Hack Fabrication
Banned
Since I do all my woodworking in the basement, I've been on a campaign to eliminate as much of the dust as I can. I've already tamed a few of the power tools: Table saw, miter box, radial arm saw, joiner, planer. I've Hack'd together a decent dust collector for that:
The finer airborne dust is handled with one of these:
But I wanted to increase the amount of air flow around the basement. The stairwell comes down pretty much in the center of the area, so I picked up another PowerTec air filter, to mount on the opposite wall (ceiling). This is the AF1045 model, whereas the other one is the AF1044. Difference? The AF1045 moves a bit more air (CFM). I believe the AF1044 has been discontinued. Both units look similar, so I don't think parts will be an issue if needed. The also are very similar to the Jet, Wen, Rikon, etc. that are available. Probably all of them are made in the same factory. In China...
Which brings me to this: Customer Service.
I ordered the latest one directly from PowerTec. It was $299 and free shipping. Came in four days. Package had typical UPS gorilla damage, but inside everything was fine. Unboxed, removed the styrofoam blocks around the squirrel cage, plug it in, press the 'on' button.... And 'buzzzzzzzzz'. Blower turned fine with no power to it. Hit it with voltage: Locks right up. So in typical Hack form, I took it apart, looking for anything obvious. There wasn't anything. I'm thinking it was a bad capacitor? At that point, I dialed up PowerTec. Talked to a really nice woman, gave her an over the phone 'this is what it's doing (or not doing), and she said box it back up, we'll send you a replacement. Okay, but wouldn't it be easier just to send me a new motor/cage assembly? No, we want to inspect the unit for possible quality issues. Well, it's made in China, so... "Here's your sign".... She emailed me a return authorization, UPS shipping label, and back in the box it went. Although not as neatly packed as it had been. This was all on Tuesday.
Come Wednesday, UPS had dropped off a replacement unit. One day! Unfortunately, the driver didn't ring the doorbell, or know that behind said door, was the defective unit for pickup. Arrrrrrrgh.... So off to the local UPS store to drop off the rather large/heavy box.
So if you've made it this far, the bottom line is, PowerTec customer service is GREAT! And the replacement unit works great too! Really moves the air, and seems to be a bit quieter than the AF1044.
The finer airborne dust is handled with one of these:
But I wanted to increase the amount of air flow around the basement. The stairwell comes down pretty much in the center of the area, so I picked up another PowerTec air filter, to mount on the opposite wall (ceiling). This is the AF1045 model, whereas the other one is the AF1044. Difference? The AF1045 moves a bit more air (CFM). I believe the AF1044 has been discontinued. Both units look similar, so I don't think parts will be an issue if needed. The also are very similar to the Jet, Wen, Rikon, etc. that are available. Probably all of them are made in the same factory. In China...
Which brings me to this: Customer Service.
I ordered the latest one directly from PowerTec. It was $299 and free shipping. Came in four days. Package had typical UPS gorilla damage, but inside everything was fine. Unboxed, removed the styrofoam blocks around the squirrel cage, plug it in, press the 'on' button.... And 'buzzzzzzzzz'. Blower turned fine with no power to it. Hit it with voltage: Locks right up. So in typical Hack form, I took it apart, looking for anything obvious. There wasn't anything. I'm thinking it was a bad capacitor? At that point, I dialed up PowerTec. Talked to a really nice woman, gave her an over the phone 'this is what it's doing (or not doing), and she said box it back up, we'll send you a replacement. Okay, but wouldn't it be easier just to send me a new motor/cage assembly? No, we want to inspect the unit for possible quality issues. Well, it's made in China, so... "Here's your sign".... She emailed me a return authorization, UPS shipping label, and back in the box it went. Although not as neatly packed as it had been. This was all on Tuesday.
Come Wednesday, UPS had dropped off a replacement unit. One day! Unfortunately, the driver didn't ring the doorbell, or know that behind said door, was the defective unit for pickup. Arrrrrrrgh.... So off to the local UPS store to drop off the rather large/heavy box.
So if you've made it this far, the bottom line is, PowerTec customer service is GREAT! And the replacement unit works great too! Really moves the air, and seems to be a bit quieter than the AF1044.
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