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Product Reviews » Dust Deputy from Oneida
Dust Deputy from Oneida
by Paul Mayer
Posted: June 2, 2010
If you ask most woodworkers to cite their least favorite aspect of woodworking, most would say ‘sanding’. When I asked that question of my father a while back, he said “I don’t mind sanding, but what bothers me is having to stop sanding about every 10 minutes to clear the filter on my shop vacuum”. He connects his 5-HP shop vacuum to a stationary oscillating belt sander which generates a considerable volume of dust in a short period of time. He also connects his random orbital sander and planer to the shop vacuum, which quickly clog the filter as well, requiring the messy job of emptying the dust and shavings from the shop vacuum. Major yuck.
There have been solutions for this in the past, but they were large and expensive. Now Oneida Air Systems offers a solution that is simple, economical, and consumes only a small footprint in the wood shop.
The Dust Deputy, $99, is a small cyclone separator that is placed between the tool and the shop vacuum, and uses air flow physics to remove a claimed 99% of dust before it finds its way to the shop vacuum where it would have otherwise quickly clogged the filter. The concept is identical to the way that Oneida’s larger dust collection cyclones work. Dusty air from the tool enters a cone shaped chamber at the top, and the suction pulls the air through the cone in a way that forms a tornado effect, forcing the debris to the bottom of the barrel while the clean air exists through the top of the barrel. It is one of those designs that looks and sounds super simple, but the physics behind it are quite impressive, optimizing for dust removal while suction performance remains intact.
We bought the Deluxe Kit, which is a turnkey configuration that includes everything necessary to connect to a shop vacuum and tool. Setup was simple, and the kit even includes hardware necessary to connect the Dust Deputy to the shop vacuum, which makes it more compact and less cumbersome. The kit includes universal input and output connections so that a variety of hose sizes can be used, to accommodate various sizes of shop vacuums on the market. (We tested with 2-1/2” hose which is the largest that the Dust Deputy accepts.) The kit also cleverly includes a double bucket, which makes it simple to empty after it is attached to the shop vacuum.
Strengths: The Dust Deputy exceeded my expectations on nearly all fronts. It removed so much dust from the air stream that I could not find any measurable dust in the shop vacuum after thirty minutes of sanding with a belt sander. I thought I could overwhelm it by hooking it up to a planer, and repeatedly running a 10” wide board through it. After about 10 minutes of that, the barrel on the Dust Deputy needed to be emptied, but the shop vacuum was still empty and suction remained strong!
Going into the test, I had wondered if the additional length of hose, and passage through a cyclone would negatively impact suction performance. While I suspect that a scientist with proper instrumentation could detect some drop in air flow, there was no drop in performance that was perceivable in terms of dust removal at the tool, or air quality. I was able to sand for extended periods without a dust mask (I nearly always wear one when I am sanding, but wanted to apply the never-fail “sneeze test” to the tool) with no perceivable dust escape.
We also noticed an unmistakable unadvertised feature. The Dust Deputy also serves as a muffler, reducing the noise output of the shop vacuum. I do not have sufficient instrumentation to accurately measure this, but the difference is quite apparent.
Drawbacks: The hose that is included with the Deluxe Kit is not of the quality that I would expect from Oneida. It is quite stiff, and has a cheap feel to it. Also, the universal hose fittings allow the hose to slide off fairly easily, which happens regularly during operation if precautions are not taken. The manual suggests electrical tape, a hose clamp or sheet metal screws to accommodate this. We used duct tape and it worked fine, but unfinished details in a product like this with no solution in the package bother me.
Recommendation: The Dust Deputy is not a substitute for a good dust collector or cyclone unit, running 4” to 6” duct system to your tools. That approach will remove far more dust from your larger tools, and will require less frequent emptying of the drum. But for $99, the Dust Deputy dramatically improves shop vacuum dust collection, and will allow you to spend your shop time on activities that are far more satisfying than knocking dust out of your shop vacuum filter. If you use a shop vacuum to collect dust in your shop, and plan to continue to do so, you owe it to yourself to get one of these.
Availability: You can find more information on the Dust Deputy, or purchase one, here: http://www.dustdeputy.com/.
10 Comments
This thing is awesome. Wondering if you can use a bigger bucket and get the same results? Like a 55 gal. garbage can?
I have own DD for 6 months now using it attached to my 6hp Craftsman vac and it works beautifully with 2 1/2"grounded PVC piping network. It is definately a economy dust collector but it works for a small shop. A good bridge system until I can afford a bigger system. JoeWoodworker had a good idea but make sure you get a good seal on the lid if you use a bigger container. I think it would work, no reason it shouldn't.
Thanks for the comments. Roger, I agree about your comment about using it as a good bridge system. Not as good as a full sized DC or cyclone, but WAY better than a shop vacuum alone while you are waiting for a larger system. I don't believe there will be any noticeable drop in suction if you attach it to a larger barrel. To do so, I would suggest purchasing the DIY kit rather than the Deluxe kit, and attach it directly to the top of a drum with a good sealed lid (a fiber drum would be a good choice). As Roger said, I believe that the key will be in ensuring a tight seal between the lid and barrel. If you are just using it for sanding, I don't think the 5 gallon barrel will bother you much, as that is a lot of sanding dust. If you hook it up to a planer like we did in our testing, you will have to empty the bucket pretty frequently, and for that application it would be worth configuring a larger container. Oneida also sells an industrial steel version of the Dust Deputy that comes with a 10 gallon barrel: http://store.oneida-air.com/dustdeputypackage-complete-1.aspx.
I have had the DD for about 8 months. It has lived up to every expectation. I have a small shop that won't accommodate a large DC system. This fit's the bill perfectly, I like the compact design, I will live with the more frequent emptying. I have hooked it up to my 13" planer, small sanders, and my jig saw - works just fine. The only complaint I have is the loss of suction which I think is noticeable but manageable
I am getting the one for the Festool! This looks like the answer to my WW allergy problems. I will report back and let you all know if it helps with my WW allergies. Cross your fingers ofr me!
That sounds like a great move, Terry. Would love to hear your impressions of the Festool version. Fingers crossed!
I used my DD for the first time last week to vacuum up some drywall mud dust and it worked perfectly. No dust could be found in the shop vac, or filter. Normally, this fine dust would have clogged my shop vac filter requiring me to clean it. With this unit I simply had to empty the bucket. GREAT! Worth every penny.
That is great to know, Jeff. Sounds much better than the current setup that I currently use for this, which involves a bucket full of water to filter out the drywall dust.
I have one of the original small scale cyclones built by Clear Vue about three or four years before Oneida patented the concept.Bob and Matt Morgano scaled down the 5 hp version they licensed from Bill Pentz' design. I bought at the same time as the full sized because I KNOW how long it takes to get things done around here. The clear vue is on the back wall of my 55x116' quonset, still waiting for the electricity to happen (panel is at the far end and conduit aint' cheap) and the little guy keeps most of the stuff under control in the meantime.
This is good stuff. The cyclone getting to the many people through products like these is good. But why have they reduced the efficiency of the design by not angling the inlet. If you have the time you can make your own like on the FloweringElbow website.