1000 c f m

[Chris Parks]

I became involved with CV at about the same time as the original owner shut it down due to a lot or reasons including the threat of legal action from Oneida over the mini. It was rescued for want of a better word by the Bushey Bros but mainly by James who took it on as a sideline to their main business which was centred around the financial advisement business. They then employed one person to run it and she is still involved.

There had been several attempts to get the product here, one on this forum as a group buy but they all fell over. Apricot Tripper a member of this forum had recently imported one which raised my interest but I already had a Carba-Tec cyclone bought from the Melbourne store at a knock down price when it closed. I eventually installed the CT cyclone turned it on and tried it for literally five minutes and then turned it off in disgust and walked inside, rang the US and bought an 1800. During this process James Bushey asked me if I wanted to be a distributor in Oz and I told him that it was not a good idea as no one but me would be stupid enough to pay what it eventually cost, nearly $3000 AUD about five years ago!! He persisted and after sharpening his pencil he got the landed price down to what I thought was low enough to make the whole thing workable. I looked at what I would think a reasonable price, solved the problem of the three phase/single phase issue and opened shop.

I must admit I was astonished at the response and we sold more units that I had predicted. I got a phone call one night from a very well known woodworking retailer in this country and he proceeded to tell me I was doing it all wrong. He wanted me to either raise the price to a stupid figure or just wholesale the product and let the retailers set a price that was way higher than I was retailing them for. I was in effect only getting a very slim margin, way lower than what the retail industry normally works at and he did not like it. We never spoke again and i continued on as I had been and sold heaps more. I had someone ring me one day and ask if I could do him a special price and after I refused he said he would buy one from the US and import it directly. I was selling them for about $700 dollars under what it cost me to buy mine so he was in for a shock if he tried.

The product gets criticised for being plastic and MDF but the up side to that is that the installation can be customised and changed as needed where the Oneida (not available here) cannot. The plastic turns people off sometimes until they see a video of how it all works and they usually come around and buy one. I constantly got asked why I didn't get a metal version made in Oz so I did a bit of an exercise. By the time I got it made in metal, sprayed or powder coated, packaged for transport etc I was well over what we were importing it for and without the very good reputation of the CV. I walked away and placed my next order from the US as trying to get it made here was just ridiculous.

There is absolutely no need to put filters on a CV if it is vented to the atmosphere and the exhaust exits away from doors and windows. There is no discernable dust fall out from the exhaust and I have never had anyone tell me any different. I have a car parked under the exhaust of mine and cannot see any dust on it at all. In my tenure as the retailer I only sold filters to about six customers who had special needs. For instance one was erecting the cyclone in an aircraft hanger and the exhaust run was way too long. I sold several to commercial customers who run then 8 hours a day as does Corrimal Men's shed and there is no detectable dust fall out. There is more than one user in this forum and one in this thread who will back this up.

The references to a reasonable price in this thread are many things to many people. It is about two years now since Stephen took it over and in that time the AUD has dropped about 35% and the price was always going to have to reflect that movement unfortunate as that was and the price in the US has also been raised as well. I have to say that I see people buying expensive equipment for this hobby then baulk at the price of keeping their work environment clean and their lungs clear. We all have choices in life and if people think that effective DE is too expensive then it is one of life's choices not to buy it. A cyclone matching the performance of the CV can be made as all the information is available to do so. The impeller can be purchased from CV to drive it and you will have made it for a lot less than buying one. How good is it that a manufacturer will provide a full set of instructions to help you in that way?

I like to think that I did a good thing at an affordable price for the Ozzy woodworker. The product is without peer in this country and does an excellent job. the difference between a big (conventional) DE and the CV is less than what most want to admit. The same ducting has to go in, the same mods to machines have to be made and the end price is the difference between the DE and the cyclone. I call that reasonable but others may not for something that is guaranteed to do the job. The Max is way more expensive to install as it requires a 225mm main duct to match its performance. Actually the 1800 performs best with a 7" duct but that is not available in Oz. The Max might possibly perform better with a duct larger than 225mm but headroom and the cost might stop that even if the pipe was available in Oz.

PS. Bill Pentz has been a sometime contributor to this forum in the past.

[markkr]

Chris, you're not wrong about the "extras" cost of the Max. I think the ducting, combination of 225 main from CV (outside) down the centre of the shed, with 160 sides to each machine, was more than the CV. In my case, there's also the 150 storm water buried under the slab down each long side of the shed.

But that means "top and bottom" collection from TS and BS, no ducts on the floor and nothing snaking around machines, so for me that's worth it.

The inlet of my Max is just under 225 diameter, so would a larger diameter main be of any value - I assume not?

Mark

[Chris Parks]

I honestly don't know to tell the truth and it sure would be an expensive experiment!! Some work has been done in the US showing a 25mm/1" bigger dust flows better on the 1800 which has a 150mm/6" inlet so I am open to the idea that a similar jump in size on the Max might be beneficial as well but don't quote me. What they have done about blending the inlet to the larger duct I have no idea. This is based on user experience and CV had nothing to do with it.