Cyclone Dust Collector - HF DC Upgrades

For a long time I've really wanted something easier to use that worked better.  I bought the HF DC because it was all I could afford years ago, and I've been slowly upgrading it as time allows.  I took a big step recently and thought I'd share my system as it is today.

Here are the upgrades I've done:

For now I just have a 25-ft 4" flex hose that I can run to most of my tools, which I know is awful for pressure drop and airflow... future plans for 5" or 6" rigid ducting to my tools.  Still, I was impressed with the results.  I have a handheld anemometer so I took some measurements:

At the end of the 25ft 4" flex hose I'm getting about 8500ft/s velocity.  My research shows about 3500 is needed to keep ducts clear, so really happy with that.  With the 4" hose this translates to maybe 730cfm of airflow, which is a bit shy of my 1000cfm end goal.  But still, this thing really sucks!

I imagine the 5 or 6-inch hard ductwork will improve flows more, and maybe put me up into the 800-900 cfm range.  TBD obviously.  After the ductwork I'll have some decisions to make - custom volute for a bigger impeller and a bigger motor?  Perhaps.  Or maybe I'll just buy the top end of a ClearVue.  A bigger motor and impeller may outpace the SDD cyclone though, so I might have to do the cyclone at the same time.  Might as well consider a whole ClearVue at that point.  Time will tell.

For the cost, I'm really happy with this performance.  I'll still need a respirator for the dusty jobs, but with the garage door and side window open it should clear quickly.  And also - a clean shop is a happy shop, and that will be achieved for sure.