Customer Reviews

DELTA AP300 Shopmaster 3/4-Horsepower 680 CFM Horizontal Bag Dust Collector, 120/240-Volt 1-Phase

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have limited space so i thought i'd give it a try despite some lower reviews here. But this is the deal.
I have a Porter-cable vacuum that i use with my routers and smaller machines, but i wanted to get something a little bigger and still portable to use with my tablesaw, bandsaw, lathe, planer and jointer. My Rigid shop vac is slightly bettter than useless.
This draws more air and chips than the Porter-Cable as well as my Rigid shop vac. My Porter-Cable vacuum is much better than my Rigid. Although the rigid has a larger diameter hose to pick up larger chips, it's not a very good vacuum.
This portable Delta dust collector draws substantially more debris.
I have no problem with this Delta unit and was pleasantly surprized with it's ability to collect material from all of my machines.
I suggest getting 4" quick disconnects permanently mounted on all of your machines rather than use the Delta kit and/or the screw clamps. Makes swapping back and forth trouble free.
I give this a 4 rather than a 5 since the bag included is only 30 micron. 10 microns and under are what contributes to lung problems. I do use a JDS air filter which picks up the rest of the little stuff.
Actually there's a company called Penn State Industries that makes a portable unit with a 1 micron bag that's more powerful. It's a little over $200. A 1 micron replacement bag is $69.

But if you opt for this you can save yourself some money, it's $119 at Lowes.

I have a very small shop and the dust collector works great for my saw and router table. I would highly recomend getting more hose and connections to connect your other tools. The bag has a zipper and makes empting it a snap. The noize level is well below accecptable levels for long hours with it on.

This new version of the Delta 50-280 isn't as good as the older model. I've had a 50-280 for about 4 years now and it does a real good job of collecting chips/dust from my table saw, band saw, planer, joiner, spindle sander, etc. I move it from tool to tool as I use them, kind of a hassel, but it works well. Thought I would buy another to cut down on the hose moving. Still wanted a smaller unit so I could stash it under a bench out of the way, so ordered an AP300 as the 50-280 is no longer available. This is definitly a much cheaper unit. Even with the standard hose it does not seem to have enough suction to keep up with my Delta planer, chips load up in the dust chute and eventually clog the spaces not directly in front of the four inch outlet. When the inlet of the dust collector clogs up (frequently) it is a real pain to clear it out, and chips are always left in the hose, sometimes a couple of handfulls will not make it to the bag.
Using a can for the larger stuff isn't really an option for me as I'm space challenged.
I'm going to return this dust collector, and take a look at some of the other offerings out there. Delta seems to be getting in a habit of producing duds lately. This is one of them. Can't recommend this tool.

I am a stickler on having things clean and neat. This system meets my needs to a "T". I have five tools that generate a lot of chips and dust and this system keeps my shop clean and leaves very little fine dust to vacuum up after a session in my shop.

The AP300 replaces the 50-280 in Delta's dust collector line. In my shop I have two 50-280's and was rather disappointed when I opened the box. The blast gates are no longer part of it. The fan shroud is now sealed; on the 50-280 one could easily split the shroud with one bolt to clear the fan blades, now there are approx. 10 sheet metal screws to remove the inlet plate. The base is a flimsy piece of stamped steel; mine arrived bent and was too easily straightened. The hose is only 10' if you stretch it out, at rest it is about 8'. The motor on the AP300 is its only redeeming quality. The only reason I gave this 2 stars is that 1 star is only given to a completely useless POS. If you can find the 50-280 elsewhere, buy it.

Bought at Lowes for $99 plus there was a rebate(forgot the amount). Works great for dust collectoin from sanding table(also a delta) but does poorly w/ planer(delta) because chips get stuck on protection cage in front of impeller(I may remove this)also leaks where hose fitting is screwed to housing(silicone should solve this). 2 stars because Delta should have thought this out better. Also replced crappy 30 mocron bag w/ 5 micron bag. Big difference!!!

The main reason that I purchased this was the portability, which allows me to move it around my shop (since I don't have an installed system). My experience has shown that a powerful shop vac (I have two Ridgid ones) are more portable (due to the casters) and a heck of a lot more powerful. I have installed this on several machines and found that it is only barely adequate on those that have built-in collection ports. When used as a free-standing collector (router table, drill press, etc.), more goes by the intake than goes in. The unit just doesn't have that much suction power (putting your hand over the intake will demonstrate this).

I needed a small Dust Collector to use as a dedicated machine to suck up the dust and chips from a sliding compound miter saw station I built. This unit fits the size requirements I needed but the 3/4HP motor does not have as much CFM as I would like. Additionally, there were three dust leaks, two at the impeller cover and one around the opening for the bag. I sealed the first two with silicone but the second I had to get some thin insulation and replace their strap with a hose clamp. I shortened the length of 4" hose to the dust hood and with those improvements the unit is still only marginally good. But for the price it does an ok job. I definitely would not recommend this unit for collecting dust from a planer, table saw, shaper, jointer, or router table. I would also like to have received something better than the supplied 30 micron bag.

I have a small shop in my garage so wanted a small dust collector. Attached it to a delta planer- Doesn't do the job. Attached it to my router table- Nothing. My portable vaccum is much stronger.

Go for a more powerful unit.

I'll sell this one (one month old) in a blink.

Shame on Delta.

I have an apartment only to work in and it's full of tools and collectables. This dust collector will eat all the dust my router table will create and save space. I,ve only added a felt bag over the delta bag to filter to 1 micron.