Buy or build? - Dust Deputy unit for CT

[BarBuilder]

I know this topic has been discussed ad naseum and I apologize for beating a dead horse [dead horse] BUT I wanted to get the groups opinion on either buying or building a Dust Deputy unit for a CT mini. (With the knowledge Shane shared regarding the motor size being equal among all size Festool CT's, I see little value in getting anything other than a Mini for my needs - but I guess you sacrifice the ability to get a boom arm going this route which I wonder about.) Looks like the Festool specific Oneida unit is around $250. Sounds steep to me for not much more than a black plastic systainer box and a plastic cyclone - am I missing something here? The alternative seems to be that I can buy the plastic Oneida cyclone for $40 and build my own plywood catch bin (I'm not adding the value of my time into this equation - I know). I've seen some really nice shop made Dust Deputy setups on the FOG which is the direction I'm leaning - any insight as to potential pitfalls from those of you who have built your own? Any and all input will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Erik

 

[Alan m]

1st off , you can mount a boom arm to the wall , roof etc and still use the mini.

i dont like the UDD,its expensive and there are issues with the bag.
you could build a thien baffel and save your self that 40 dollars if you want.
do you want the dust deputy on site or in a shop. if its the shop you could do what i did.

mount the boom arm to the wall and build a thien baffel and put it under the boom arm, roll the ct  beside the boomarm and conect up. great if you want the ct easily transported to site. 

 

[BarBuilder]

Alan

The CT will mainly be parked in the shop.  Shop space is a premium for me hence the choice of a mini. I want to keep the footprint to a minimum. I agree with your solution as far as the boom is concerned - I plan to use a ceiling mounted track over my cutting table for the CT hose. I suppose if I really wanted a boom arm, I could copy some other plans I have seen here on the FOG where a member built their own boom arm for a mini using electrical conduit. Not sure what a "thien baffle" is  can you elaborate? I've heard other gripes on here about the UDD that is why I was leaning toward just the cyclone itself and building my own catch bin for dust. The goal is to avoid running thru a ton of bags given the limited capacity of the mini.

 

[Alan m]

thien baffel

 

[bruegf]

I second the thien baffle.  I have a standard dust deputy that I use in front of my CT22.  I bought it before I found out about  the thien baffle, but after building one for my big dust collector, I wouldn't spend the money for the DD again, I'd build another thien baffle.

Fred

 

[BarBuilder]

Thanks Alan m for the clarification - thought provoking. I will definitely consider that option.

 

[Stone Message]

Dear Barbuilder

I know that you have seen the other threads about the CTl 26 and the Dust Deputy...

I have not used a Thien Baffle nor seen any independent tests and so cannot comment on how good it is.

I have the CTL 26 and I am now using a basic ($39) Dust Deputy attached to a simple box made of 3/4 inch MDF. It works really well - that is not a comment on my box but on the design of the DD and the efficiency of the CTL 26! We in the UK have been using cyclones on our home vacuum cleaners (made by Dyson) for years and I use an old one in my workshop for general cleanups. Cyclones are great and they not only cope with the big debris but manage the fine dust well. Once the muck goes into the box below the DD it stays there. I did an experiment and measured the weight of my CTL 26 bag. I checked it yesterday and it was 4 grams heavier  but my dust box (probably about 40 litres) was over half full. I cannot tell you the accuarcy of the measurements but my wife uses the scales to cook and her food is GREAT!

I would check the relative price and look for some independent opinion of the TB. I have no connection with Oneida and bought mine via a friend who visited the US on holiday after seeing other comments here on the FOG. So I have no axe to grind and wish both Mr Oneida and Mr Thien well.

Peter

 

[Timtool]

i was actually gonna start a topic on this, today i saw in a promotional paper an ad for a fireplace ash cleaner for €19, it's basically a thien baffle apparently, for that price i don't see myself trying to build one myself. These are made to suck ashes: extremely fine dust and chunks of coal. i don't see why it could't work.

 

[BarBuilder]

Well i'm most likely gonna do the DD build like Stone Message said. I can mount it on a shop made plywood systainer and put it on top of the CT mini - again the point is to maximize dust collection while minimizing space consumption in an already cramped shop and reduce the need to purchase pricey Festool consumables (read bags). I figure I can accomplish this for $39 and a few hours of my personal time. Much more palatable than a $250 UDD.

BTW - Timtool I love your avatar

 

[bruegf]

My impression after using the DD on the CT22 and the thien baffle on my dust collector is that they both work very well and I see no noticeable difference in performance, but I've not run experiments to quantify the performance.   I've not had to empty the bag on either my CT22 or my dust collector since I put the DD and thien baffle in front of them.

I paid $99 for my DD w/ its 5 gallon bucket and approx $40 to build my thien baffle w/ its 32 gallon garbage can.  The DD on the 5 gallon bucket is very prone to falling over and it's coming apart at where the top plate is glued to the funnel body, (but will only take a few minutes to fix).

My vote is for the thien baffle, but it will cost you a couple hours of time and approx $5-15 (depends on what material you have lying around) to build a 5 gallon version.   If you have buy all the materials needed to build a thien baffle (plastic 5 gal bucket, shop vac fittings you need for the inlet and outlets, material for baffle standoffs and the baffle) it probably makes more sense to buy the DD at $39.

You won't be disappointed no matter which you choose.

Fred