CLearVue Mini or Dust Deputy?

[Victor Stearns]

Greetings to the Creek!
I want to further increase my abiltiy to collect as much dust as possible. With this in mind, I want to add a mini-cyclone to the existing shop vac for sanding and such. I have looked at both the ClearVue Mini and also the Dust Deputy. With cost relatively close to each other, which will be better? Has anyone used one or both?
Thanks for looking.
Victor

[Phil Thien]

Make your own!

http://www.cgallery.com/jpthien/cy.htm

Works great, costs less, and is more compact.

[Jerry Booher]

I received a Dust Deputy and was surprised that the inlet was a non-standard small size. Nothing fits it and certainly not a 2.5" shop vac hose.

[Paul Williams]

I have been using a clear vue mini for about a year now. Works great. doesn't stop everything form getting to the shop vac, but sure cuts down on the frequency of filter cleaning. Works perfect on my lunchbox planer.

[Peter Quadarella]

If it wasn't for the weird size of the dust deputy inlet I would say go for that and save yourself the trouble of finding and attaching a bucket/barrel. I bought the Clearvue for that reason and it works great, just took a little bit to cut a bit off the top of a bucket, put the cyclone on it and silicone the gaps.

[Jim Becker]

With the proper filters on a shop vac, I'm honestly not sure what the real advantage will be for you relative to sanding...at least based on the necessary investment for either mini-cyclone. And I say that with utmost respect for both companies and their products. Granted, my view is skewed a little as I use a Festool CT-22 which bags the dust for easy disposal. (But I do use a large Oneida cyclone for my shop machine dust collection)

[Bartee Lamar]

I got a really good deal on a dust deputy about a year ago.

It does have an odd size intake ( 1 1/2" ). I found an adapter ( I think at HD )

Here are pictures of my setup. The adapter makes standard 2 1/4" inlet size work.

84092

This is a 2 1/2" DC hose from my router table. The adapter is for 2 1/2" hose. the actual size of the inlet is 2 1/2" which is standard for the rigid shop vacs. 84093


Here are all the pictures in a Web Album (http://picasaweb.google.com/bartee/OniedaDustDeputy)

[Alan Trout]

Jim I too have a CT22 that works great but bags are pretty pricey. That is the reason I have a Mini Clearvue. I still use my CT22 as a shop vac and don't want to waste bags with general shop waste. The mini cyclone works great and does save the bags. One of these days I will post some pics how I set up my sanding station with my mini cyclone.

I chose the Clearvue for no other reason than the inlet/outlet sizes on the Dust Deputy. I don't like having to use a bunch of adapters. Probably either will do the job well. I did build a heavy duty collection box for mine rather than a bucket or drum. It being heavy means that it is harder to tip over.

Good Luck

Alan

[Jim Becker]

Alan, yes, the CT22 bags are not inexpensive. Of course, in the two years I've had mine, I'm only on the second bag... :D

[Robert Payne]

I have the ClearVue CV06 Mini mounted on a 5-gallon drywall compound bucket with four 1/4-20 x 1-1/2" bolts and some foam weatherstripping -- took me 20 minutes to fabricate. Catches 98% of sawdust to my 16-gal ShopVac and the hoses fit securely without modifications. I use a good filter, but this has saved using drywall bags, too. It works great and I got it for less than current list price in a package deal with my CV1800.

[Wade Lippman]

I have the ClearVue CV06 Mini mounted on a 5-gallon drywall compound bucket with four 1/4-20 x 1-1/2" bolts and some foam weatherstripping -- took me 20 minutes to fabricate. Catches 98% of sawdust to my 16-gal ShopVac and the hoses fit securely without modifications. I use a good filter, but this has saved using drywall bags, too. It works great and I got it for less than current list price in a package deal with my CV1800.

If that 98% figure is accurate, then the Dust Deputy beats it. My DD catches well over 99%. Obviously I haven't measured it, but since darn near nothing gets through...

Yeah, the hose fitting is odd... (anyone from Oneida reading this stuff?)

[jason lambert]

This will not help your suction at all the only thing it will do is give you a added collection bin most people use theis because they fill there shop vacs to fast with a joiner or similar machine. The only time it would help your suction is if your vac is getting clogged this will reduce the time it takes your filters to get colgged.

[Greg Funk]

Jim I too have a CT22 that works great but bags are pretty pricey.
I reuse my bags. I turn on my dust collector and shake the contents of the CT22 bag into a 4" flexible hose. I don't get any dust and it only takes a minute. I expect I can reuse a bag 2 or 3 times without any problems.

Greg

[Roy Hess]

Victor
Here is the setup for my Dust Deputy. I certainly have no regrets buying and installing this unit. It works really well for the drill press, small hand tools, and shop cleaning. While the deputy works great on the bigger stuff, the central vac that you see in the picture never needs to be emptied - really fine dust does get through. I plan this year to put a hepa filter on the exhaust.
The inlet is an odd size, I took the deputy and a piece of central vac pipe into the HD plumbing dept and eventually found something that would work as an adapter. Took a heat gun to the new adapter back in the shop, slide it onto the deputy - worked slick.

[Peter Quadarella]

Don't worry about the %ages. If it wasn't for my wife unplugging the Clearvue and taking my vac to go clean stuff, I don't think I would ever clean/change the filter. I can use that thing for months and look in the vac and there's a tiny bit of dust at the bottom.

If I had a Festool Shopvac, I might have not bought the Clearvue, but I don't.

[Dan Bertenthal]

I've had the dust deputy since the summer and am quite pleased.

Oneida's customer service was outstanding. Their staff person Jamie spent a good deal of time with me over email to make sure that I ordered the correct hoses and fittings and offered really good advice on building the enclosure. It's quite an impressive degree of service for a $120 order. If I ever get a larger shop and purchase a larger cyclone, I'll definitely go back to them.

[Don Bullock]

I went with the Dust Deputy with the Oneida metal can below mainly because it came ready to use.:D I bought it when they were having it on a special deal with free shipping. At the time that made it quite a bit cheaper than the ClearVue. Little did I know at the time that I'd need to buy their hose (extra cost plus shipping). After the hose came I was in business. It works great -- as in no sanding dust in my ShopVac. The only thing that I don't like when compared to the ClearVue is I don't get the see the sawdust as it spin down the cone.:(;)

[Tom Esh]

Greetings to the Creek!
I want to further increase my abiltiy to collect as much dust as possible. With this in mind, I want to add a mini-cyclone to the existing shop vac for sanding and such. I have looked at both the ClearVue Mini and also the Dust Deputy. With cost relatively close to each other, which will be better? Has anyone used one or both?
Thanks for looking.
Victor

I'm very happy with the ClearVue on a shop vac. For me the acid test was how well it did on that choking fine MDF dust which normally would clog the bag or filter almost immediately. I've probably emptied the 5 gal bucket on the cyclone a couple dozen times and I can barely discern any discoloration on the filter. The only bag I've replaced is due to the bucket lid failure. Those plastic lids are definitely not strong enough to withstand the suction of a 13a vac for long. :)

[Alan Trout]

Jim, Like I said I also use my CT22 as a shop clean up vac so what ever is on the floor gets sucked up. My first bag was full in a couple of weeks. Went to buy bags and that is when I decided that a mini cyclone might not be a bad idea. I have been using it for a while now with almost nothing getting into the bag. The cyclone is even really good separating the finest sanding dust. I have no regrets buying the unit and would do it again in a heart beat.

I might try cleaning out my bags. However with the cyclone it looks like I will get a year or more to each bag.

Good Luck

Alan

[Bill Huber]

I have the ClearVue on a 5 gallon bucket and a shop vac. It works very well and I use it for my sanders and also the table saw and router table.

One of the reasons I went with the ClearVue is it is clear, you can see when the bucket is full of if I am feeding it to much at one time.

I did do something that I am not sure will be the best thing in the long run but I took the filter off the shop vac, wrapped it with screen wire and then exhaust it out the back of the shop.

[Kevin L. Pauba]

Make your own!

http://www.cgallery.com/jpthien/cy.htm

Works great, costs less, and is more compact.

I built Phil's separator and must agree; it works great, cost me about $25 and has a lower profile. I use mine with a 20 gallon metal trash can so have plenty of room for dust and chips.

Oh, and his circle cutting jig for the router table is great too.

[Bruce Pennell]

I use the cheap mini lid from Woodcraft on my CT-22, $20 if I remember right. It took 3 connector pieces and a piece of 2 1/2 inch flex hose, and a free 5 gal. bucket (about $50 total). Really saves on the bags. I had some dowel 3/4 inch laying around so I built a cage around it to hang my hose and cord.

[Wade Lippman]

I use the cheap mini lid from Woodcraft on my CT-22, $20 if I remember right. It took 3 connector pieces and a piece of 2 1/2 inch flex hose, and a free 5 gal. bucket (about $50 total). Really saves on the bags. I had some dowel 3/4 inch laying around so I built a cage around it to hang my hose and cord.

I had a mini lid. It caught almost all of the chips, but none of the fines. Since it was the fines that clogged the filter (might or might not be a problem with the CT22) it just wasn't very useful.

The dust deputy catches the fines as well. Much, much better. Okay, also much more expensive; but worth it.

[Bruce Pennell]

I've had great success with my set up.I have emptied the bucket 6 or 7 times, seems to be doing it job. Might change my mind...but so far so good. Suction has not changed at all. Have used it with my TS55, OF1400EQ Router, 150 Rotex sander, Domino, and even a HF bench top belt/disc sander. Everything I used my CT-22 with has great dust collection. Just my experience. Whats the saying "If it ain't broke don't fix it!" Thanks for the info I'll keep a eye on it. Bruce

[Mark Carlson]

I use the clearvue cv06 with a ct22. Works great. I would say its about 99.99% effective in collecting the dust because I dont see anything in the Festool bag or filter I dont use it with a planer though, just hand tools like routers, sanders, domino, circular saw and overhead dust collection (shark guard) on the table saw.

~mark

[Matt Meiser]

I'd say the need with a vac like the CT22 would be dependent on the tools you use it with. If you mostly sand, the bags will last practically forever in a hobby shop. I'm still on my first bag. But I expect that using it for more general shop cleanup since I just gave my dad my Ridgid for him to use and now that I have the saw and Domino I'll fill bags up more frequently. I'll probably keep it simple and go with something like Phil's design. And I'll probably figure out a way to make up a base plate that will latch on top of the vac like a systainer.

Phil, have you or anyone else tried to build your design for a shop vac using a 5 gallon bucket?

[Bruce Pennell]

Matt mine was mounted on a piece of Birch ply, but with the cage I built it was easier to have it loose. No tip overs and I do drag it around the shop, with the cage I don't even have to bend over to drag it. On top of the CT 22 you can see pre-drilled holes for the hose garage I assume. I used one hole and made a clip that slides on and off, then used the two systainer clips to hold everything in place. Very easy to remove if you need to take it to a job site.

[Bruce Pennell]

Matt I forgot to tell you on the ply you have to cut two slots for your clips to fit into. Look at your clip and you will understand, they have a kind of T shape to them.

[Mark Carlson]

I just bungy corded my barrel to the handle. Its very mobile.

[Bruce Pennell]

Yep I added a bungy cord also after the pictures where taken works great.

[Sean Nagle]

Victor
Here is the setup for my Dust Deputy. I certainly have no regrets buying and installing this unit. It works really well for the drill press, small hand tools, and shop cleaning. While the deputy works great on the bigger stuff, the central vac that you see in the picture never needs to be emptied - really fine dust does get through. I plan this year to put a hepa filter on the exhaust.
The inlet is an odd size, I took the deputy and a piece of central vac pipe into the HD plumbing dept and eventually found something that would work as an adapter. Took a heat gun to the new adapter back in the shop, slide it onto the deputy - worked slick.

Roy, what size Dust Deputy do you have? What size pipe did you use for your ducting? I have a 1-1/2" model and wanted to run ducts to three locations in my shop.

[John Gornall]

Try the new Oneida Dust Deputy made of plastic, tapered inlet and outlet to fit any size hose, at 59.00