DUST DEPUTY FOR THE FESTOOL HAS LAUNCHED - PRE ORDER TODAY!

[Mahogany Man]

I received one last week.
I ordered it in January.
I think it's a pretty good product.
I need it to travel with me from job to job.
I put it together last weekend, put it through it's paces, worked great.
I hooked it up to a 13" planer for the heck of it, planed a 12" wide 8' long piece of bass,
sucked it right up with no plugging! I just had to see if it would take it!
I have it hooked up to a CT33, connects to my hose garage no problem.
I thought the black matched pretty well with the festool colors,  The hose is
plenty long to use with a systainer and garage, although I didn't need it.
Static really wasn't an issue with the planing.
HTH
John

 

[harry_mc]

I received my Festool specific Dust Deputy yesterday and had a chance to assemble it last night.  While I have yet to use it, I'll admit I'm a little disappointed by a few issues I encountered.

I have a CT22 vac with a Sortainer installed on top, along with the boom arm and a 36mm hose attached to the boom.  I planned to put the Dust Deputy on top of the Sortainer.  After reading here that installing the Dust Deputy on top of the Sortainer might be an issue I contacted Oneida and was told they were correcting this issue.  

Here are my observations (not major problems, but just want you to be aware):

- As you can see from John's post above, the box is not translucent as originally advertised.  Not a huge issue, but it will make it a bit harder to know if the box is full.

- The package includes 2 90 degree elbows, although the instruction manual says only one should be used for the CT22 or CT33.  Oneida supplies copper tape and instructs you to run the copper tape inside the elbow (for static connection).  The supplied elbow has a sharp 90 degree turn, and I wound up tearing the copper tape upon my first try due to the sharpness of the turn.  Here is the picture:

- When I tried to put the Dust Deputy on top of my sortainer, I immediately noticed that the relief cuts that Oneida made to fix the Sortainer/Systainer mounting problem, were not in the correct position for a good mount (this can be fixed by removing more of the material, but that leaves the one tab smaller than it should be, in my opinion).  

When I secured the side clips without any modification, the box moves toward the front which results in the front clips not being able to click into the locked position, resulting in a less than solid connection:

- Next, I tried to connect my 36mm hose to the cyclone.  Unfortunately, the cyclone connection is too small.  After comparing my 36mm hose end to the 27mm hose end, I found the problem - the 27mm hose end has an opening around the actual hose, that allows the hose to slip deeper onto the cyclone connection, where the 36mm hose does not (this is only a problem for those who might want to use the 36mm hose):

27mm hose end:

36mm hose end:

I was able to use the 2nd 90 degree elbow to make that connection, which might be less than ideal, but it works.

- Lastly, I was a little disappointed that although the initial pre-order offer did mention the $10.50 shipping amount that I was charged, subsequent advertisement emails I received from Oneida (and there were quite a few), mentioned FREE shipping.  I would think that offer should have been extended to those that pre-ordered and waited 2 months, but then again, that is only my opinion.  

Overall, it appears to be a good product that hopefully will get better with time.  Hopefully Oneida will continue making improvements and future purchasers won't experience any of the minor issues I did.

Thanks, Harry

 

[Corwin]

Thanks for posting your new DD setup.  Sorry Oneida didn't do a better job addressing the issues they learned about here.  Hope they improve their products.

I would recommend trying the Festool Antistatic Hose Sleeve at the end(s) of your fittings that you have attached to your cyclone.  This would allow you to connect and disconnect your hose(s) without disturbing the copper-to-hose connection -- more of a 'plug-n-play' thing.

 

[justinmcf]

thanks for the detailed description and photos harry.
based on what you have shown here, i cant see myself spending the cash on this product yet.
the quality of their product is sub standard and i reckon they have a lot of work to do before i spend my hard earned dollars on this product.

i do like the idea of using it with the 13 inch planer/thicknesser.
that would work for me while on site.
maybe festool can come up with something better in the future.......

regards, justin.

 

[harry_]

I don't know why exactly, but I was under the impression that the hopper was going to be a systainer with an 'after-market' lid, not a systainer-wannabe-clone. My perceived value of this product just went way down.

[2cents]

 

[twang120]

I just used mine yesterday for the first time.  generally I am pleased.  I did think the copper tape solution on the elbow was kinda "hokey".  I assume the festool plastic fittings are anti-static.  Oneida may want to consider using the conductive plastic for the elbows.  It doesn't bother me personally, but many of us with Festools are more picky and like "finesse" solutions. 

Previously, I would never use my CT22 as a shop vac because of the bags filling up due to the expense.  With this setup, I just may retire my shop vac when it dies.  I think I will just need a larger dia hose to suck up the bigger stuff.

I recived two different hoses with my setup.  Not sure why,  One was a clear hose and one was a black hose.  The black hose seemed too short.  Is it used for the MIDI/MINI?

 

[harry_]

my understanding is that the black hose is a "jumper" to connect the CT to the DD

 

[garnet_steen]

Thanks for the post with the detailed photos. From what I can see I don't think Oneida has designed or built a Festool-quality accessory. They seem to have failed to consider the practical needs of the user (perhaps one side or an inch-long vertical stripe could have been clear?), and the engineering for latches, hose connections and materials quality seems to really be lacking. All f this makes the premium they charge for what essentially amounts to a systainer-shaped bucket seem excessive. I think they looked at Festool owners and determined that they will pay a premium for tools but failed to consider the premium quality and advantages that need to be delivered.

 

[Mahogany Man]

I don't know guys,
I don't have a problem with the quality at all.
Let me say, I have no affiliation with Oneida!
I don't know about the smaller dust extractors, but if a systainer fits
onto a CT33 and the others, it should fit the Oneida box.
Maybe I'm lucky, it fit with no problem.
I don't see the clear box as an issue, (don't see the clear box, haha)
I didn't see the clear box as an original item by Oneida, all I saw was a cut away animation.
If you are looking at the box, you can just as easily look at the bottom of the
cyclone to see if it's full.
The black box is well made and heavy duty in my opinion.
All three hose sizes I have, fit right onto the cyclone with no problem and no adaptors.
The only poor quality I see, is the gasket material supplied for the Cyclone to box seal.
I opted to use silicone to seal it.
All in all, I am very pleased with the purchase.

John

 

[harry_mc]

I would agree the box is heavy duty.  The walls of the box are quite thick.

John, what size hoses do you have?  My 27mm and 50mm hoses fit the cyclone fine, just the 36mm that is having an issue (which just happens to be what I have installed on the boom).

The mounting issue is not a problem in your case because you aren't trying to mount it on top of a Systainer/Sortainer. 

I didn't receive a black hose with my order, just a heavy clear hose for attaching the cylone to the CT.  Oneida did call before shipping to ask which CT I have, so maybe that is the difference in the hoses supplied.

Corwin, I did try the Antistatic hose sleeve you suggested, but since it is designed to fit over the normal hose end, it is too large for the cyclone. 

Thanks, Harry

 

[Corwin]

Harry, 

You will need an adapter to use the Hose Sleeve.  Oneida sells this Connector/Adapter Set that might fit the bill -- or just the connector if that does in fact fit onto the DD.  In any event, getting Antistatic Sleeves on the ends of your DD system will work nicer than having to mess with the connections when connecting/disconnection the hoses.

 

[Mahogany Man]

I removed the box from my vac this evening,
I attached it quite easily to the top of a systainer, latched on and carried the systainer easily.
I am using the hose that came with the boom and the smaller hose.
Not sure of the sizes, I will check it tomorrow.
John

 

[Corwin]

Thanks John for posting your findings.  Glad that the DD Box will latch to the top of a Systainer.

 

[Kevin Stricker]

The Y adapter will let you use a 36mm hose on a DD Cyclone.  It can be handy to have when doing edge routing  as you can connect a hose to the Edging guide and the standard dust port.

 

[harry_mc]

John, it's interesting that your box fit on the Systainer just fine.  Is the relief cut on side tabs of your box the same as mine (in the middle of the tab rather than on the edge - see picture)?  Since making the cut was an afterthought, it might just be that whoever did the modification on my box was a little sloppy.  If the cut had been in the right place it would work fine.

Kevin, I have the Y adapter and noticed the same thing last night.  I'm guessing that would be better than the 90 degree connector and it's anti-static as well so I'll use that for now.

Thanks!  Harry 

 

[CList]

I wonder if any of the enterprising folks here have taken the DIY Dust Deputy, a Systainer-5, and some PVC waste pipe and made something like this:

[attachimg=#]

Quite the Franken-Vac  ...LOL!

...I don't know, maybe it wouldn't work; the pipe might screw up the "cyclonic action", the vac might be so unbalanced that it tips over, you'd definitely not get the ability to completely fill the container, etc.
OTOH, you'd definitely have optimal systainer integration! You'd still be able to mount systainers on top of the one being used as the vac canister - which is, I think, what would work best for most people...
I've got enough projects on my plate right now, so I'll leave it to someone else to give this one a try - or has anyone tried it already?

You might even be able to set it up so that the cyclone was easily detachable from the pipe so you could use the open pipe end for emptying it.

Cheers,
CList

 

[Gene Howerton]

I received mine last week and really like it.  It works when hooked up to my planer.  The only issue is the one mentioned above about using the 36mm hose on the boom arm.  I have that setup and had to tape the hose to the Dust Deputy itself.  What the manufacture should do is provide the proper fitting and ask the user when ordering if they are going to connect it with the 27mm hose or the 36mm hose and provide the proper fitting.

 

[Corwin]

I received mine last week and really like it.  It works when hooked up to my planer.  The only issue is the one mentioned above about using the 36mm hose on the boom arm.  I have that setup and had to tape the hose to the Dust Deputy itself.  What the manufacture should do is provide the proper fitting and ask the user when ordering if they are going to connect it with the 27mm hose or the 36mm hose and provide the proper fitting.

No, the manufacturer should send the product with female fittings so any ShopVac hose can be attached directly.  That way there is no need to send different fittings depending on what hose the customer might use.  This is why I suggest getting fittings to terminate the DD ports with Festool AS Hose Sleeves.

 

[Alex2]

[attachimg=#]

That's what I've built for my planer.. I have no pictures of the inside but it works great. I can empty the trash can at least 12 times before I need to empty the dust extractor bag !
And it cost nothing to build.

Cheers

Alex

 

[Dust Deputy]

First off, let me thank each of you for your feedback on the Dust Deputy for the Festool.  It has been a very succesful launch.  I appreciate the kind reviews as well as the candid feedback.  Both have been very helpful to us at Oneida.  Allow me to address a few of the concerns:

We would have loved to make the box clear or install a clear window on it. Unfortunately, the box had to be designed to withstand an astronomical amount of pressure which is created by the Festool dust extractors(Festool dust extractors produce a lot more negative pressure than most vacs). During testing we were able to crack or implode plastic systainers (systainers which were modified with a Dust Deputy) - so we learned we had to design a box that could withstand an atmosphere of pressure. Because of its large size and rectangular shape we had to make the walls extremely thick - they are 5/16" and  can withstand any amount of pressure that you can create with a Festool dust extractor all while being static dissipative. 

Originally we wanted to make the box out of the same material that we make the Dust Deputy from - keeping the box clear.  Unfortunately, it wasn't feasible to make it of clear plastic with the gage we had to build the walls to,  because the amount of static dissipative additive would have made it opaque at best.  The container we built is no dry wall bucket.  We are proud to say that the 9 gallon container we built will last you a lifetime!

Hose fittings have always been somewhat of an issue.  Without standardization it is hard to please everyone, which is always our goal!  We are looking for a fix for the 36mm hose and will have something soon. You can use one of the 90 degree elbows as a work around in the interim.  There is another more permanent fix for the 36mm hose, but it requires you to remove some of the inlet on the cyclone.

Again, thank you all for your feedback. We are always looking for constructive criticism so that we may make efforts to continually improve our products.  I know that most of you are enjoying the many benefits of our Dust Deputy for the Festool and I wish you many days of happy clean woodworking!  We are quite pleased with the product, as I am sure you will be or already are as well.

Best Regards,

Jason Seymour
Oneida Air Systems, Inc.
800-732-4065 x.124
jason@oneida-air.com