Oneida Dust Deputy test in my shop

[Keith Outten]

I ordered a Dust Deputy (DD) from Oneida Air Systems to use with my ShopVac. Yesterday morning I was able to use the DD for the first time and I have to say it is better than advertised. The quality of the materials is excellent and the performance increase of my ShopVac makes it well worth the cost of the DD.

I vacuumed just about everything you can imagine, Corian sanding dust and chips, metal filings from my band saw, chips from my milling machine, shop dust, wood chips and very fine MDF dust from my ShopBot CNC router. After a couple hours of cleaning I opened my ShopVac canister and it was empty and the filter was perfectly clean. The suction capacity of my ShopVac never diminished and I didn't have to clean the filter which is the reason I added the DD to my shop...I absolutely hate to have to stop to clean the vac filter every twenty minutes which is one nasty job. After another hour of sanding Corian plaques with my ROS the filter in my ShopVac was still clean and the canister was still empty.

Every time I use my CNC router the table has to be vacuumed before I can put the next piece of material on the table to machine. I have been using my Dust Collector to vacuum the table but I have to admit it is awkward to do with such a large hose. The ShopVac is the preferred tool for the job but it has been to much work to keep the filter clean so I gave up and started using a DC hose with a long length of 4" pipe to sweep the table. Using the ShopVac allows me to get under the router bit without having to keep moving the gantry since less clearance is required...life is good :)

I added 12 feet of inlet hose and thirty feet of outlet hose to see what affect it would have...nada. The performance was the same as far as I could tell so I plan to mount my ShopVac on a post and use the long outlet hose from now on and I won't have to drag the dang vac around anymore.

The DD gets my "Best Bang for the Buck Award" which is very rare.

.

[Don Bullock]

Keith, I have to echo your praise of the DD. Other than finding the right size connectors to tome of my tools, I've been very pleased with mine. Over its lifetime it will save me money because I won't be buying as many ShopVac bags. As soon as I get things set up in my new shop I plan to set one up to work with my Festool CT 22.

[Keith Outten]

Don,

I lucked out. I have three of the 1.5" pro hoses, the outlet hose slipped over the fitting nice and snug. The inlet hose required a transition fitting to fit the 2" nozzle which came with the hose when I purchased it some time ago. These hoses have end fittings that screw onto the hose exterior spiral so the fit is really tight.

Now I am trying to decide the best way to attach my vac to a support beam in my shop. The DD would set right below the vac at floor level so it will be easy to empty the cannister. Another idea is to build a cart and mount the vac on top of the DD, this way it would be mobile.

.

[Rick Thom]

I've had my DD for a couple of years and echo your thoughts. Although the price seems steep, it does the job well, even for dry wall dust. I use it with my 20 year old c-man shop vac and I don't think it causes any perceptible drop in suction. Mine is mounted on a 10 gal hd painters pail which collects the dust. It is a bit of a nuisance moving the vac around and pail etc so I really should mount the DD w pail onto my shop vac or make a small cart and plumb the DD to the vac... one day.
Keith, guess I'm a slow typist on Sunday am...LOL Yes, to the cart idea, and plumb the vac to dd.

[Tom Hamilton]

Keith, I've mounted the shop vac and the Dust Deputy on a movers dolly. The 18" X 30" size. The DD sits on the front with the vac behind. A couple of bungees on the 5 gal bucket hold it to the cart. The movers dollies are about $20 at the Depot, Harbor Freight, etc. You can't hardly buy four casters and make one for that price.

It follows me around the shop like a faithful dog!

Enjoy, Tom

[Jim Eller]

Me too! Love it, especially with sanders.

Jim

[Dan Bertenthal]

I've also been very happy with mine as well.

Kudos to Jamie, who runs Oneida's manufacturer forum here, for his customer service a year or so ago. He spent a considerable amount of time discussing my planned setup and helping me avoid some pitfalls. When a company spends that much time on a relatively small-ticket item, it's clear they're thinking about building relationships with customers for the long term. If I ever gain enough shop space for a real cyclone, they're who I'm going to.

d

[Keith Outten]

I have been considering a cart but the vertical style would suit me best since right now floor space is near non-existent in my shop. This is why my first idea was to mount the vac on a support post but it would consume the same amount of floor space if I make a vertical cart so that may be the best solution.

My ShopVac is the 14 gallon 6.5 HP Stanless Steel model, now I wish the ShopVac can was smaller since the size of the vac doesn't matter anymore. I ordered the DD with the ten gallon canister so the two pieces will end up being pretty tall mounted vertically.

I have another project that I am working on right now that involves moving my dust collector outside, mounting it on the end of the 3000 gallon steel tank I acquired over the last Christmas season. I don't use bags or filters on my DC, I use a 400 gallon plywood chip box which needs to be replaced now. I have decided to use the steel tank as a replacement vessel, surely it will outlast me and will be my last chip box. So I have been going through my scrap steel getting angle iron for the frame, now I need to be looking for something suitable for the DD cart if I decide to use a metal rack instead of wood.

If I keep this up I won't be able to get any sign work done, I built a small down-draft table last week for sanding sign plaques :)

Dan, I have to agree with you about Oneida and Jamie in particular, very nice people. Now I understand why everyone who owns their cyclones are so pleased with their products...I wish I could use one but I need lots of chip space :)

.

[Rick Thom]

There's more than one way to skin a cat, so to speak. Here's a pic of an acquaintance's shop showing his wall-mounted vac and DD. It's hard plumbed using clear plastic lines to gates located near the pertinent equipment. He's not only an excellent craftsman but very innovative also.

[Darren Vass]

I just received my new DD and I am not sure whether to be disappointed. It did not come with any hose. I should have read more closely. The hose from my Home Depot 16 Gallon Vac is a 2 1/4" OD and does fit into the coupling of the DD, but the fit is not tight in that it turns in the coupling rather easily. Should I be satisfied with this fit or shim it with duct tape or something? I'm not sure what size hose to buy to fit into the DD that will attach to the power tools. Can anyone help or give advice?

Thanks,

Darren

[michael flay]

I just received my new DD and I am not sure whether to be disappointed. It did not come with any hose. I should have read more closely. The hose from my Home Depot 16 Gallon Vac is a 2 1/4" OD and does fit into the coupling of the DD, but the fit is not tight in that it turns in the coupling rather easily. Should I be satisfied with this fit or shim it with duct tape or something? I'm not sure what size hose to buy to fit into the DD that will attach to the power tools. Can anyone help or give advice?

Thanks,

Darren

Check Oneida's website, when I ordered mine I ordered the hoses from them.

[Don Bullock]

Here's the link: http://store.oneida-air.com/dustdeputyaccessories.aspx

[Darren Vass]

Thanks for the link.

The 2 inch hose from Oneida cost another $50 plus shipping, bringing the cost of the dust deputy up to $250.

Why did they not make the dust ports compatible with the majority of shop vacs standard hose sizes. Instead, they make the customer go through all this extra hassle just to use the tool. Here I have a $200 piece of equipment that sits unusable, unless I fork out another $50.

[Don Bullock]

It may cost even more if you need attachments to use with some of your tools. :(

Oneida isn't alone in this problem. I had a very hard time getting my tools to attach to my ShopVac hose too. There is no "standard size." Now that I have the DD the ShopVac attachments I bought are now just collecting dust.:mad:

[Darren Vass]

What about the Clearvue product? It seems that for the same price $200 you are ready to go?

Can the DD be returned for a refund?

[Don Bullock]

I considered both the Clearvue Mini CV06 and the Oneida DD. I went with the DD because I got the drum with the cyclone in one package on a special sale. I also wasn't sure how well the MDF base would seal on a drum compared the thd DD. Besides the Clearvue still doesn't come with a hose or attachments to fit my machines. Yes, I know that there are many out there who Clearvue Mini works well. At the time I bought my DD, it was cheaper and more complete.

[Darren Vass]

Which DD do you have Don? Is it the 2 or the 1.5 inch sized ports? I've found that with a slight shim, a 2 inch PVC pipe will fit the ports. So I'm thinking of making a short PVC connection between my HD 16 gal vac and the DD. I only have to make the Vac end larger somehow to fit into its opening. And the the Vac has to sit on some sort of stool to elevate it, so the pipe can come straight down into the DD's top.

[Don Bullock]

Darren I have the Original Dust Deputy with the 1.5" inlet. At the time I bought mine Oneida had them with the drum for $99 including shipping. I bought an adaptor for my ShopVac hose so that connection fits perfectly and for the inlet I bought a hose from Oneida. The only place in the system where adaptors don't always seem to be available is between the Oneida hose and a machine. Buying some Festool sanders and a CT 22 solved a lot of that problem. My DD and ShopVac are working out great for the tools I use them on. Eventually I am planning on attaching a DD to the top of my Festool CT 22. Somewhere in my "Idea Notebooks" I have a picture of a setup like what I'm thinking of doing. I'm not sure if I'll buy another DD or use the one I have now. Since I'm still not moved into my new shop it will take a while for me to decide what I want to do for cleanup and DC.

[Rick Moyer]

Now that I have the DD the ShopVac attachments I bought are now just collecting dust.:mad:


Isn't that what they were supposed to do?:D

[Don Bullock]

Isn't that what they were supposed to do?:D

Not while just sitting around on a shelf.;):D

[Phil Thien]

Now that I have the DD the ShopVac attachments I bought are now just collecting dust.:mad:

May I offer a suggestion?

I have discovered that many of my shop vac type hoses have an I.D. of 2" to 2-1/8" (talking about the actual hose part, not the cuffs).

If you have an old shop vac hose, I'd suggest cutting off the cuff on one end, and use a hose clamp to attach this bare end to the inlet on the DD. To make it hold like there is no tomorrow, a single or double-wrap of carpet tape on the DD inlet before installing the hose will do the trick (remember to wipe any dust from the inside of the hose end if you use the tape).

On the other end of the hose, use a shop vac coupler (available at many hardware stores for a couple of bucks) so you can connect other hoses. What you've essentially done is made a flexible adapter that should allow you to quickly connect/disconnect standard shop vac hoses to your DD.

You could shorten this adapter hose to 6" or 1', and make it very convenient to attach/switch different hoses without having too much hose on the floor.

But don't get discouraged. I'm sure you'll really like that DD once you get a chance to put it in service!

[Don Bullock]

Phil, I must not have made my post clear. The attachments that are now sitting on a shelf in my shop are there because I'm now using the DD. I have no need for them any more. I do use my DD and really like it.

[Phil Thien]

Phil, I must not have made my post clear. The attachments that are now sitting on a shelf in my shop are there because I'm now using the DD. I have no need for them any more. I do use my DD and really like it.

Woops. I guess my message was actually intended for Darren Vass.

He mentioned he was having some difficulty connecting standard hoses and my intention was to provide a solution.

[Bart Sharp]

How flexible are the hoses? My biggest beef with my Craftsman shopvac is that the hose is so darned stiff that it's almost impossible to maneuver. If this would solve that problem and give me better dust collection I'd be very happy.

[Darren Vass]

Thanks for the suggestion. That makes lots of sense.

Darren

[Don Bullock]

Bart, the Oneida hoses for the DD are very flexible.

[Adam Slutsky]

Last year I got one of these and thought the price was a bit steep. I also bought the hose and adaptors from Oneida. The product is excellent and I don't regret spending the $ on a great product.