Accessories

Cabinetmaker
Arrived in good shape, works as good as the two others of same model I have. This is hooked up to 38 inch belt sander and does a good job. I am not as fond of the plastic bottom bag as anothr cloth one but that is how they come these days... after I use up the two plastic bags provided I buy an aftermarket cloth bag for the bottom.

Delta 50-850 1-1/2
This thing sucks...literally. I've got it hooked up to my table-saw, radial saw, jointer, band-saw and sometimes my planner. It works great. It's hard to compare it to something else as this is all I've ever owned so there may be others that are better. For me though it was a good value as I'm a hobby shop not a pro. If you're a pro or want pro results, my guess is there is better products than this one, but at a cost. Again, it's about value to me.

WORTH EVERY LITTLE PENNY - why pay more?
WOW - I thought I should write a review for this DC as there are very few recent reviews. Some might think this DC is outdated and pay hundreds of dollars more for a newer unit. ***(As of this review, I only paid $184 - it seems to have gone up considerably since then. BUT most my comments are still valid)*** I looked at the specs before I bought this Delta 50-850 and they are every bit as good as the $350 plus range DC's. So I decided to buy it. I just received it and set up was a cinch. If you look at other reviews for other machines you will find people have had problems. As compared to the Delta 50 -760 (Specs are nearly identical and is now being sold for $399), the 850 is preferable to me because the fan and motor are located near the ground where I run my hoses descretely under and through cabinets and benches. It has POWER.
I had the opportunity to shop for and buy other dust collectors in the past, and even big vacuum units for C&C machines (that acted as table clamps not vacs). There is more than CFM that is important, especially if you are comparing your DC to your shop vac. You should also be looking at "inches of water." That is, how much static water can the unit lift, (it used to be measured in mercury, and maybe in some applications it still is). Shop vacs have great "water" lifting abilities. You can even use them to suck water from a soaked carpet. DO NOT expect that kind of performance from a DC. Where as some shop vacs are pulling about 60 inches of water, I discovered that most DC's only pull anywhere from as low as 6" and the better ones are pulling 12". It takes a very expensive vacuum unit to pull both impressive CFM and water (and these you will not find on any Dust Collector for the average shop).

My point is - this DC, currantly being sold for $184, has both good CFM (1200 CFM) and inches of water (11.4 inches). OK, OK...the dust bag is a miserable 30 microns...
SO ANOTHER big advantge to this unit is they sell (amazon) seperately a 2 micron canister that fits this DC specifically!! (right now for the Delta 50-750 is going for $242) A HUGE UPGRADE that can be done now or later. (You can essentially make yourself a Delta 50-850A at your leisure)
If you like the idea of running this at 220v, it can be done. It just is not advertised.

Getting the most out of your dust collector can be tricky. The length and diameter of your hose has a big impact on your DC's performance. Restricting the diameter of the hose ussually does not improve the "sucking," (inches of water) ability. It may be worth purchasing a "how to" book on this. Vacuum performance really goes beyond the laymans reasoning.

PLEASE take the time to compare this inexpensive option - if you owned DC's before (other than the nice 2 stage units with CFM over 1500) you will NOT be disappointed.

50-850 worth the price, even if you have to pay shipping
I waited about a month before making my decision to purchase this dust collection system. Did a lot of reading of diffferent reviews and settled on this one compared to the 760 because the static numbers are higher. Both the 850 and 760 are 1.5 H.P. and both put out 1200 CFM but if you look at all the numbers you will find the 850 is a little more powerful, and right now Amazon has lowered the price twice in two weeks! Now is the time to buy. The only problem I had in receiving this unit is the lower flange that bolted the motor to the cart was bent out of the box! Nothing a rubber mallet couldn't fix but this was done at the factory, there was no visible damage to the box or packaging. Was very easy to put together (45 mins) tops.. I have read a lot of people complaining about install of bottom bag of this unit, Delta has solved that problem too, there are 4 small clips to hold bag in place and the large band clamp. Mine also came with a 5 micron bag, not the 30 it use to come with. I am very happy with this product, Thanks Delta!

All that I expected.
It is rugged and simple: what I expect from Porter Cable. The only assembly problem was that one hole in the base was drilled but not tapped. Fortunately I had the right tap, so assembly just took five minutes longer than it should have. Note that it is about 83" high: just clears the water pipes along the ceiling of my basement shop.

I have four blast gates running to the two inlets via a combination of pvc and flex hose of the type supplied. Even the longest run, about 25', provides enough flow to completely remove chips from my 12" thickness planer. Jointer, table saw, radial saw, bandsaw, planer, router table, and various portable power tools are now dust free. It has enough power to remove waste from two stationary power tools running at once.

Working with mahogany and other hard woods used to make me sneeze; now I'm comfortable in the shop all day.

Since it sits in a corner, it takes up no useful space, and it is fairly quiet. I operate it with a remote switch that I carry in my apron pocket: very convienient. I like this rig a lot.