You're looking at dust collectors and find a pair that catches your eye. The CFM and lifter are about the same, but one has a hose 5 feet longer than the other. Easy to choose, right? A longer one would be more convenient. Well, depending on how the hose affects your collector, there is more to consider than just length.
related information
- How to Buy a Dust Collector
- CFM and hydraulic lifting
- Choose Dust Bag
- best dust collector
Considering the original question about the hose, length matters. The longer the hose on the dust collector, the more air friction it encounters. Portable dust collector hoses aren't as smooth as the ones you'll find at the store. These ridges create friction when air passes through them, and performance decreases the longer the hose. However, the performance loss between a 10' hose and a 15' hose isn't so great that you'd go from really bad performance. But you may notice a difference between them.
Diameter and CFM vs. Water Lift
Most portable dust collectors use hoses that are about 1-1/2 inches in diameter. But you will notice that the Festool CY SYS includes a measure close to 1 inch on most of its models. In addition to being easier to coil and manage, smaller diameter hoses also have an impact on performance.
When you reduce the diameter of the opening, two things happen simultaneously. Your CFM (airflow) goes down and your water lift (suction) goes up. Suction moves the debris while CFM keeps it going. So if you want to pick up slightly larger debris and can give up a little on one side of the effective suction area, it makes sense to use a smaller diameter hose. On the other hand, if you're collecting airborne particles, like concrete dust, it makes more sense to use a larger hose that can draw in more air from a larger area. If you want to increase both, you'll need a bigger motor.
rigidity and job site
Whether you're in the shop or on the job site, hose has more to do with your dust collector than just length and diameter. The stiffness of the hose also plays a role. Mainly, we're talking about the fact that you're dragging around the hose, sometimes working it into tighter corners than you should. Just like water pipes, if you start to kink the hose in the corners, you start to restrict airflow and reduce performance. A stiffer hose will resist kinks better.
All things considered, we have yet to develop a hose that resists being stepped on or run over.
Vacuum hose connection type and quality
You can have the perfect combination of hose length, diameter and stiffness and still not perform well. Any vacuum system, including portable dust collectors, will only perform to its fullest potential if it is completely sealed from nozzle to motor.
With almost all dust collectors we use, there are imperfections at the point where the hose connects to the nozzle and tank that will suck in air and reduce performance. The better the manufacturer seals these points, the more you will get out of the dust collector.