Which cyclone Dust Extractor. 1K budget

[Chunkytfg]

I'm in the market for a new Dust extractor as my old Record Power DX5000 is not quite cutting it any more.

I've been looking at either the Axminster or Charnwood ones.

The Axminster is this one ... https://www.axminstertools.com/axminster-workshop-aw145ce-cyclone-dust-extractor-230v-107571

The Charnwood is this one ... https://charnwood.net/product/charnwood-c300r-2hp-cyclone-extractor-with-remote-start/

They both are very similar performance wise but the noisiness of the Charnwood one seems quite a bit lower that the Axminster one?

Other than the noise what am I missing about the differences between them? The Laguna Cflux1looks great as an alternative but its so much more money and probably a bit excessive for my needs.

Can anyone think of an alternative or give advice for which one of the two to buy?

I'll be needing it to connect to the usual selection of tools. Table saw, Bandsaw, Mitre saw, small CNC router etc. All via a soon to be built ducting system

 

[TRITON]

Little in it really. and 7db is nothing given when its on you'll be wearing ear defenders.
5 yr guarantee charn/3 on the ax i dont think is the clincher.
Airflow is probably more accurate on the ax, the charn only quotes one speed, and isnt taking into account its more at 150mm
£Ax is 150 cheaper

I'd go with the ax as its cheaper and looks less cobbled together.

 

[RobNichols]

Another option worth considering I think is to go for a CamVac (a two motor one comes in at around £420) and combine that with the standalone Axminster Workshop AW118CI Cyclone Interceptor.

If noise is an issue, there are a lot of solutions on the internet about how you can port the outputs of a CamVac to an outlet box to get the noise right down.

If you combine the CamVac with magnetic connectors (like the Rutland ones) you'll have a really flexible solution.

 

[Chunkytfg]

It's not That noise is an issue for me but more about the neighbours. I spend my time in the garage with Earbuds in with a decent pair of ear defenders over them so even at the moment it's not that terrible. I'm just very aware that if I'm in there with the CNC running for hours at a time while I'm also doing other jobs requiring other tools the noise adds up so the quieter the better.

In all honesty at the moment though it's the router on the CNC thats the main source of noise and I have plans to convert it to a water-cooled Spindle in the future which will help massively but even so I'd prefer to keep noise down low if possible.


Thanks for the input.

 

[RobNichols]

I'm in there with the CNC running for hours at a time.

That may be the main limiting factor. CamVac motors have a limit of about 30 minutes continuous running. Though with multiple motors you can cycle through them to get continuous running - though that does need manual intervention.

I can't see a time limit in the specs for the Axminster and Charnwood. I notice the Axminster manual describes the remote and it options include a limit of 8 hours - so I presume the unit is designed to run continously for at least that long.

So, I think my suggestion of using a CamVac would not suit your situation.

 

[Sean33]

There is an Axminster one for sale here along with some other nice looking machines

https://www.bpiauctions.com/auctions/#/auctions/5e817534-3439-4812-8fe6-69c5de789f31

 

[Robbo3]

Dunno, but if it helps Rag 'n'nBone Brown has done several videos on how changes to his extraction set up have made improvements
- https://www.youtube.com/c/RagnBoneBrown/videos

 

[Nick.]

Hi @Chunkytfg - If you can drive & make the time, then from St Albans I'd recommend seeing both in the flesh at the Ax H.Wycombe store and Charnwood in Leics.

Charnwood are furthest away about 1 1/2hrs drive but they are easy enough to get to turning left off the M1 (you don't go into Leicester at all).

That way you can hear them both running, see the build quality / check things out, such as how easy it is to change drum etc & speak to people - best to call in advance of course to check they are on display before travelling.

No guarantees, but maybe a deal could be had in person too?

Cheers, Nick

 

[johnnyb]

I've used an axminster trade at2000 1.5hp cyclone for years. The issues are the same for most of that style. The extraction drum is to small leading to overfill. The cyclone is to short leading to poor separation. More power equals more noise mine is pretty noisy. That particular one requires a 16amp supply. When new it can just cope using a 13a plug. As soon as the filter blocks it blows a 13 a fuse. I'd say you need the clear smooth pipe unless your right next to the machine. Also blast gates need to be sited for efficiency(not convenience) near the extractor. I've just improved my saw extraction by simply opening the hole in the blade shroud and squishing a 100mm flexi through the trunnion and sealing using gaffer. Also replacing a long length of flexi with smooth pipe. It now collects maybe 90% you can actually see the dust rise maybe 2 inch then get sucked back through the kerf! I need the extend around to my tenoner and lathe. At that point it's maybe 7 yards away. I'll need blast gates on every machine I've also got one on both branches to try and improve the draw on each branch. Long runs need smooth pipe otherwise the dust isn't fast enough to separate well due to that short cyclone(a problem of machine height and bin capacity)

 

[Chunkytfg]

That's really useful thank you.

The plan is to run some smooth ducting around the workshop with Blast gates to try and help as much as possible. At the moment I'm using Flexi everywhere and it's certainly not helping!

 

[johnnyb]

My own thien baffle worked pretty well but it was with a 3 motor vac and only one machine, a saw this meant small chips/dust and high speed meaning good separation was achieved. All visible through a plexiglass outer. How the short cyclone fairs is impossible to know as its metal.

 

[johnnyb]

I got lots of smooth plastic pipe and fittings with the extractor as a little used item. I see they are now really expensive. The blast gate are only adequate to be honest as well but still much cheaper than the metal equivalents.

 

[Ross Buchanan]

I have one of the little Rutlands dx's similar to this. Does a job, noisy as hell. It has a fairly low CFM throughput but is was cheap and cheerful. Its questionable if it is actually any better than a shop-vac.
I bought a new saw with dust hose from the blade-guard and from underneath, and the little rutland dalek was not up to it so I got this Holzstar unit. Whilst it is supposedly about 1db quieter than rutland, the reality is it is a less aggressive sound, so much easier to be around. It is also 6x the CFM of the rutland, and does a really good job.
Using a downloaded decibel meter on my phone (not accurate but still useful) the saw, cutting 4" oak, and the Holz dust extractor are not as noisy as the rutland machine on its own.
Used it on the thicknesser too, and it kept up, which is new.

 

[thikone]

Over here I have AL-KO Power Unit 120 with 1.5kW. There is also similar 100 mm version and also there exists Metabo chip and dust extractor of similar shape (SPA 2002 W). I am also concern with noise level because of neighbors in the same building and this is the best I could find in this regard. It does take some space though, but similar to those cyclone extractors mentioned here. Costs more than 1k though. But might be helpful to know about it, too.

As the noise goes it is not so bad and should be 69 dB according to the manual. It is a different noise than router. More low pitched and doesn't seem to penetrate double doors much. I think it is nothing unheard of in rural environment and more like big vacuum cleaner. Also I think it is possible to make it less noisy still. Probably just gluing something to the sides of metal sheets inside of it will help. Or adding a muffler maze where exhaust air comes out. But given how often I use machines I didn't bother about that much. I think previously this model had like 76 dB (according to manuals and catalogs) but in recent years they improved it somehow to 69 db. I did make friends with all neighbors near by. And they know what I have and what noise the machines do. So they don't take them by surprise and they know whom to ask to end it.

It also has fine filter in it and has some high filtration rating (residual dust< 0.1 mg/m3). This was another reason to go for it for me.