Review of the Dust Deputy Cyclone

do you think would this work for micron or submicron particles? i've been looking for something like this for my sandblaster.

I'm sure it would help. Exactly how much is tough to say.

ClearVue had what I consider a better design in their CV06, based on Bill Pentz's improvements to give better separation and reduced resistance.

However, Oneida took out a patent on the design and forced them to stop selling it (even though the design was public well before Oneida patented it). Anyways, they still sell the conversion lid, which is arguably the slickest solution for portable shopvac use though it does require a particular shopvac.

That would probably depend on the filter in the vacuum. Typically the cyclone type separators simply separate the large debris from the fine dust. The fine dust is usually captured by a different filter.

Not accurate. I had some very fine saw dust in the bucket in my review. Almost no sawdust ended up in the shop vac or attached to the filter.

I'm also sure it would help significantly. I'm tempted to try talcum powder to see how well it performs.

Pretty cool... I have often wondered about these type portable units.

You mention that you used a 5 gal bucket and you could use have used a 10 gal bucket. I wonder if the size of the container really matters as long as it is at least 5 gal and is air tight. The reason I ask is that you mentioned the tendency for the unit to tip. If you attached a larger container to the unit it may not be so easily tipped. Additionally you might consider using a longer hose to get to where you need to go so that you could fasten the bucket down. I use a 20' flexible hose with my DC and that works very well, not having to move the DC, except to empty it.

You can use a bucket/drum upto 10 gallons. I have a larger bucket that I intend to use, but I wanted to do the review using a bucket that most people would have access to. This thing is really cool and is very SOLID (thick plastic and heavy).

That's dependent on the definition of "fine". It's difficult to generate micron or submicron w/ a saw; even most sanding dust is larger than that.

The effectiveness of a cyclone separator depends on the mass of the particulate being great enough that its inertia will be too large for it (the particle) to follow the curvature of the air stream. Smaller/lighter means they will be entrained in the air flow and follow it rather than being separated.

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That depends on your definition/utilization of micron and submicron.

The width of a 4/4 board could be measured in microns.

I got one recently (on sale at Woodcraft) and have been pleased. I did have two problems. First, the plastic connectors on the hose that connects the cyclone to the shop vac split when hooked up to the cyclone although it was simple to fix that with duct tape and a hose-clamp. I was going to contact the company and ask for new connectors but there seemed little point considering a permanent fix was cheap and easy (and the new connectors would probably have split too). Second, the cyclone did not work at all with the really narrow hose on my old shop vac, it seemed to reduce airflow so much that the hose kept clogging. However once I used a wider after-market hose (from Mr. Nozzle--also on sale at Woodcraft) the cyclone worked very well--so now I'm completely happy with it.

BTW, I recommend those hoses from Mr. Nozzle, I'm going to get at least one more so I don't have to move one hose between multiple applications.

One trick to prevent the cyclone from tipping over is to use two 5-gallon buckets nested with something heavy like a weight-lifting plate between the two buckets. That way you can easily empty the top bucket and leave the weight in the bottom one. I assume I'm not the only one with unused weigh-lifting gear in the garage. Of course if you have a sufficiently large shop vac you can fasten the cyclone right to the shop vac.

Neat idea!

Not accurate. I had some very fine saw dust in the bucket in my review. Almost no sawdust ended up in the shop vac or attached to the filter.

Fine dust normally does not take up much space, it compacts well. Would'nt that be what you actually did find in your shop vac?

You can use a bucket/drum upto 10 gallons. I have a larger bucket that I intend to use, but I wanted to do the review using a bucket that most people would have access to. This thing is really cool and is very SOLID (thick plastic and heavy).

Understood, but going beyond what the instructions called for, do you know of any reason that you could not use an air tight 20 gal container?

Is the dust dropped in or blown in? If it's blown in, wouldn't an air tight container interfere with the collection of the dust?

I don't see any reason why you couldn't. The limiting factor with increased bucket volume will be your shop vac strength. The larger the volume, the harder the vacuum has to work and vacuum suction should drop. I guess it's the same with duct work and a central shop vac. If the duct work run is too long, suction suffers.

It's dropped in. It spins around the cyclone and stays on the outside edge due to centripetal force. The air flow stays in the center moving in the opposite direction of dust flow (fall due to gravity).

On Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:48:38 -0800 (PST), GarageWoodworks

Ok thanks. I have exactly zero experience with a cyclone dust collector.

See this link for a better explanation:

centrifugal NOT centripetal