So, I just finished getting my Clear Vue up and running this weekend. It is the CV1800 with the16" impeller. It replaced a 2HP Laguna Cyclone. I re-did some of the duct work as part of the upgrade, but overall it was still 6" mains with a similar overall layout.
The performance improvement is dramatic. I used a manometer to measure airflow at each of my tools before and after switching from the Laguna to the Clear Vue. Across the board, I got roughly double the FPM at each tool. The numbers are below. Recognize that a manometer is for many reasons not a way to get an accurate airflow picture, but assuming you measure the same way each time (as I did), it allows a reasonably accurate comparison of the before and after.
Wide belt sander: I have a Grizzly 18" wide belt sander with a 4" dust port. At the port, the manometer read 3900 FPM with the Laguna and 6500 FPM with the Clear Vue.
Planer: I have a Laguna 20" planer with a 5" dust port. At the port, the manometer read 2500 FPM with the Laguna cyclone and 5400 FPM with the Clear Vue.
Tablesaw: I have a Laguna sliding tablesaw. It has an internal shroud around the blade that is connected to an internal hose that in turn connects to the 4" dust port at the back of the cabinet. The manometer read 3980 FPM at the bottom of the shroud (where it connected to the internal hose) with the Laguna cyclone, and it read 6300 FPM with the Clear Vue.
I had some other measurements at other tools; they were consistent with the before/after differences noted for the three tools above. I can list the rest if anyone cares. But the bottom line is that the Clear Vue is pulling rougly twice as much air as the Laguna cyclone did on any given tool.
One thing I noticed: When I opened the blast gate to each tool to perform these measurements, a significant amount of dust was pulled from the tool into the Clear Vue. This is dust that the Laguna was not strong enough to clear out of the tool, but that the Clear-Vue immediately sucked up. Between half-a-dozen power tools, I would estimate that the Clear Vue picked up nearly a gallon of dust that the Laguna had left stranded.
Of course, airflow does not tell the story. Separation and filtration are also important. In terms of separation, my Laguna would typically dump 20-25% of the dust in the filters and the filter bag, so I was only getting 75-80% separation. I have not run enough dust through the Clear Vue to form a complete picture of the separation, but I will say that when it pulled roughly 1 gallon of dust into the bin from the tools when I performed my manometer measurements, there was zero dust in the filter clean-out box. Not a spec. I tapped on the filters to see if maybe it just needed to fall down, and there was still not one spec. Obviously, the Clear Vue is not getting 100% separation, and there must be a little dust in the filters somewhere. But with my Laguna, I would have had about a couple of cups of dust in the filter bag for ever one gallon of dust collected. I do need to run the Clear-Vue much more to get a sense of what it will do over time, but it is clearly an enormous improvement in terms of separation.
In terms of filtration, I can't yet speak to that. The Laguna had some problems with leaks in the filter section, and so the cyclone was always covered with a fine layer of dust (and in some areas, a not-so-fine layer of dust). We'll see how the Clear Vue performs. But I'm optimistic so far.
I don't want to sound like I'm bashing the Laguna. It was a huge upgrade compared to my old Jet bagger. It was reasonably effective in a lot of ways. And unlike the Clear Vue, it was pre-manufactured and truly plug-n-play. The Clear Vue was more than double the price and took me four months by the time I got it up and running. So there are pros and cons. But the preliminary results are well worth the expense and effort.
One final comment: The assembly process was enjoyable, but it was a fair amount of work. Hooking up a 5HP motor to a heavy impeller was anxiety-inducing just because the consequences are significant if it flies apart. And wiring up 240 V is always stressful for a non-electrician, even though I bought the pre-assembled box. So there was some anxiety and it took a lot of time. It fired up perfectly the first time, so no complaints about that. But one could certainly justify going with a competing product if you aren't looking for a project. For what it is, though, I'm happy so far, and it is an enormous upgrade.
The performance improvement is dramatic. I used a manometer to measure airflow at each of my tools before and after switching from the Laguna to the Clear Vue. Across the board, I got roughly double the FPM at each tool. The numbers are below. Recognize that a manometer is for many reasons not a way to get an accurate airflow picture, but assuming you measure the same way each time (as I did), it allows a reasonably accurate comparison of the before and after.
Wide belt sander: I have a Grizzly 18" wide belt sander with a 4" dust port. At the port, the manometer read 3900 FPM with the Laguna and 6500 FPM with the Clear Vue.
Planer: I have a Laguna 20" planer with a 5" dust port. At the port, the manometer read 2500 FPM with the Laguna cyclone and 5400 FPM with the Clear Vue.
Tablesaw: I have a Laguna sliding tablesaw. It has an internal shroud around the blade that is connected to an internal hose that in turn connects to the 4" dust port at the back of the cabinet. The manometer read 3980 FPM at the bottom of the shroud (where it connected to the internal hose) with the Laguna cyclone, and it read 6300 FPM with the Clear Vue.
I had some other measurements at other tools; they were consistent with the before/after differences noted for the three tools above. I can list the rest if anyone cares. But the bottom line is that the Clear Vue is pulling rougly twice as much air as the Laguna cyclone did on any given tool.
One thing I noticed: When I opened the blast gate to each tool to perform these measurements, a significant amount of dust was pulled from the tool into the Clear Vue. This is dust that the Laguna was not strong enough to clear out of the tool, but that the Clear-Vue immediately sucked up. Between half-a-dozen power tools, I would estimate that the Clear Vue picked up nearly a gallon of dust that the Laguna had left stranded.
Of course, airflow does not tell the story. Separation and filtration are also important. In terms of separation, my Laguna would typically dump 20-25% of the dust in the filters and the filter bag, so I was only getting 75-80% separation. I have not run enough dust through the Clear Vue to form a complete picture of the separation, but I will say that when it pulled roughly 1 gallon of dust into the bin from the tools when I performed my manometer measurements, there was zero dust in the filter clean-out box. Not a spec. I tapped on the filters to see if maybe it just needed to fall down, and there was still not one spec. Obviously, the Clear Vue is not getting 100% separation, and there must be a little dust in the filters somewhere. But with my Laguna, I would have had about a couple of cups of dust in the filter bag for ever one gallon of dust collected. I do need to run the Clear-Vue much more to get a sense of what it will do over time, but it is clearly an enormous improvement in terms of separation.
In terms of filtration, I can't yet speak to that. The Laguna had some problems with leaks in the filter section, and so the cyclone was always covered with a fine layer of dust (and in some areas, a not-so-fine layer of dust). We'll see how the Clear Vue performs. But I'm optimistic so far.
I don't want to sound like I'm bashing the Laguna. It was a huge upgrade compared to my old Jet bagger. It was reasonably effective in a lot of ways. And unlike the Clear Vue, it was pre-manufactured and truly plug-n-play. The Clear Vue was more than double the price and took me four months by the time I got it up and running. So there are pros and cons. But the preliminary results are well worth the expense and effort.
One final comment: The assembly process was enjoyable, but it was a fair amount of work. Hooking up a 5HP motor to a heavy impeller was anxiety-inducing just because the consequences are significant if it flies apart. And wiring up 240 V is always stressful for a non-electrician, even though I bought the pre-assembled box. So there was some anxiety and it took a lot of time. It fired up perfectly the first time, so no complaints about that. But one could certainly justify going with a competing product if you aren't looking for a project. For what it is, though, I'm happy so far, and it is an enormous upgrade.