Table of Content
- Dust Deputy vs. Dustopper Cyclone ShootoutThe Ultimate Shop Vac Cyclone Review - using scientific methods
- www.oneida-air.com
- Dust Deputy vs. Dustopper Cyclone ShootoutThe Ultimate Shop Vac Cyclone Review - using scientific methods
- www.oneida-air.com
- Dust Deputy vs. Dustopper Cyclone ShootoutThe Ultimate Shop Vac Cyclone Review - using scientific methods
- Dust Deputy vs. Dustopper Cyclone ShootoutThe Ultimate Shop Vac Cyclone Review - using scientific methods
Several reviews that I watched noted that the Dustopper was noticeably louder than the Dust Deputy. That is true when the hose is not attached to the inlet but I could not hear the cyclone at all over the sound of either vacuum and the Vacmaster is a relatively quiet vacuum. The Dust Deputy was 4x to 10x more efficient across the board.Both cyclones were very efficient at removing coarser dust. How well each system works for coarse, medium, and fine dust as well as with a large vac vs a small vac.

Please share and read about more dust collection tips and tricksbyjoining the Shop Hacks Facebook Group by clickingHERE. Dust Deputy Deluxe kitfor $106.74which comes with the cyclone, bucket, hardware, hose, fitting and a wheeled dolly. Now for the moment you have been waiting for...
Dust Deputy vs. Dustopper Cyclone ShootoutThe Ultimate Shop Vac Cyclone Review - using scientific methods
The math is worth looking at for a second. For example, if a cyclone is 99% efficient and another is 98% efficient you may be tempted to believe they are about the same. In this form it is very easy to recognize that one cyclone is twice as efficient as the other. When a cyclone passes less than 1% of the dust flowing through it, having centigram accuracy is essential. Even a small 1 gram error would represent a 50% error in some cases. I performed over 40 tests to determine the performance characteristics of each cyclone separator.
I tested flow rate effects and pressure drops across both cyclones in multiple configurations. This will allow you to compare results that are closest to the setup you use to decide which cyclone is best for you. Neither cyclone seemed to be sensitive to flow rate for either of the coarser dust tests. Shop vacs produce enough pressure to implode most 5-gallon buckets. There are a couple ways to prevent this... Better separation efficiency means less time cleaning and replacing filters.
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For table saw dust and corn meal the systems seemed to perform equally well with the lower flow rate Vacmaster and the higher flow rate Ridgid vac. The Dustopper passed significantly more coarse dust when it was 3/4 full with the lower flow rate vac. Otherwise, neither cyclone seemed to be sensitive to whether or not the dust bin was empty or near full. If you plan to use a cyclone for sanding or other very fine dust then the Dust Deputy is the clear winner.

I also tested each setup with a 90 degree connector attached to the outlet of each cyclone. Typically, 90 degree connections cause a significant reduction in flow rate. However, you will see that there was a negligible change in flow rate with the 90 degree connector attached. My theory is that the spinning of the air exiting the cyclone is slowed down as it makes the 90 degree turn. The air converts that change in kinetic energy into pressure which happens to cancel the losses induced by the 90 degree bend.
Dust Deputy vs. Dustopper Cyclone ShootoutThe Ultimate Shop Vac Cyclone Review - using scientific methods
More detailed results including coarse dust and a smaller shop vac testing are included later in the article. All of the cyclones reduced the vac flow rate. With the large shop vac the Dust Sheriff flowed 32% more air than the Dustopper and 28% more air than the Dust Deputy.
The lower flow rate Vacmaster is affected much less but, as noted earlier, the Dustopper 's separation efficiency drops significantly for fine dust when using the lower flow rate vac. ObservationsBoth cyclones performed well with table saw dust and coarse dust . The Dustopper passed between 0.4% and 1.1%. Not much but still at least 10x more than the Dust Deputy.
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After performing these tests I developed the Dust Sheriff shop vac cyclone separator which flows more air and catches more dust. If you are interested, you will find very detailed test information and results available at the end of this article. I tested collection efficiency with multiple particle sizes using only virgin dust particles of consistent sizefor each test.I used virgin table saw dust , corn meal and corn starch . This chart shows how much of two kinds of dust each system passed using the large shop vac.

This is similar to adding flow straighteners to ducts to reduce the pressure losses around bends. It is likely that adding a flow straightener in the outlet of the cyclone and not using the 90 degree fitting would result in a measurably higher flow rate. As you see, the Dustopper reduces flow significantly more than the Dust Deputy. The higher flow rate Ridgid vac drops 45% using the Dustopper and 35% using the Dust Deputy.
Simply place one bucket inside of another. This keeps the walls straight which increases their buckling strength. It works for the Dust Deputy, however, it allowed enough deflection of the bucket lid to cause a significant air leak with the Dustopper. Picture the bucket being full of a continuously swirling dust cloud. When air leaks in around the lid seal it flows through that dust cloud carrying dust up and out the cyclone and into the vacuum.
This leads to the dust becoming coarser with each pass and the cyclone collection efficiency appears to increase each time the pile is vacuumed. At some point, with enough passes through the cyclone, the cyclone collection efficiency approaches 100% because there will be no dust remaining that is fine enough to bypass the cyclone. Using virgin dust for every test eliminates this common error. I'll include more details of the setup at the end of the article but the following figure will give you a good idea how the tests were conducted. I weighed the dust was vacuumed for each test as well as the dust that bypassed the cyclone. The ratio of those two was used to calculate the cyclone collection efficiency for each test.
Using the very fine dust starch, the Dustopper passed 2.5x to 7x more dust than the Dust Deputy. Coarse, medium and fine particles which represent the full range of dust produced in most shop. If you aren't familiar with how cyclone separators work and want to know, check out the All About Cyclone Separators page.
The two most popular shop vac cyclone separators on the market are the Oneida Dust Deputy and the Home Depot Dustopper. The Dustopper is a relatively new entry and is based on Phil Thien's design. The Shop HacksDust Sheriff was developed based on lessons learned while testing the other cyclone systems. The Dust Sheriff includes an option to install an INTEGRATED filter which no other shop vac cyclone offers. Unless otherwise noted, flow rate test results in this article are with the filter installed. Separation efficiency test results are without the filter installed.
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The Dustopper seems to be more sensitive to low flow rates with fine dust , especially when the bin was 3/4 full, but the Dust Deputy performed well with both vac systems whether empty or near full. The Dust Deputy passed about 5x more corn starch dust than the Dust Sherriff and the Dustopper passed over 10x more fine dust than the Dust Sheriff. If you collect a lot of fine dust this is significant because the more dust the cyclone separates out the less often you will have to clean your shop vac filter. That means up to 10x longer filter life using the Dust Sheriff. Without a cyclone separator you will have to clean your shop vac or dust collector filter 5x to 100x more often, depending on the type of dust you collect. If you use your shop vac or dust collector very often, a cyclone separator will quickly pay for itself with the time and money it saves.

I'll present the data in charts to make it easy to understand at a glance but I'll include the detailed data at the end of the article if you are interested in analyzing it further. I polled the Shop Hacks Facebook Group to determine what the group most wanted to see in a cyclone separator. -air.com needs to review the security of your connection before proceeding. He Dust Deputy has a clear advantage when it comes to very fine dust. Other cyclone models available with links to reviews. Other tips to get the most out of your cyclone separator.
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