Super Dust Deputy

[Rick Potter]

Anybody use a Super Dust Deputy? I searched, but only found threads that were several years old, when they first came out.

I have a one HP Jet blower (like the wall mounted one Rockler sells). I would like to mount it directly on top of the SDD, and vent it outside. Wondering if anyone has used a 1HP blower on one of these. This would be semi-portable.

Thanks,
Rick Potter

[Troy Turner]

I'm gonna watch this one. I was just looking at those today too (great minds think alike). I have the plastic one for the shop-vac and it works great. If this does the same, I'm a buyer. I just picked up a Jet 1 1/2 hp on CL and want to make sure I have good separartion before I buy a filter for it.

[Joe Leigh]

There are several threads/reviews of this product on the Lumberjocks website.

[tim vadas]

I've had one for over a year. I've got a 50-850 delta, 1.5 HP, that has a 6" outlet i hook into the top of the super dust deputy. And i put a wynn filter on the dust collector, with bags on the bottom. Then i've got 5" duct around my shop (1 car garage) for permanently positioned tools. The super dust deputy has worked excellent, and still plenty of vacuum to collect from all my machines. I've had maybe 1" of dust accumulate in the bag of the dust collector, and i barely notice any dust settling on my tools over time. I was a little skeptical before i bought it that it would work so well, but it has far exceeded my expectations. It does add some static pressure loss, but if you're thinking of making it portable, or short runs of duct to each machine, it should work well.

[Mark Carlson]

I got mine when it first came out and it came with a 35 gal steel barrel. Its hooked to a 1 1/2 hp delta 50-760. It works well, in that it keeps chips from clogging my wynn filter. Having the barrel makes it easy to empty versus the bags. You do lose some suction, but the performance is constant, ie no loss of performance as your filter gets clogged.

[Troy Turner]

Rick -

I found a few posters at lumberjocks, but not much. Everyone seems to be happy with theirs. Alot of folks suggest a Thien separator, but that's a whole nother ball game. Also, looking at Woodcraft, their shipping is cheaper than Oneida, although they don't give you the option of having a reducer crimped. I've got my Wynn ordered so next pay day, I'm ordering the SDD. First one to get theirs installed has to post back :D

[Mark Welte]

I have one that is hooked up to a HF dust collector. I am happy with it. It is mounted on a fiber drum so it can hold a bunch of material. I opted for the crimped connections from Oneida and they are well built. Saved me having to hassle with it. I would do it again. My next step will be either a second HF collector hooked to it or just bite the bullet and purchase a bigger Grizzly. If you can ship to a commercial address that will save you on the shipping. You could also call and ask to see if they have any discounts. Never know unless you ask and you might get lucky.

Mark

[Rick Potter]

Thanks guys,

All I need to do now is make up my mind if this would work for me.

Rick Potter

[Smith, David W.]

The smaller Dust Deputy works better. The Super Dust Deputy has the inlet spot welded in one or two places and then the void is filled with caulk. Same with all the metal to metal joints. I returned the one I tried.

[Steve Wurster]

The smaller Dust Deputy has a 2.5" port and is made for shop vacs and the like. The Super Dust Deputy has 5" & 6" ports and is made for full-on dust collectors.

I have the steel version of the regular Dust Deputy and it works great attached to my shop vac. I have a trash can separator (not Thien baffle) on my 1.5 HP Delta DC and it works okay but not great. I've resorted to using the baffle only when jointing or planing; TS, BS, and Router table work goes directly into the DC.

I've been thinking about getting the Super Dust Deputy rather than building a Thien baffle.

[Dave Novak]

This SDD really has me intrigued. I'm using a Jet 1100 RC (I think, anyway). It has the canister filter and a remote. It's barely adequate for my big Minimax combo, so I'm a little concerned about any loss in ability due to the SDD. However, the Jet has a 6" port with a double 4" wye on it and I'm using 4" hose. Do you think I'll make up for any loss due to the addition of the SDD by using 6" hose from the Jet to the SDD and 5" to the machines? I'm not necessarily asking for engineering studies here, just a confirmation that changing to bigger hose is or isn't likely to offset any SDD loss.

I also see that Oneida offers a 17 gallon drum for $89. Seems kind of small to me, and I'd prefer something I can see through so I know when it's filling up. Does increasing the size of the drum also degrade collection performance? Seems logical that it would. Thanks.

[Mark Welte]

Do you think I'll make up for any loss due to the addition of the SDD by using 6" hose from the Jet to the SDD and 5" to the machines? I'm not necessarily asking for engineering studies here, just a confirmation that changing to bigger hose is or isn't likely to offset any SDD loss.



I think you will see a benefit if you can make the connection between the DC and the SDD with a smooth walled pipe out of PVC or metal. I see a some loss due to my transition and the losses in the flex tubing. I see much lest dust making it to the DC now the the SDD is sitting in front of it.

My goal is to change my setup to 5" runs to the drops and a smooth transition between the SDD and the DC. That should help out the DC efficiency.

Mark

[Mark Carlson]

Dave,

I removed the double 4" wye on my Delta, and use a 5-6in reducer to the SDD. From the SDD I use 5in hose to my machines. The hose is only 8 ft long and can reach all my machines. Everything I've read says going from 4in to 5in will offer better performance. I also increased my 4in ports to 5in where possible. I agreee that a 17 gal drum is two small, I use a 35 gal drum and sometimes wish it was 55. The drum size should not affect your perfomance (I think). The SDD does cause a loss, but its better than not having it and having a clogged wynn filter which greatly affects performance. I drilled a 2 1/4 inch hole in the top lid of my drum and installed a clear sight from mcmaster.com. You could also just use plexiglass. Now I can see in and tell how filled the drum is. The other indicator of a filled drum is when you start seeing chips in your clear plastic botton bag.

~mark


This SDD really has me intrigued. I'm using a Jet 1100 RC (I think, anyway). It has the canister filter and a remote. It's barely adequate for my big Minimax combo, so I'm a little concerned about any loss in ability due to the SDD. However, the Jet has a 6" port with a double 4" wye on it and I'm using 4" hose. Do you think I'll make up for any loss due to the addition of the SDD by using 6" hose from the Jet to the SDD and 5" to the machines? I'm not necessarily asking for engineering studies here, just a confirmation that changing to bigger hose is or isn't likely to offset any SDD loss.

I also see that Oneida offers a 17 gallon drum for $89. Seems kind of small to me, and I'd prefer something I can see through so I know when it's filling up. Does increasing the size of the drum also degrade collection performance? Seems logical that it would. Thanks.

[Dave Novak]

Thanks guys. I would have assumed that the size of the drum would make a difference, for much the same reason the SDD makes a difference.

[Paul Williams 53072]

I know this thread is about a year old, but I am in the process of embarking on a similar pursuit. I am in the process of converting my 1-1/2Hp Steel City dust collector into a 2 stage system using a Super Dust Deputy and an improved canister filter.

My initial thoughts have been to dis-assemble the unit and fab a wall bracket mount out of box tubing to mount the blower and motor directly over the cyclone. I plan on running a 6" PVC trunk line to my table saw, having a nearby floor sweep, a dedicated shared plug in for my portable 6" jointer or my lunch box planer. I am also planning on continuing the 6" trunk to a home built hood on my SCMS and leaving spot for my router which is a fixed unit. The whole run measures 24-26 feet in length and will have 4-inch flex connections at the machines only and will be gated to allow only one tool collection at a time. I have a sketch from cad showing the cyclone set up I intend on assembling.

So, how has your Super Dust Deputy set-ups worked now at the one year mark? Let me know what you think of your systems and my proposed one?

Paul

[Rick Potter]

I started the thread Paul, and still haven't made up my mind. I am trying to sell off some unused machines and get the shop arranged better for my current use. I am thinking of the SDD as an extra small system for several router tables, and other smaller stuff. I have a 3 HP Oneida system, but it does not go to the rear (former storage area) of my shop. I already have the 1 HP Jet motor, which should work out for the smaller stuff.

One of these days......

Rick Potter

[glenn bradley]

My concern is that your 1HP blower will take such a hit on flow with the cyclone in the path that you may end up disappointed. The good news is that you can always up the blower later on. I can only say that I have never read a review or thread where someone had something bad to say about the SDD itself. Any complaints were about lack of pick up but, that is blower controlled and not caused by the SDD itself.

[Paul Williams 53072]

I will be using a 1-1/2 HP 3450 RPM motor that came standard with the Steel City unit. When I purchased it, that system was rated at 1200 CFM. I am sure I will take a hit on CFM, but how much is up for debate...I just don't want to spend$$$ and end up thinking I wasted my money upgrading a unit rather than just replacing it.

Paul

[Jim Neeley]

I will be using a 1-1/2 HP 3450 RPM motor that came standard with the Steel City unit. When I purchased it, that system was rated at 1200 CFM. I am sure I will take a hit on CFM, but how much is up for debate...I just don't want to spend$$$ and end up thinking I wasted my money upgrading a unit rather than just replacing it.

Paul

Paul,

If you are using the SC blower setup I would recommend locating their fan curve for that unit. Then I'd recommend using a pressure-drop tool such as Bill Pentz's free spreadsheet to calculate what your actual flow and pressure drop are using your shop layout and the fna curve.

Without going into the politically charged world of fan curve accuracy, it should give you ballpark information on whether the air flow reduction will be 10%, 25%, 50% or more. Quite frankly I was surprised at the level of pressure drop my system would experience. Fortunately my fan curve was flat enough that the air flow wasn't drastically hit. I did look at the fan curves on some other "similar" DC's where the impact of the pressure drop would have been much more painful.

Just my $0.02.. YMMV.

Jim

[Troy Turner]

Paul - Wish I could give you an update. Still haven't pulled the trigger :( Probably should though as I'm on my third bag for the d/c. I think your setup look good. I know folks say to make sure you can get the to dust bucket with out having to remove the SDD and everything else.

[Phil Thien]

The one thing I see over and over with any sort of cyclone add-on is tons of flexible hose. I often see 5-10' of flexible hose from the cyclone inlet to the shop's ductwork, and another 5-10' from the cyclone to the blower!!!

These systems will be somewhat limited by the smaller blower to begin with, you don't want to completely hog-tie the system!

When watching dust travelling through a clear pipe, you will notice that the slower moving air is hugging the wall and moving in a spiral pattern. You can see the larger debris swirling through the pipe. That doesn't work on flexible hose with ribs. That is why it puts such a huge hit on your CFM.

If you're clever, you can design an install with minimum hose even if your cyclone is designed to be attached directly to the lid of your drum. For example, you could make a sturdy plywood bracket that mounts to the wall, and to which the cyclone attaches. Underneath the bracket, attach a hose that connects to your drum. And now that your cyclone is stationary, you can hard-plumb the blower directly above the unit (mount it right to the wall).

Whatever you do, don't mount the thing to the lid of your drum, add 10-20' of hose, and then proclaim "wow, that thing really puts a hit on CFM."

Edit to add: I was in a guy's basement shop where he was using one of those eBay cyclones with a ton of hose. I told him to mount it to a plywood bracket in the corner, and run 4" PVC down the length of his shop, and add gates. Then position his tools along that 4" line. When I returned I'd swear it increased his CFM 20% or better (I did no measurements but the difference was night/day). He was thrilled with the performance, but previously had been underwhelmed.

Just do a nice job!

[Derek Stockley]

My initial thoughts have been to dis-assemble the unit and fab a wall bracket mount out of box tubing to mount the blower and motor directly over the cyclone.

Paul - I did precisely what you're planning to do about a month ago, wall bracket and all. Box tubing might be overkill - 2x4s and angle iron were entirely adequate for me. So far I am not particularly impressed.

I'm not sure if the forum rules allow me to post a live link, but I wrote a blog entry about it here: www. makingsplinters.com/2014/01/upgrading-a-delta-50-760-dust-collector-with-an-oneida-super-dust-deputy/

I wrote that up as my initial impressions, before I had much opportunity for live testing, but it finally warmed up enough for me to get out there this weekend.

I found that my longest run (to my lathe) lost enough suction that I'm a little concerned about whether it'll be able to keep up with the dust I create when sanding larger pieces. I'm running on 4" PVC, and that run is about 20 feet, so it's definitely pushing the limit of reasonable. It's entirely possible that upgrading my pipes and hoses to 5" would restore enough suction to alleviate that concern, but part of my goal in getting this thing was to avoid having to redo my entire dust collection network. If I'm going to upgrade my pipes, I'm going to do it once and I'm going to go to 6" to be compatible with a full sized cyclone.

Unfortunately the input on the metal SDD that I got is 5", so 6" pipes would be constricted at the inlet, negating their benefit and possibly leading to clogs because the reduction in air velocity might not keep the chips and dust from settling in the pipes. With 4" inputs at the machines, even if the whole rest of the system was 6", you can get that same problem, hence my reluctance to start upgrading pipes right now - it's a much bigger project because it also means needing better collection hoods for everything. Only my band saw, which has 2 4" ports, could immediately benefit from 5" or 6" ducts.

So I have the SDD as a stop-gap, but it's definitely not going to be my final solution. I am hoping it will prevent me from having to clean my cartridge filter as often and wall mounting it DID give me back some floor space (which is a huge benefit to me, as the jury is still out on the filter cleaning). But there's just not enough suction in my current setup to be adequate at collecting fine dust particularly at the longest runs.

If you're going to go to the trouble of putting in 6" ducts anyway, I'd suggest you save up a bit more money, sell your existing collector and use the money to get a real cyclone. The only reason I didn't follow this advice myself is that I just don't have room for it, and I am considering moving, which would put me in the position of having to redo my pipes anyway.

[Paul Williams 53072]

Derek

I am trying to use the existing equip at 110v. It seems these gap measures leave little choice on the piping end. The 5 inch inlet is crazy it has a six inch port that goes to the blower motor but the outlet is 5 inch which is odd in my estimation.