST EXTRACTOR anyone?

[Suuuuu]

Hi all,

Im eyeing up the AXMINSTER PROFESSIONAL AP357CEH CYCLONE DUST EXTRACTOR - 230V
https://www.axminstertools.com/axminster-professional-ap357ceh-cyclone-dust-extractor-230v-107624
for my workshop round 10m length x 5m width. I would like to ducted to around 5 machines with blast gate. Anyone heard about this Axi extractor? I hope I can have some owner's review, I have try my best doing research online however, I am really surprise almost no one talk about this!

many thanks
Su

 

[Sideways]

I've used one machine from their trade range that looked very similar to this. I think it was an earlier but equivalent 2.2kW model and certainly needed a 16A supply which the next size down might well manage without. All the details were the same, drum, cyclone, manometer, pleated cartridge filter....

It was badly installed and petformance was awful.

I don't like the flappy paddle filter cleaners. I don't think they work very well and they wear the inside of the filter, but compressed air reverse airflow cleaning is possibly out of your reach so no choice.
It's real world performance will be much less than.the spec suggests.

Lastly, unless you duct this in 200mm smooth bore ducting, you are wasting your time and money. Run it in 100mm and after a couple of bends it's a total waste of time. If you can't commit to ducting full bore, don't buy this.

 

[Jameshow]

That bin looks pretty small too?

Better it discharged into typical clear bags for easy removal and disposal.

 

[Suuuuu]

I've used one machine from their trade range that looked very similar to this. I think it was an earlier but equivalent 2.2kW model and certainly needed a 16A supply which the next size down might well manage without. All the details were the same, drum, cyclone, manometer, pleated cartridge filter....

It was badly installed and petformance was awful.

I don't like the flappy paddle filter cleaners. I don't think they work very well and they wear the inside of the filter, but compressed air reverse airflow cleaning is possibly out of your reach so no choice.
It's real world performance will be much less than.the spec suggests.

Lastly, unless you duct this in 200mm smooth bore ducting, you are wasting your time and money. Run it in 100mm and after a couple of bends it's a total waste of time. If you can't commit to ducting full bore, don't buy this.

I am also worry about the fine dust leaking from Sheet Metal Joint of machine. do you have that issue too? tbh I am also think about Felder RL 120 or 140 but that is a bit of pricey

 

[Sideways]

The machine was installed in men's shed.
I've stripped it down, cleaned it, etc but this was maybe 4 years back and the shed has since closed.

When looking at extractors:
The bigger the diameter of the impeller in one of these, the more suction (negative) pressure they generate, so that's always something to check when comparing. As HVLP extractors make only low pressures and are very sensitive to low air resistance in the ductwork, a little bit of extra pressure is very welcome.
Obviously motor power too. 2.2kW moves a lot of air until you start choking it with poor ducts and dirty filters.
Taller skinnier proportions make a cyclone more effficient than a short and fat one.
Lastly the filter:
Finer the filter, the harder it is to get a big airflow through it, and as before, this type of machine is super sensitive to resistance to airflow. A true HEPA grade filter is filtering over 99% of particles down at 0.3 micron, so it will be seriously choking the extractor compared to a good but non HEPA grade filter. An F9 rated filter could still be blocking a high percentage of 1 micron particles which are way smaller than the dust that will leak through a fabric filter bag. That's car exhaust or welding fume filtration which is normally (I think) finer filtration than typical in a woodshop.
I'm not knowledgeable enough to know how much extra benefit a HEPA filter makes in a workshop, but I'm sure it will affect the volume of air that the extractor can move, and so the efficiency at capturing dust at the machine.

Hopefully someone like @Inspector can chip in and offer some advice too.