Good vacuum set ups & solutions?

[ian maybury]

Inspired by Roger's thread. I have a Bosch GAS 25 shop vacuum which has a fairly decent filter, but not HEPA as I recall. Filters and to a lesser degree bags cost an arm and a leg over here (heading for $150 for 5 bags and a filter Ireland/UK), and are not locally available either.

I've considered mini cyclones of one sort or another, but am wary of the possible bulk, height and instability. (my shop is tight - small passages between machines) What has the experience been?

I'm a little amazed that some maker hasn't hopped on the aftermarket replacement business and come up with low cost options, but if they have it's not been here. There's an expensive supposedly long life zip bag alternative at around $15 a pop, but i've head nothing about it.

Has anybody seen anything?

Other solutions?

[Jim Dwight]

I use a Rigid shop vacuum with a HEPA filter I added pulling through a Oneida Dust Deputy mounted on a 4.5 gallon drywall bucket. The cyclone is plumbed to the shop vac with 2 inch PVC pipe with the joints just slipped together. To empty the bucket I just slip a couple joints apart, remove the lid with the cyclone attached, and dump the bucket. Cost $0. I've cleaned the filter but not since I put the cyclone on. Both the vacuum and cyclone are on a little cart based upon a Woodsmith design. I also added an after market auto switch to start the vacuum when I start the connected tool. I use a Bosch 5M hose and the original 2.5 inch hose that came with the shop vacuum depending on the tool. I further have floor sweeps for both hoses to clean up what the vacuum doesn't get. I am very pleased with this setup. I pay for neither bags nor filters.

[ian maybury]

Thanks for that Jim, much appreciated.

It sounds like that's about the option - either that or keep on paying for OEM consumables.

[J.R. Rutter]

Second on the Dust Deputy. I have one on my Fein vac which is dedicated to RO sanders. It is amazing how much fine dust ends up in the bucket.

[Jim Dwight]

I've used mine on drywall dust. I think it's at least as fine as really fine wood dust. None that I could see went to the vacuum. I haven't dumped anything out of the shop vacuum. It stays clean. I suspect I will eventually have to wash the filter but it is not getting dirty very fast at all. I've read posts that indicate the Super Dust Deputy doesn't do as well on the DCs but the DD works really well on shop vacuums.

[James Gunning]

Add me to the happy customers using a Dust Deputy with shop vacs. I've used it with a little Genie vac I have, as well as my Fein. Have never used bags and haven't cleaned the filters for two years or so. As to the SDD, my installation works quite well. It may not catch as much of the fines as some other cyclones, but I've been more than happy with it's performance. In a little over a year of light use, I've only blown the filter out two or three times. Once just to see what was in it. Just enough fines to cover the bottom of my clean-out bucket.

[Scott DelPorte]

Another Dust Deputy fan

[ken masoumi]

+1 to Ridgid shop vac /Dust deputy, I have also added a( Ridgid) muffler on the exhaust side of the vac to defuse the air coming out of the back ,the whole vac/DD set up takes up a small floor space but it is definitely needed in my shop,I have passed a couple of deals to buy a(small,1-2 HP) dust collector because what I have (similar set up to the picture below) is a very efficient system the way it is.


https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/f9/7b/9a/f97b9a03e68509afe8537c9dde0951f0.jpg