Dust Deputy

[rodger.]

After watching Marc's podcast, I decided to buy one of the Dust Deputy shop vac kits made by Oneida. I bought it at Busy Bee Tools for 79.99. The kit comes with two 5 gallon pails, a length of 2.5" flex hose, a 90 degree elbow, 3 casters, the cyclone itself, a retention ring, a hose clamp, a styrofoam block for shop vac "Piggy backing", and a manual.

I decided not screw the unit into my vac, so I cut a plywood base from scrap and put some casters in it that I had laying around the shop. Then I bolted one pail to the plywood, removed the casters from my shopvac, and attached the shop vac to the base too. I made the appropriate hose connections, added ths second pail, and clamped the hoses to the deputy (though they were pretty snug without the clamps).

Here is what it looks like:

I decided to make a baby gate for my woodstove, so my 1 year old daughter wouldn't burn herself this winter as she learns to walk. I bought 15 BF of peruvian walnut, and put the dust deputy through some work today in the shop.

I must say that it is pretty cool to use the deputy. It's fun to watch your dust swirl around in the cyclone before it it gets dumped into the bucket. I cleaned the floor as first test, and then I hooked it up to my TS to rip some pieces for my project.

I ripped at least 20 boards. The deputy did a great job! I looked in the vac canister, and almost no dust - so far so good!

Next I gave it a harder test. I switched out my regular blade for a dado blade, and cut a pile of half lap joints using the full stack (7/8"). Again, no problem.

I cleaned the floor again, as I was using the planer and jointer in between TS cuts. Deputy did a good job.

Finally, I hit a problem with the deputy.

I decided to edge joint my work pieces by hand with a handplane and fence. I made lots of long shavings, and thought the deputy could handle it. I was very surprised when a lot of the hand plane shavings ended up in the shop vac canister.

Overall I am impressed with the deputy, and am happy with my purchase. I am dissapointed that it passes the handplane shavings though to the vac canister. This means I will have to sweep them up the old fashioned way!

[thewoodwhisperer]

I am dissapointed that it passes the handplane shavings though to the vac canister. This means I will have to sweep them up the old fashioned way!

Or you can just stop using those silly hand planes.

[wdwerker]

Touché ! Ya Gonna go old school your supposed to use a broom and dustpan!

[fransikaner]

Great set-up. I've had the same "problem" - old school rules!!!

[JayWC]

Guys...you really couldn't see that one coming? The thing is called "DUST" Deputy. Not "Long-curls-of-shaven-wood" Deputy.

The relative size of the wood to the diameter of the pipe (along with CFM and velocity) is the problem. I think that if you slowed down your air flow to the point where you're moving just enough air to carry the chips through the hose (or just used a Neanderthol tool like a broom and dust pan) it would work better. The other option is to vacuum more slowly so you're letting individual curls go through the separator where they can drop out of the airstream versus large clumps of curls that tend to ride the airflow. Or...to get back to my first thought, go with a system that has larger diameter piping.

[rodger.]

The relative size of the wood to the diameter of the pipe (along with CFM and velocity) is the problem.

This is what I figured. The long, thin, light shavings have a large surface area that the deputy doesn't "drop" easily into the pail.

[Tbeaulieu]

I bought the metal version after watching the roundup. I've been very happy with it so far. Money well spent. I use it with a Sears shop vac.

I used mine extensively this past summer stripping paint from the house with a Paint Shaver. It worked great and I used the same vac filter all summer (the entire front of the house, plus another section). It went up on the staging with me. The metal is HD and perfect for home projects.

I also used it to suck wasps from their nest in the house. I mounted a hose to the side of the house near their hole and just this thing running for 3 days (during the day). I got many hundreds of wasps this way and virtually every one of them was in the canister. So it passed the wasp test easily.

Finally, I use it in the shop to suck up the horrible mess I make after several days of work. I used a regular DC on the machines, so this is just to save the shop vac's filter, which used to clog in no time. I was tired of wasting money on filters.

[Trip]

I only have that problem when the DD bucket gets 'full'.... Once I started paying attention, I've never had large shavings pass to the vac. The other way it could happen is if the 'cyclone' get clogged at the lower opening to the bucket and the DD momentarily passes everything to the vac until the 'clog' dislodges itself. When doing lots of general shop-vac stuff, I do watch the cyclone to make sure it doesn't get clogged... I'm using a CT26+UDD, but that should not make a difference. Now that i pay attention, I only get dust in the vac...

BTW, the same thing happens with a central cyclone -- don't ever let your bin fill completely or the cyclone clog --- you'll have a real mess on your hands... It's happened to me once when my bin sensor failed... what a goat rodeo...

[Rolf Maxa]

I purchased my Dust Deputy this passed summer. I find that connecting to my jointer fills up the bucket and than the shop vac. Sometimes it's hard to see when the bucket is full.

[Trip]

i wonder about deploying a course filter between the dd and vac. something just to block shavings and the like -- maybe like the fish netting used to maintain home fish tanks? or even better, a trout net... any thoughts?

[wdwerker]

That would work untill the hose clogged. Plus it would add more hoses and another container to the system.

[Trip]

sorry, wasn't being clear... wasn't thinking about an extra hose or container, just putting some course mesh over the connector as it leaves the DD toward the vac -- blocking anything large from entering the dd-->vac hose.

[calblacksmith]

Only 6 months late to the party but I also bought a DD on Marks advice. I bought two and as I already had buckets ect, I bought the unit only. Two because I have 2 shop vacs. I did install onto my Ridged vac, and am very happy. I am using a hepa filter bag in the SV and the DD stops nearly everything..... except for the large shavings as above so it is old school for them. I was going to put it on both vacs but honestly, I now use the one vac all the time and have not need to install on the second vac. I try to be careful to only pick up wood dust and not the other things that fall to my shop floor. I save the small dust in a box and use it for things like oil spills and the like, it works great.

 

A two thumbs up on the DD, it is a simple device that is easily installed and exceeds the claims made for it, a true value at it's selling price.

[Trip]

==> putting some course mesh over the connector as it leaves the DD toward the vac -- blocking anything large from entering the dd-->vac hose.

 

BTW, I've had this in-place for six months now -- it works great...  I've never 'overflowed' the cyclone or had large shavings into the vac bag...

[Ian Gagnon]

I picked up one of these a while back as well (and then a month later Marc's review came out and I was glad I chose the unit I did).

 

I have it hooked up to a 10 gallon shop van with a HEPA filter. It works amazingly well on everything except the jointer/planer. It even does a remarkable job of handling table saw debris. I have yet to need to do anything other than wipe out the shop vac once a month since getting the DD, and I do that mainly for my own OCD. The moment the chips get close to the top of the bucket the suction suddenly drops off which is my sign to empty it.

 

I wasn't a fan of the flex hose that came with the package for the interconnect between the DD and the vac, so I hard plumbed it with PVC and found that it gave a small boost to performance with the added benefit of not having that gray hose slinky-ing around when moved and getting caught on stuff. The connection to the top of the DD is done with a Fernco fitting, so it just pops off for emptying, but provides a nice tight seal with no tools or effort. 

 

I got it at Woodcraft on sale for $70 with tax. Couldn't be happier for a small portable collection system. 

[Trip]

==>==>I am dissapointed that it passes the handplane shavings though to the vac canister

 

==>==> putting some course mesh over the connector as it leaves the DD toward the vac -- blocking anything large from entering the dd-->vac hose.

 

==> BTW, I've had this in-place for six months now -- it works great...  I've never 'overflowed' the cyclone or had large shavings into the vac bag...

 

 

My original solution was a fine-mesh fish-tank net. This worked great, but felt I was leaving some performance on the table... So I purchased a medium-mesh fish tank mesh (about 1/4" mesh) and used that. It now works great without any noticeable performance drop-off...

 

So basically, I cut a 4" circle of medium mesh and cover the output port of the DD. The mesh is held in place with the hose fitting heading to the vac inlet.

 

Anything larger than the 1/4" mesh stays trapped in the DD.

 

The CT vac bags haven't needed replacing in over a year... Great cost savings. Obviously, the bag's pores do fill-up when I use the RoS

 

I sent my solution to Oneida, but don't know if they have incorporated it in their newer designs.

[sjeff70]

 

It works amazingly well on everything except the jointer/planer. It even does a remarkable job of handling table saw debris. I have yet to need to do anything other than wipe out the shop vac once a month since getting the DD, and I do that mainly for my own OCD. 

 

I think it's just meant for powered hand tools. I made that mistake.

[Ian Gagnon]

 

I think it's just meant for powered hand tools. I made that mistake.

 

 

I definitely ask more of it than I should. I know some of the tools I have been connecting it to are a bit much for it to handle (it has 2" connections, that right there is a hint and a half about its limitations) but have been impressed with how well it has worked despite the fact it isn't really designed for much more than ROS sanders and jigsaws, etc.

 

I do have a few thoughts about the Dust Deputy performance based on my experiences:

 

Actual performance has less to do less with the DD, and more to do with the suction/air speed provided by the vac it is connected to.

 

Putting the HEPA filter in the vac I use made a marked improvement to suction. Much like with a DC, more surface area on the filter means better airflow and better filtering. The HEPA filters aren't cheap, but if you own a DD, than you won't need to replace it any time soon, so it's a sound upgrade for the performance of the vac and your lungs.

 

I  think that getting rid of the flexible hose that came with the DD and hard-plumbing it is the way to go. I noticed a big difference there as well. The hose provided is fairly long and cumbersome anyway, so setting up a system where a very short section of 2" PVC connected the vac and DD is the way to go. Of course, if you don't like the DD and your vac connected to each other in such a ridged fashion, it might not work for everyone.

 

As far as people having issues with larger shavings making it through to the vac canister, I feel it is primarily due to a lack of airspeed. In order for a cyclone to work properly you need a high enough velocity of air to keep the debris stuck to the side of the cyclone so that it can encounter the proper amount of friction, slow down and drop into the bucket/container below. The turbulence at the bottom of the cyclone causes the airflow to reverse and travel up the center to the exhaust. Once the debris has slowed along the wall and dropped to the bottom, it shouldn't be picked up again (except fine dust, which happens). If the airspeed is not high enough, the debris kind of "dribbles" into the cyclone and gets picked up by the outrushing exhaust in the center of the cyclone then  gets passed to the vac. 

 

Obviously, if you have big curly shavings that are .001" thick, there is a lot of surface area there to keep them suspended, so some may sneak through.

 

I have tried the DD on both my planer and jointer (for the sake of "This should be interesting..."), making passes as light as the machines allow. I haven't seen any debris in the vac. The only issue I run into is the bucket fills up fast or the sheer output of the machine is too much for the airflow provided by the vac, but that is completely understandable. Of course these machines are not taking the kind of light shavings that a hand plane will take.

 

Just my thoughts. 

[AlexWoods]

Probably the best accessory in my shop!

[JoshC1501]

I push mine to its limits on the planer and joiner.  I upgraded to a 10 gallon bucket.   It performs well for what it is, no complaints.  

 

While I have not decided 100%, I think my next dust collection addition will be a Harbor Freight DC modified to use the Super Dust deputy and either vented outside or with a Wynn filter.  

[Ian Gagnon]

I went with the Harbor Freight DC. Got it for $140 after coupons/sales. Added the Wynn nano filter for $175. It works like a champ. Add a Thein baffle at the very least and you'll be pretty damn happy for a small one man shop.

[gee-dub]

I'll add to the review.  After 6+ years of use the plastic version has held up fine.  I did attach a plywood ring to the underside of the lid as a bit of reinforcement; maybe useful, maybe not. 

After a year of emptying only teaspoons of dust from the 16 gallon vac bin I eliminated it as you have probably seen others do.  I built a box for the filter and a very small chamber for any spoil that gets by the DD. I check it evey 6 months or so and empty the few items that might get past the DD and clean the filter.

I bought a second one for another vac station but, have yet to stop and build the box for it.  I use Clean Stream filter so I can just swap filters, toss the dirty one out on the lawn and hit it with the hose; eezy-peezy.

[treeslayer]

hooked my DD up up a 30 gallon garbage can, plywood top and a foam seal around the top between the can and plywood, works great

[Cliff]

I got the Dust Deputy and Super Dust Deputy. Only thing that is silly is that the Super DD 6" and 5" ports were too small for my 6 to 4 and 5 to 4 adapters. I feel like they probably do that so you buy their stuff at Oneida. I just sanded my adapters down til they would fit far enough in that I could silicone the seal.