Oneida Air Systems Dust Deputy DIY Anti-Static Retrofit Cyclone Separator for Wet/Dry Shop Vacuums (DD DIY)

I'm a finish carpenter with a small garage shop I use for some built-in projects that are easier to do from a shop than on-site. Currently in the middle of a shop re-do with the goal of having a more efficient small space, and to utilize my 14 gal Shop-vac better for dust collection. Eventually, I will hard pipe in the Dust Deputy, but for now built a "prototype" roll-away cart for it. Not the prettiest thing in the world, but it does what I need with the added bonus of giving me a bit of storage space (though the drawers I intend to build into will have to wait). (See pic)I have been using the Rockler DustRight separator for a few years now. Nothing necessarily wrong with that system, but it was not nearly efficient enough for me, and had the added issue of being less efficient the more the bin filled up. So, after doing some research, I decided on the Oneida Dust Deputy and bought the kit that has the hardware, gasket, and a hose. In retrospect, knowing what I know now, I would have just bought the bare cyclone, and saved a few bucks. The hose is cheap, and virtually useless to me. The hardware didn't work for my application, and I know how to make gaskets. If you are going to just use a 5-gallon bucket, then the kit I bought would be worth it. I wanted a little more capacity for chips than a 5-gallon bucket would give me.I won't bore you with build details on the cart. I combined/changed some ideas I had seen on YouTube, and built what I wanted. Something to consider, however, when you put things together. First and foremost - as Oneida has in their instructions - make sure your connections are tight and the system is as leak free as possible. Every single little leak will effect the way the cyclone works. Before I took the weekend to build what I did, I just made a lid for my Dust Right container, clamped it on, and used the Shop-Vac hose. The Dust Deputy wasn't performing much better than the Dust Right had been at that point, because I had some leakage around the lid, and most of the leakage at the actual Shop-Vac hose. With the system as built right now, this thing is well above 95% efficient at dropping it into the container, and not my Shop-Vac bag. If I were to put this on a 5-gallon bucket, I would consider devising some sort of structure to support the cyclone as the plastic flange at the bottom is a bit thin and I would be concerned with it breaking at that point. My Shop-vac has the 2-1/4 hose and fittings, as does the flexible hose I reused from my old Dust Right system, and these fittings snugly fit onto the Dust Deputy. The inlet and outlet areas are tapered, and though I haven't tried them, suspect my smaller jobsite Shop-Vac fittings would fit as well.The actual review? I've never used one of the knock-off cyclones so I can't compare it those. Compared with my old Dust Right system, this one is head and shoulders better. As I've already said, it is well over 95% (estimation only, I know how full my bag got before this) efficient. I reused the Dust Right container (after gluing a foam window insulation seal around the edge of it) and it is about half full right now. This is when I began to see blow by from that old system. No signs of it right now with the Deputy. I've also noticed this set-up has improved the dust collection of my Delta 36-725 table saw (which if you are familiar with those, you know the dust collection ain't the greatest). Overall, I am very happy and satisfied with my purchase. Are they more expensive than the knock offs? Yep. Imo, though, these are the real deal.

I have been using the DIY cyclone (the cheapest option) for 6 months and finally emptied the collector and checked my main shop vac. I have been regularly vacuuming dust from wood sawing (band/table saw) and jointing/sanding, as well as metal dust from from a bench grinder, and a single instance of concrete dust when a bag of Sakcrete fell and burst open. The collector really did collect practically all the dust, even the fine dust. The only material that passed through the cyclone to the shop vac basin was large wood chip, some of which did cling to the filter pleats, but those are easily knocked out with a screwdriver..However, the Cyclone and its collector must be properly prepped, given some of the negative reviews for this item I read before buying. I did the following:->Mounted Cyclone to the top of a little 8 gallon shop vac basin, using a plywood base to replace the motor housing. I ran 3/8" weatherstripping around the perimeter of the plywood base before bolting it down as a compression gasket.-> Plugged hose hole in the collection shop vac with a tapered wood plug for air-tight seal->Wrapped all hose connections to Cyclone in multiple layers of duct tape-> Ran 3/8" weather stripping under the lip of the collection vac lid where it clamps to the basin - another compression gasket-> I had seen reviews stating that the base of the Cyclone was warped and did not compress the supplied gasket well. I addressed this by cutting a donut of plywood into (4) quarters that fit in between the ribs of the Cyclone base and served as washers. This did mean I had to buy my own longer bolts. This perfectly clamped the gasket that is supplied with the Cyclone.-> I had seen reviews stating that the Cyclone cracked when knocked over and that the hoses coming out of the top made it top-heavy and easily knocked over. I made a 2x4 fender frame around the Cyclone, screwed to the plywood base at about 1/4" clear from the Cyclone, so I can kick it over and the plastic never touches the floor or anything hard. I also clamped large diameter rebar pieces to the fender to add weight so it wouldn't fall over when I tug the hoses. I move this thing around the garage by tugging the hoses and it's never fallen over.