Dust collector using a furnace blower motor

[pdsweeney]

Has anyone used a furnace blower and motor for their dust collectors?  They move a lot of air in a hurry and wanted to know the down side or upside of this?
Paul

[tommitytomtom]

A blower designed for a HVAC system simply will not move enough air for a dust collector. The typical static air pressure for a blower like that is somewhere around 1 1/2-2" of static pressure and the blowers move relatively "clean(er) air than a dust collector. A dust collector has more like 8"-10" or more static pressure. You need 1000 CFM of air movement to properly remove materials away from the tool. A HVAC blower cannot do that. Slower air movement will cause the materials/particles to settle and ultimately cause clogging in the ductwork.

[ducky911]

from bill pentz site

HVAC Blowers
Many write asking if they can use Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) blowers for dust collection because these blowers are so common and inexpensive. HVAC blowers typically use a squirrel cage type blower. Squirrel cage blowers have a round slotted cylinder that sucks the air in from the sides into the center then pushes it out a blower outlet. Because HVAC Blowers can move plenty of air in terms of volume they make good air cleaners. They make terrible dust collector blowers because they cannot generate the pressures needed to overcome the resistance of our hoods, ports, ducting, separators, and filters.