I've been deputized

Rennie Heuer

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Thanks to Jim Delaney for demonstrating his dust deputy set up - I was sold. Picked it up yesterday and soon found that the small drum was very unstable. That's when I remembered that Jim had made a platform for his - now I know why.:thumb: So, a few scraps and a bungee cord later and I hope to be cleaning out filters a lot less in the future.
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That's a nice looking setup there Rennie. Be sure to let us know what you think of it in a couple of months. What type filter do you use with the shop vac in this arrangement?
 
That's a nice looking setup there Rennie. Be sure to let us know what you think of it in a couple of months. What type filter do you use with the shop vac in this arrangement?
It has a HEPA filter I bought for it some time ago. I'll be giving it a good cleaning and empty the drum tomorrow. Then I'll be able to monitor performance.:thumb:
 
I've had mine for a few months and yes the drum falls over every time you look at it. I need to knock up a cart or something for it but I've been too busy doing other things.

Apart from the top heavy-ness it does a really good job. I've had 5 buckets full of dust and debris and very little in the vac.
 
OK Rennie, I'm sold. I've been looking at various improvements to my shop vac setup, and I think I'll follow Jim's and your lead. I've decided I want something better than the cheapie Harbor Freight separator lid on a 5 gallon bucket that I have now. I really like the Clearvue setup for the Ridgid vac, but can't justify the price, especially since I'd need to also buy a new shop vac.
 
You're gonna love that thing. Just the little 5gal bucket separator and a CleanStream filter on my larger Ridgid cut my filter cleanings down tremendously. The true cyclone versions seem much better than that. If you're like me, now the hazard is that it is so long between cleanings that I get confused when the vac suction finally starts to reduce :rofl:.
 

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...If you're like me, now the hazard is that it is so long between cleanings that I get confused when the vac suction finally starts to reduce :rofl:.

Glenn,
I had emptied the drum on mine (I'm using a 10 gallon galvanized can) just before Rennie got here, but hadn't looked in the vac. When he asked, I popped the top off the Fein vac, and the can was still completely empty - this after about three fillings of the 10 gallon can.

I've had mine for three or four months now, and I'm still impressed with its performance.

BTW, I paid $59 for the cyclone only, and mounted it on my own can. The newest version - for $99 (I think) - includes the can and a bracket for mounting the can directly onto the side of the vac, so no cart will be needed. Looks like a fairly practical setup.
 
Building a samll ciclone like those is rather easy I would say, specially if you download the xls. file from Bill Pentz's web where you can have all the measures to make a mini cyclone for a shop vac.

I'm gathering all the materials to make one myself, I'll post the results when its finished.

It is my idea not to build it from scratch but use what I have available already shaped, for instance 6" PVC duct for the cyclone body.
 
Toni, I've been very tempted to build my own 5 gallon separator using Phil Thien's baffle design. I put one in my Harbor Freight DC and it made a big difference. I'll be looking forward to seeing your mini-Pentz version.

My shop vac is going to be getting a lot of use next week (helping with a bunch of drywall sanding), and I wanted to beef it up, so I figured it would be easier to just buy one. My plate's too full for the next week for me to have time to build one, so I took advantage of a free shipping coupon I had from Rockler and pulled the trigger on the Dust Deputy this afternoon.
 
Building a samll ciclone like those is rather easy I would say, specially if you download the xls. file from Bill Pentz's web where you can have all the measures to make a mini cyclone for a shop vac.

I'm gathering all the materials to make one myself, I'll post the results when its finished.

It is my idea not to build it from scratch but use what I have available already shaped, for instance 6" PVC duct for the cyclone body.

Congrats Rennie on being deputized!

Toni I just did the same thing sunday afternoon. I was bored in the shop and decided to build one out of some scrap 6" duct work I had laying around. Spent about 2 hours on the cyclone part and I still need to make the inlet. I will mount it on my shop vac like the one on clearvue's since I have the same model. I'm tired of cleaning filters. Will post pics in another thread.
 
My shop vac is going to be getting a lot of use next week (helping with a bunch of drywall sanding), and I wanted to beef it up, so I figured it would be easier to just buy one.
PLEASE let me know how it performs with drywall dust. I had this application in mind when I bought mine since I have some renovations coming up over the next year to get the house ready for sale.
 
Well, As things happen sometimes, this thread came up at a very opportune moment. I was planing some maple to put together some cutting boards, and my old plastic dust seperator lid gave up the ghost. A big crack, and it just didn't have the suck it used to.

So from 'stuff' on hand, I just whipped up one of the Thien Baffles. Haven't really used it yet, but I'm ready! :thumb:
 
And just placed an order for the Dust Deputy today.. Kept thinking I'd build something, but since I'm going to have to do a bunch of drywall sanding, just though heck, I should just get something proven and be done with it... :thumb:
 
They Call me Deputy Bubba

I too, have been deputized...

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I got it today, built my little cart. Showed it to my wife and her response was that I need to post a picture of it on facebook so our friends could seek just how insane I am. :rolleyes:

I'm still not sure if that was a compliment or not.:dunno:

Tried it out on the sawdust at the bottom of the tablesaw that my dust collector can't seem to suck up. Got a good 4 inches of dust at the bottom of the homer bucket, and just a smidgen in the bottom of the shop vac.

As a bonus, it's almost hypnotic watching the dust swirl around....
 
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Just about a 5 minute attempt at a cart. Wanted to see how it works.

Need to add a little ballast down below, as it's top heavy, and I think if I pickup some PVC I can get rid of the flex hose connection.

But with the thien Baffle in the trash can and this, I think I'm set for dust collection now.
 
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