I have looked around and considered my options. For my two car garage sized shop that shares space with other necessities, I figured the Harbor Freight 2HP dust collector will work just fine as a starting point. I read all the advice and watched all of the rebuild videos. Ultimately, I cam to the conclusion I wanted to wall mount the whole system, add a separator stage, and add a Wynn filter.
Adding a dust collection is expensive enough without adding a lot of unneeded expense. I desided rather than to go with one of the plastic cyclone separators, I would just use a metal trash can separator. I picked up a couple of appropriate nozzles at Rockler and made a first version using just the metal trash can lid. Needless to say, it didn't work.
I then decided to bump it up a notch with a wooden Thien baffle, very similar to the one the Stumpy Nubbs version. I'll be using some toolbox style clips to hold the lid on, but based on my first tests, they are mostly to keep just from knocking the lid off. The suction holds the lid on tight.
I mounted the Harbor Freight separator in the corner where I could support it from both sides with a 2x3 frame. I had to cut out a notch for the input port. I decided to leave the plastic collection bag on the bottom since it can catch any dust I knock out of the filter and gives me an idea of how well the separator is working. I have read that this bag doesn't seal well, so I may add a rubber seal around the outside to help. Like everyone else, I find putting the bag on to be a pain, although the trick with magnets from Wood Work Web helps.
Mounting the blower and motors was the tricky part. It brackets are 90 degrees off from the ideal direction to mount it. I ended up using a plywood backer plate with a 2x6 and a 2x3 to attach the brackets to the backer plate. I also put a 2x3 along the bottom for the blower to rest on.
I messed up and didnt choose a backer plate wide enough to hit two studs in my garage, so I ended up adding a 2x4 foot against the wall under the far side to counteract any torgue from the weight.
The run from the blower output to the Harbor Freight separator case was only 8 inches, so that was very optimal. I used a clear straight-shot 4 inch hose down to my trash can separator. The lack of twists and reduced hose lengths over the out-of-the-box Harbor Freight design certainly has to help the air flow.
I plan on running the reset of my dust collection through schedule 40 pipe (schedule 20 is not available in my area). I'll add a post on that later.
Here's the picture of the final working install. After the installation of the pipe is done, I might also cover this with insulation foam to deaden the noise a bit.
