Dust Deputy performance

[Phil Maddox]

I haven't posted much recently but I wanted to give props to the Oneida Dust Deputy - I finished mounting it to my Fein vacuum a couple of weeks ago but didnt get a chance to put it to a real test until this last weekend - I sucked up 2 5 gallon (almost full) buckets of sawdust, 60% from a mitersaw - 10% from general floor dust and the rest hooked to my random orbit sander. I opened the vac - NO DUST! I took the filter out and blew it out with compressed air - there was hardly anything in the filter. Hard to tell for sure because the filter is old - but there was almost nothing coming out with 80psi blowing through it.

I highly recommend the DD to everyone - certainly keeps the much cleaner and extends the time between cleanings. The 5 gallon bucket is also much easier to deal with than the vac for emptying.

Good luck.

[Chris Tsutsui]

I agree and am loving the cyclone technology that has really boomed in the dust collection world, and has monopolized the general household vacuum industry with the Dysons, etc.

If I didn't get the dust deputy, I would get the mini clear vu which looks like a well designed mini cyclone as well.

Did you run your vacuum at full power? I run my festool at about 800 watts instead of the full 1300 watts. The difference in suction between those two doesn't seem that big but I don't know if it makes a difference in the dust it captures.

[Phil Maddox]

My Fein doesn't have variable speeds - just on and off so it is full power all the time. How useful is it to turn down the suction? Does it help with sanding? My pad does get a little "sticky" when I am sanding but I don't know if this really makes a difference. I just installed 4 of the Oneida Dust Cobra in a couple of woodshops - they are AWESOME!! I bit pricey for my tastes but if my Fein ever bites the dust, that is where I'm going.

[Chris Tsutsui]

The only reason I turn down the festool vac is to make it quieter. Generally the more suction the better. I do find that when I'm sanding I don't need full power to collect the dust though I don't really notice a difference in ability to move the sander around when I turn down the suction.

I just think that the vacuum probably needs to be at the highest speed to work the best at cyclone filtering out dust.

I notice that when I suck up brad nails or debris it can get stuck in the whirlwind spinning around scratching the inner plastic. So if I momentarily put my hand to cover the intake of the vacuum, then all the debris falls down into the bucket. I do this on occasion when I hear the noise coming from the spinning debris in the cyclone.

I'm a fan of Oneida products for I've seen their big model at a show and it nearly took my arm off. The rep told me that they now own the factory that products all their ductwork so they can control the quality on that now directly.