Rikon 1Hp Portable Dust Collector

Using with a Sawstop contractor saw, almost no dust is exiting the shroud. The wall mount bracket is simple to install and it's easy to move the machine on and off the bracket, and since it mounts with the wheels on I can change it up if need be in seconds. As others have noted, this machine is "quiet"-- in the sense that the noise it makes is more of a bass whoosh than the head splitting scream of a shop vac. I can work with it on and no ear protection, a shop vac no way. Note that it needs to be hooked up to minimize noise, if you just run it without a hose (as you might be tempted to do when you first get it out of the box to evaluate) you will hear air sucking through the metal port and that's pretty loud. Hose connected to machine enlarges the area of intake so it moderates that. Very satisfied, gives me good DC without taking up floor space, got a few Rockler accessories as well (pistol style end connector, expanding hose, wall bracket) and I'm all set.

I settled on this dust collector after researching what seemed like dozens of collectors. Originally I was going to purchase the POWERTEC DC5370 Wall Dust Collector with 2.5 Micron Filter Bag, but I decided on the Rikon due to the fact that it comes with the hose ( serviceable, nothing to brag about ), casters, 2 micron bag, and the dust funnel thingy. Plus I own a Rikon slow speed grinder that I am very happy with so even though the Rikon Portable Dust Collector didn't have any reviews. I figured it was worth a shot and if I was unhappy with it, I could return it to my local WoodCraft store.In the short time I've owned this collect, I am overall pleased. Although I must note, I had to make a warranty claim on the day it arrived due to a punctured dust collection hose. I believe the puncture was due to packaging. The hose is cramped in the box and it had rubbed against a metal protrusion on the dust collector. A quick phone call to the U.S. based customer service remedied the problem, albeit I didn't receive the hose for 7 business days.This is my first dust collector, and as such, I have no frame of reference in which to compare it. However, I will say that it is much quieter than the Shop-Vac I was using for dust collection ( which burned up after just one year of intermittent use ) and it moves a much higher volume of air. It doesn't have the same type of suction of a Shop-Vac, but it does pull more dust and shavings than a Shop-Vac. I have paired the collector with the Trash Can Cyclone Lid and a 30 gallon metal garbage can, and I have to say it works exceptionally well. The combination has definitely exceeded my expectations. I have a ShopSmith Power Pro Planer to which I added a four inch dust port, and the dust collector/cyclone combination probably eliminates 90% or more of the shavings and dust.Although I am pleased with the collector, especially at the current sale price, there are three gripes I have about the machine.1. I'm not crazy about the way the bag attaches to the machine. Most of the machines I looked at just used a clamp to hold the bag to output port, the Rikon bag uses a strap and buckle along with a clamp. The combination of the strap and clamp makes it somewhat awkward to install the bag and causes the bag to have a slight kink when it inflates. This does not seem to affect the operation of the collector and is only an annoyance when first installing the bag. However, the bag does have a nice wide zippered opening that makes it easy to dump out chips and dust.2. The dust funnel is a good idea, and I have used it to pull sanding dust from a belt sander and as a floor sweep. That is when I am able to get the hose to stay on it. The inlet port of the funnel is slightly larger in diameter than other dust collection fittings. The quick connect fitting I use will not fit over the port, and wrestling the hose on it is an exercise in frustration. I don't count this as a knock against Rikon, since I think they source these from a different manufacturer. And I think it's safe to say it's the same manufacturer that supplies funnels to WoodCraft as the funnels in the store exhibited the same problem. I'm going to try lightly sanding the outside of the inlet port and see if that helps.3. The white impeller cover flange or inlet flange or whatever you want to call has no gasket between it and the housing of the collector. I discovered this when I noticed fine dust building up on the outside of the housing between the screws on the flange. I remedied this by removing the flange, and adding a strip of foam insulation along the diameter of the flange. Since installing the insulation, I have noticed no new dust build up and I think slightly better suction. I checked the impeller while I had it apart, and from what I can tell, the impeller is fairly thick steel and seems to be heavy duty, at least for an entry level collector.In conclusion, I give this unit four stars, despite the fact I haven't used it very much since I received it. I would give the unit five stars had it not been for the damaged hose, the lack of a gasket, and other minor frustrations. Due to my current set-up, I needed a unit that was portable, drew less than 15 amps, and had sufficient air flow. So for the money I find it to be a capable collector, especially for my needs. However, if I hadn't found this on sale, I would have purchased the Powertec and used the money I saved on shipping ( Prime ) to purchase a dust hose and other accessories.

Thus machine has great suction and is pretty quiet compared to a canister vac.I'm not a fan of filter bags in general as they all quickly clog, and since I don't have a separator yet, I chose to add the dustright 650cfm drum filter to this. What a great pairing! They fit great.I gave a one star review for the rikon remote as this model does not have a remote control.

This is my second one of these dust collectors. I bought this one to go with my cnc and it works great. The stars were dropped because the dust collector was damaged from the factory. I say this because the box had no visible damage on it at all.The metal housing on the motor was severely dented, causing the housing to rub against the motors cooling blades, to the point it was not functional. But because I didn't want to go through the hassle of returning and then getting a replacement, I was able to reshape the housing so that it no longer hit the cooling blades and now it works properly as intended.Clearly a quality control issue from the factory, so buyer beware you may have to go through multiple items to get one that is in good working order.

This is my first real dust collector for my garage and so far it's met expectations. The build seems solid, the suction is strong, and while loud it's not as loud as I expected. The hose and funnel aren't anything fancy but it's nice to have regardless.As other reviews pointed out, the motor cover arrived bent preventing the motor from spinning. The shipping box wasn't damaged or banged around so that caught me off guard. I was able to straighten it back up with a hammer and get things running. Rikon is sending a replacement no questions asked. I'm impressed with how responsive their e-mail support was for this issue and it bodes well should I ever need any warranty service in the future.