Review of the Dust Deputy Cyclone

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On Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:50:48 -0800 (PST), GarageWoodworks

where the centre of it is calm and everything just drops down.

[Chris Friesen]

Nah, you were right the first time.

Chris

[Chris Friesen]

Sorry, this is completely wrong. As long as the lid is airtight, it matters not at all how big the container is. Given that you're reducing the pressure in the container the only difference from a larger container is that it will take a fraction of a second longer to get suction at the end of the hose when you turn on the vac (since you need to suck the air out of the container first).

Long duct runs result in an increase in static pressure in the ductwork. For a given amount of suction from the blower, this results in less airflow. This is totally separate from the size of the cyclone container.

Chris

[GarageWoodworks]

I stand corrected. Thank you.

[Morris Dovey]

That would seem to be a reasonable guess, but I've been using a pair of cyclone separators in series for almost eight years now - see

a photo - to collect dust from the CNC router with results that you might find surprising: the first barrel traps all of the coarse stuff, and the second barrel traps the /really/ fine stuff.

The surprising part is that the DC has _never_ been emptied and that there is more dust on the outside of the bags than inside...

...and the main reason for the dust on the outside of the bag is that I sometimes forget (but only for a very short while) to turn on the DC. :o)

[Kevin]

I have a different one, the one from clearvuecyclones, but it's on a

30 gal steel drum. It's then hooked up to a network of 2-1/2" clear pvc piping with blast gates. What's really fun is if I forgot to open a gate the flex hosing between the cyclone and the piping shrinks and it will lift one end of the drum up in the air.

They really are very effective. It's hooked up to my TS, SCMS, router table, spindle sander, and now my CNC, as well as a hose for my hand held sanders and general shop cleanup. There is never anything in the base of the vacuum unless I let the drum overflow. Which I really try to avoid as that drum is mighty heavy when it's full, but happens anyway at least twice a year. You could do a 55 gal drum if you wanted, but I wouldn't want to be the one to have to empty it.

I clean the HEPA filter in the Fein every 3 months or so. Without the cyclone it would be at least every week.

A couple caveats. If you suck up a long piece of scrap it gets wedged at the inlet of the cyclone and this gives a starting point to create a blockage. Light fluffy stuff like hand plane shavings or from a large forstner bit tend to just circle around inside the cyclone without falling down until you shut off the vac.

Burnt out the motor in the Fein after 3 years just recently. Bought another one. Now they've got variable power like the Festools. Now I don't have to partially open another blast gate when I use the ROS and it's REALLY quiet when you turn it down to level 2.

-Kevin

[Leon]

Snip

I can certainly see how that probably works better... with 2 containers before the DC. I was referring more to how Brian pictures his set up. His shows 1 single main collection bucket and a shop vac. I would assume that what you find in your second bucket would be what Brian might find in his shop vac.

The syatem pictured here,

shows a main waste collection bucket and at the bottom of the pleted filter a smaller container to collect the fine dust that does not get caught by the cyclone.

Your set up would appear to be more closely described as a 3 stage vs. 2 stage collection system.

Actually, pretty much what I would have expected.

No doubt.

Yeah, LOL.... I noticed yesterday as I was cutting with my BS that there was dust flying out every where. Took me 3 seperate cuts brfore I decided to see what was going on. I came to the quick conclusion that the 20' hose running back to the DC probably should actually have been hooked up to the BS rather than simply laying on the floor 5 feet away. The DC was sucking its heart out and I was getting no pleasure, so to speak.

[Leon]

Snip

LOL... I have a 20' x 4" hose hose attached to my DC and if I don't need

20' I run the hose up to a hook near the ceiling. Often the hose will hang about 4 inches above the floor and if I have the DC running the hose will gently swing around occasionally making contact with the floor. Reminds me of an elephant's trunk sniffing around for peanuts.

Snip

I have a Festool with dual HEPA filters and I have always used it with a bag. I do not use a cyclone or other container to catch the debris. The vac gets it all. I use the vac with my sanders and Domino 95% of the time and have been using it for almost 3 years. I have yet to clean or even see any dust on the HEPA filters. Are you using a bag with your Fein or have you considered doing that along with the cyclone to preserve the HEPA filters? Also in my case the bags don't seem to cut down on the flow until they are absolutely "packed" full of debris. Oddly enough I have sanded 3 kitchens plus all of my new bedroom furniture plus numerous other projects and cut in excess of 2000 mortises with my Domino and I am still only working on my second 22 liter bag. I checked the bag yesterday and it is about 25% filled.

[Kevin]

I don't use the Fein filters, I use one from Gore which is quite affordable and well made. That was one of my reasons for going with the Fein, a source for inexpensive filters. I'm not sure if the Fein bags would work with it but I guess they are cheap enough it would be worth trying. The saws and router table are where most of the debris is coming from but most of that doesn't make it to the filter.

-Kevin

[Ken Moffett]

GarageWoodworks wrote in news:71f4cf3c-e33c-4dc7-995b- [e-mail] ups.com:

I'm a little late to this, but I wanted to share some modifications to the Dust Deputy bucket setup.

Pictures are posted over on alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking

1. Rather than glue the cyclonic separator to the lid with silicone sealer, per instructions, I made a foam gasket. Easier to move to a new container in the future, if I need to.

1. The rigid latching edges on the lid's rim make it very hard to get the lid off to empty the bucket. I cut away the latches on the outer lip. Since the latches also hold the o- ring in place, I used spots of silicone sealer under it to hold it in place.

2. With the lid latches removed the lid can just pop off...and that's a good thing. I made three small clips out of strips of aluminum. They hook over the lid's rim and catch under one of the buckets annular ribs.

1. I wanted to make disposing of the saw dust easy, so I used garbage bags to line the bucket. Since the vacuum would suck the bag into the separator, I added a plywood weight, with finger holes, to hold the bag down and open.

2. I can't believe how well that seperator setup works. I use a ShopVac with the accourdian paper filter. It would plug very quickly with fine saw dust. With the Dust Deputy I was able to fill the bucket 2/3s full and had only a miniscule amount of sawdusw in the ShopVac.

Ken

[J. Clarke]

Be aware that this is a knock-off of the Clearvue Mini, and that Oneida is abusing the patent office to prevent sale of that product.

Hey, Osama, Oneida Air Systems.

[bannersdirect1]

I bought a dust deputy a few years back and never got to use it becasue it was in two pieces ( flimsily made) so I just put it on the shelf for anothe r day. Today I thought I'd finally try and fix it so I could use it. I cont acted oneida who said there are two glues available but when I looked they say they do not stick to polyethelene. I understand this is a common proble m with the older plastic dust deputy's which Oneida confirm it is and tell me they changed the design.

Am I glad I bought it - NO Would I buy another - No Way Would I recommend it - You would be a fool to buy one of these. Don't waste your money on this cheap flimsy bit of plastic.

What am I going to do now. maybe make a youtube video to warn others and th en throw it in the junk.

[woodchucker]

Well you would be a fool... since most everyone else is happy. I don't have one, nor am I going to buy one, but I would not hesitate to.

I would just assume you were some idiot who didn't know what they were doing, and I would be right :-p

[-MIKE-]

Are you saying it was damaged/broken on arrival? Don't you think they would've accepted a return and replaced it immediately had you notified them sooner than "a few years?"

You're ripping on a company because of your foolishness and ripping on a product you never used. I look forward to your youtube video about this. Be sure to do two things.

1. Mention you didn't act on the situation until "a few years."
2. Turn off the youtube comments option unless you're want to read two hundred comments from people telling you what an idiot you are. :-)

I won't go as far as calling you an idiot, but they certainly won't hold back. I think you're just frustrated and needed to vent and I get that. We've all done similar foolish things and that doesn't make us foolish... just temporarily for a time. :-)

You paid the stupid tax, now move on.... but don't post that video unless you're a glutton for punishment.

[Bob La Londe]

Like this one?

Actually their products are ok, but their service sucks.

[Dale Miller]

I have one I purchases about 5 years ago and it came in one piece. All I had to do was bolt it to my chosen buck with lid. I could have purchased said buckets and hardware but why would I spend $70 more for 2 buckets with lids one with hole and some other useless hardware. I purchased 2 buckets at Lowes with lids for less than $10. It hasn't given me any grief other than my own stupidity of buying the wrong type lid so the first lid failed. I will eventually cut out an MDF lid, but for now it works good.

[krw]

I've got one. Works quite well and the metal hasn't cracked yet. ;-)

[Ken Moffett]

[e-mail] wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Three in the shops at work and one at home. Not a central vac system, but think they're great. The one at home is on a 15 gallon fiber drum.

[lektric dan]

This subject is one I'm very familiar with. I spent the past 5 years worki ng on a research project in Chemical Engineering. Cyclonic Separators (als o known as hydrocyclones) are a staple in this field. It's not Rocket Scie nce, that's my other hobby... But seriously, if you understand a little al gebra, you can find plug-and-chug formulas on the internet. If you underst and calculus, there are some in-depth descriptions of the theory on-line, a s well as some excellent text books*. All of the "operational" separators were made from 316 stainless due to the heat and possible reactivity, but w e made several out of cardboard (and foamboard) and duct tape to add onto s hopvacs to help clean up various spills.

*search for design and construction of cyclonic separators - the textbook w e used is "Gas Cyclones and Swirl Tubes: Principles, Design, and Operation" by Hoffman and Stein - you might find a copy at your local library, or the y might be able to get you a copy.