Advice on dust separator for shop vac

[sgtdave]

I have a shop va that Iuse for dust collection and (of course) I have to frequently clean the badly clogged filter. I have been looking at a couple of dust sepatrators that fit betwee nthe power tool and the vacuum to collect dust. Rockler has one that I often see in ads.

I am about satisfied that I should give it a try, but before I invest in one, I thought it best to ask around and see if anyone has experience or can shed light on the utility of a separator. I would like to hear you pros and cons on buying one of these and ... Advice on where to buy.

 

[Sealeveler]

I have a Dust Deputy that works great.I haven't cleaned my filter in over a year and dumped the 6 gallon bucket 4 times.
Tony

 

[Gotcha6]

The Veritas cyclone lid for garbage cans works quite well for this too. Check it out at the Lee Valley site. Just be sure to use a heavy duty garbage can (Rubbermaid Roughneck, etc.).

 

[Steve_Honeycutt]

I am watching this thread with interest because I need the same thing. I have decided to go with Phil Thein's design and make my own for less than $20 plus collection barrel. I'm cheap. For the barrel, I need something that is larger than 5 gallons, but smaller than 55 gallons. I can get the plastic 55 gallon drums from a local car wash for $5, which is what I may have to go with unless I can find something smaller.

Steve H.

 

[Gotcha6]

Many members here have made the Thein separators, and a quick search of the Threads will reveal their documented efforts. I, myself even built a separator from a water heater tank but that's another story. For portable vacuum systems either of these methods works very well. Clear Vue even makes a small version for shop vacs that gets good reviews.

 

[MarkE]

You may find that a larger barrel will not work as well with Thein baffle system.

I set one up using a 15 gallon drum using a Craftsman vacuum with 2-1/4" hose. That worked well, but anything larger may be too much empty space for the vacuum to overcome. I believe there is some discussion about optimum container size on Phil's web site.
http://www.cgallery.com/smf/

I currently have both the Dust Deputy and the Clear-Vue mini and both work great.

I got the Dust Deputy first and it worked very well, but I found it to be very tippy. Also, it was too tall to fit under my bench. It now sees plenty of use in my garage.

The Clear-Vue is not as tall as the DD, so it fits nicely under my bench.

View image in gallery​

I stole Alan in Little Washington's idea and installed some pvc pipe and blast gates on top of the bench. The benchtop machines and the vacuum are plugged into an auto switch that turns on the vacuum when any of the tools is turned on.

View image in gallery​

View image in gallery​

View image in gallery​

View image in gallery​

 

[DWSmith]

I have two Thein separators, one on a 32 gallon metal trash can for the double drum sander and another on a 55 gallon plastic barrel for the jointer. Both work reasonable well, especially for the cost. On the drill press I have a Dust Deputy on a 32 gallon fiber barrel and it works better than either of the Theins. I did try the Super Dust Deputy and found it to be a bust, at least for my use so I sent it back.

 

[Joe Scharle]

My experience with a Thein has been that; a shopvac has enough suction to collapse the larger vessels. See the trash can below. Mine is now on a 20m gal steel drum and hasn't collapsed. My separators get at least 99% and I never noticed any efficiency loss with larger vessels. Call if you want any help.

 

[petebucy4638]

I will second the vote for the Dust Deputy. I have an Oneida dust collector in the shop and I use the Dust Deputy for portable tools outside the shop. It works great and the price is very reasonable.

I have a Dust Deputy that works great.I haven't cleaned my filter in over a year and dumped the 6 gallon bucket 4 times.
Tony

 

[CarvedTones]

I will second the vote for the Dust Deputy. I have an Oneida dust collector in the shop and I use the Dust Deputy for portable tools outside the shop. It works great and the price is very reasonable.

And I will "third" it. I love my little DD. As mentioned earlier, they tend to be tippy. Mine has a dedicated spot and a strp keeps it upright.

 

[wghatcher]

I have a dust deputy that I use with my shop vac and I am happy with that. In addition, I have one of the woodcraft trashcan lid separators that I use with a used delta dust collector and a jointer and planer. I am pretty happy with that unit as well.

 

[batk30msu]

Add one more happy dust deputy customer. I use it with a 14 gallon vac. Since adding the DD, I have not changed or washed the filter and still get the same suction as day one.


I attached it to the feet of the vac to help reduce (notice I do not say prevent) the tipping issue mentioned already.

 

[jobelenus]

DD - again - yes it is a little tippy, but that is easily fixed - used it on my table saw until I invested in single central collection system (which became 2 stage after adding an Oneida cyclone separator) - 39 is not a lot to spend for something that works as advertised!

 

[WoodRose]

I love my DD as well. Built a mobile cart to mount the Vac and DD... it solved my tippy issue.

 

[kooshball]

I have a Dust Deputy that works great.I haven't cleaned my filter in over a year and dumped the 6 gallon bucket 4 times.
Tony

+1 on this from my end.

 

[kooshball]

And to fix the tippy issue, just put the 5-gal bucket inside another bucked that you have put a few bricks into, still easy to move but weighted toward the bottom...i dont think I have ever knocked it over since doing that.

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

More photos in my "Shop Central Vac" album in my gallery. I use this for cases when the DC won't do (small tool port, etc.)