Dust Deputy DIY Anti-Static Retrofit Cyclone Separator for Wet/Dry Shop Vacuums (DD DIY)

Great unit, but do your research first. Do not buy the smaller DD unit if you're planning on using it with a 2.5" hose. Overpowering the smaller unit with a larger 2.5" hose vacuum will cause it to be less efficient. Get the 2.5 version; it does a great job with the bigger powered vacuums. I have a 16-gallon Ridgit vacuum, and it works great. If you have the newer Ridgit with the locking hoses, it fits, maybe. The locking part does get in the way of a snug fit. You can cut the locking part of the hose off, or do as I did and just wrap a single turn of black tape around the hose end, and it works great. Later, I got the Ridgit 20-foot extension hose, and it came with adapters that don't have the locking tab and fit perfectly. Also allowed me to keep the vacuum in one place and vacuum 20 feet in any direction. I connected my hose to one of my blast gates that fits perfectly. Some complaints about not getting the really fine dust are true to a point. First, not buying the right DD for your vacuum will cause more fine dust to go into your vacuum and not the DD system. The 2.5 DD works great for me with very little fines getting into my vacuum itself. I also use a filter bag in my vacuum to catch any fine particles that do get by, to save the cost of the expensive filters. Also, easy clean up. I used this setup to clean enough sawdust in my shop to fill a 30-gallon barrel, and the dust bag in the vacuum still barely has anything in it with no noticeable loss of suction. Some complain of units toppling over and breaking. Well, use some common sense here people. If you want this to be mobile, you need to weigh it down or widen the base or secure it to the vacuum, as some have done, so it doesn't topple over. See YouTube for many ideas. I did my home shop in 2" PVC. Why, because if you notice the inside of your 2.5" vacuum hose is closer to the 2" dia. and has ridges on the interior causing friction, reducing suction, so why not use 2" smooth PVC piping. Plus PVC can be heated with a heat gun and made to fit just about any size dia. you may need. Works great with my PowerTec blast gates with no adapters. Heated a 2" PVC wye end and pressed the PowerTec into the wye. Good to go. I used metal duct tape to seal the joints air-tight with no gluing needed, so that I can change my setup anytime, if needed. Bottom line, this is a great system for a HOME shop and does have some drawbacks. Cheap material, maybe, but there have been no problems on this end. Don't drop it or bang it; it's not made of metal. Oneida does make metal ones at a much higher cost and is a leader in the industry on this type of dust collector. These are made at a much lower cost for the homeowner in mind. DO YOUR RESEARCH on what you're trying to accomplish in your shop. My set-up: Ridgit 16-gallon NXT, Oneida 2.5 DD, 15 feet 2" PVC with eight wye fittings, eight 2" PowerTec blast gates, BAYISAM 2-1/2"x20'Dust Collection Hose(Black Wire) to connect all my tools to 2.5" adapters. My sanders are at the end of the line and still work great at dust colection.

The Oneida Dust Deputy 2.5 XL is a game‑changer for shop cleanup. Its cyclone design captures nearly all dust and debris before it reaches the vacuum, keeping filters clean and extending suction power. The high CFM capacity makes it perfect for larger wet/dry vacs, and it handles heavy shop use without clogging. Setup was straightforward, and once connected, it immediately improved efficiency. I can run my CNC, sander, and planer without worrying about constant filter changes. The build quality is solid, and the performance is consistent across different materials—wood chips, fine dust, even heavier debris. Overall, this separator delivers durability, efficiency, and serious dust control. It’s one of those upgrades that pays for itself quickly in saved time and cleaner air.

I've got to say that I was skeptical at first with this thing, but after just one use I am thoroughly impressed. At $50+ the price is steep for just the cyclone piece, I think they could throw in a gasket, or maybe some various hose adapters. I'm using mine on a white "food grade" 5 gal bucket I bought from Home Depot. A quick squeeze of this bucket compared to the typical orange Homer bucket revealed the white one was a tad thicker and I thought would be better at not squeezing in. I made a rigid round doughnut for the lid about 9 inch diameter and and caulked it to the lid. I also printed out Oneida's template for the bolt pattern. I got a 1/8 inch thick 6" x 6" piece of rubber from Ace Hardware to make a gasket seal between the cyclone and the top of the lit. I used 1/4inch x 1 1/2 long bolts with washers and nuts to attach it. Came out looking sweet and feeling really solid. Attached to the bucket and gave it a whirl. Only minor lid depressions from the suction, and no leaks. Like other people complained, it is a little tippy. But I'll resolve that with some concoction of a cart to hold the vacuum too. I don't do a ton of woodworking, so I feel the 5 gal bucket size will be fine for my need. As far as the vacuum, I'm using a Home Depot Rigid model WD4070 bought for $69. I looked around for the something that sucked but didn't suck* and thought that was the best value. I am very happy with the power, size, and abilities of it. It's not as loud as people complain too. I felt that since I was using the dust deputy, I didn't need a huge shop vac, so I opted for a similar power one with a smaller volume. Not sure about the science behind all the static pressure, and suction pressure. But this one gets the job done well. After a 20 minute run sucking up saw dust of poplar, pine, and fir, and some plane shavings, the dust deputy did incredible. Its satisfying seeing it swirling around in there too, and even more satisfying when I opened the vacuum up after and not a freakin spec of saw dust was found. Its almost like magic! haha. The only frustrating occurrences I had were with the hoses, attachments, and adapters. Since I can't really blame Oneida for that since they didn't provide any, and it would be hard for them to because of all the different sizes out there. The adapter and hose companies really ought to dumb it down for us DIYers, and color code which hose will fit on which connections. The outer diameter and inner diameter sizes are a nightmare, and it really forces you to over-buy several different options bring it home and see what fits, then return what doesn't. The good thing about the dust deputy is [that I thought at the time] that the nozzles are tapered so maybe it could fit a few different close sizes. I ended up buying a larger hose for the vacuum end, and using the original hose that came with the vac, on the opposite end before the dust deputy. Ugh. My local HD didn't have a big selection of adapters, nor did they have optimal size rubber-and-hose-clamp ones. PROs: would buy it again, well engineered and gets the job done well. Con's: prepare for an annoying time getting hose fittings to work.

I was a little bit skeptical as to how well this would work, but was pleasantly surprised when it preformed exactly as they said it would. Hooked up to a router or miter saw, it picks up 95% or better of the dust. I really like the fact it doesn't take any special vacuum. I have a small 2 gallon shop vac as well as a much larger 16 gallon. I just carry the 5 gallon bucket with deputy from one to the other. I really don't see the need for a large shop vac with this as all the debris goes into the 5 gallon bucket. I just used a generic Home Depot bucket I picked up for about $4, another 2 bucks for the lid. A little bit of silicone, and I was in business. Using 2, 5 gallon buckets probably make sense as they tend to fall over very easily. I wish I would have purchased the kit as I now want some casters, and I think that little plastic piece that is use between the pail and the vacuum would be one worth some extra $$$. Update: I tried attaching four small casters to a separate bucket, but it's just too top heavy and falls over. I ended up putting some sand in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket, and then the dust deputy bucket inside that, and it's more stable that way. I think it may be worth purchasing a base designed for 5 gallon buckets if you want or need casters. There is almost too much suction with this for a 1 1/4" hose btw. The hose compresses quite a bit. A 2 1/2" diameter hose would probably be a better fit overall, using an adapter for say a router that takes 1 1/4" fittings. Update: I purchased a 7 foot 2.5" diameter hose to replace my 1 1/4" hose, and this is a much better fit. Suction is still superb. I can rip through an MDF board on my table saw, and have no dust in the air whatsoever to speak of. The system really does work quite well. Very impressive! Overall, this is an excellent product, albeit overpriced for what it is. Not any more plastic in this than a 5 gallon bucket that cost $4. I ended up paying almost $60 due to my location in Alaska. Lots of profit for these guys! I just wanted to add one comment since I needed to contact the seller of these units. The customer support was not as good as I had hoped. Basically I felt like I was getting the brush off. I think this company should make more of the small parts available to the consumer, but they focus more on "kits". I think this is something to keep in mind if you order one component and want to add something later, you probably won't be able to do so. I was not able to get a simple gasket from the company or the foam block that attaches the 5 gallon bucket to a vacuum. Both of these items are included in the kit, but cannot be purchased separately. I was able to get around both issues, but it's kind of a nuisance to have such poor product support and lack of available parts. One star removed...

This is a very efficient dust/chip separator. I bought it to replace the Rockler DustRight separator after the lid cracked, causing a large air leak. The Rockler unit worked well, keeping an estimated 80 to 85% of dust and chips from reaching the shop vac. This Dust Deputy is close to 100% efficient for normal sawdust or chips, only the finest, flour like, dust makes it into the shop vac. I wish I had bought this years ago. The hardest of putting the kit together was cutting the hole in the lid of the collection bucket I purchased separately. Anyone with a decent set of tools and reading ability can assemble this easily. I highly recommend the Oneida Dust Deputy to anyone needing a shop vac size dust separator. It is well worth the price in the long run.

I'm a finish carpenter with a small garage shop I use for some built-in projects that are easier to do from a shop than on-site. Currently in the middle of a shop re-do with the goal of having a more efficient small space, and to utilize my 14 gal Shop-vac better for dust collection. Eventually, I will hard pipe in the Dust Deputy, but for now built a "prototype" roll-away cart for it. Not the prettiest thing in the world, but it does what I need with the added bonus of giving me a bit of storage space (though the drawers I intend to build into will have to wait). (See pic) I have been using the Rockler DustRight separator for a few years now. Nothing necessarily wrong with that system, but it was not nearly efficient enough for me, and had the added issue of being less efficient the more the bin filled up. So, after doing some research, I decided on the Oneida Dust Deputy and bought the kit that has the hardware, gasket, and a hose. In retrospect, knowing what I know now, I would have just bought the bare cyclone, and saved a few bucks. The hose is cheap, and virtually useless to me. The hardware didn't work for my application, and I know how to make gaskets. If you are going to just use a 5-gallon bucket, then the kit I bought would be worth it. I wanted a little more capacity for chips than a 5-gallon bucket would give me. I won't bore you with build details on the cart. I combined/changed some ideas I had seen on YouTube, and built what I wanted. Something to consider, however, when you put things together. First and foremost - as Oneida has in their instructions - make sure your connections are tight and the system is as leak free as possible. Every single little leak will effect the way the cyclone works. Before I took the weekend to build what I did, I just made a lid for my Dust Right container, clamped it on, and used the Shop-Vac hose. The Dust Deputy wasn't performing much better than the Dust Right had been at that point, because I had some leakage around the lid, and most of the leakage at the actual Shop-Vac hose. With the system as built right now, this thing is well above 95% efficient at dropping it into the container, and not my Shop-Vac bag. If I were to put this on a 5-gallon bucket, I would consider devising some sort of structure to support the cyclone as the plastic flange at the bottom is a bit thin and I would be concerned with it breaking at that point. My Shop-vac has the 2-1/4 hose and fittings, as does the flexible hose I reused from my old Dust Right system, and these fittings snugly fit onto the Dust Deputy. The inlet and outlet areas are tapered, and though I haven't tried them, suspect my smaller jobsite Shop-Vac fittings would fit as well. The actual review? I've never used one of the knock-off cyclones so I can't compare it those. Compared with my old Dust Right system, this one is head and shoulders better. As I've already said, it is well over 95% (estimation only, I know how full my bag got before this) efficient. I reused the Dust Right container (after gluing a foam window insulation seal around the edge of it) and it is about half full right now. This is when I began to see blow by from that old system. No signs of it right now with the Deputy. I've also noticed this set-up has improved the dust collection of my Delta 36-725 table saw (which if you are familiar with those, you know the dust collection ain't the greatest). Overall, I am very happy and satisfied with my purchase. Are they more expensive than the knock offs? Yep. Imo, though, these are the real deal.

After trying a few 3d printed versions of a similar design I gave up and finally ordered this. I have no regrets as it had no difficulty in collecting and separating out fine MDF dust from my cnc machine with seemingly ZERO of the dust making it into my shop vac. I can easily recommend this separator to anyone for the purposes of a small shop-vac dust collection system.

This item just flat works as advertised!!! I wish I could give it more than five stars. I used it on a drum sander today. Usually I have to pause and knock out the shop vac filer numerous times. To day essentially alll of the dust was in the bucket and almost none in the filer. I also used it with my table saw, same results.