Oneida Dust Cobra?

[Tom the Remodeler]

Hi gang!

I've had a few projects come up recently where I have spent extended periods performing a lot of trim work on-site, particularly thickness planing, sawing and routing applications where I'm producing LOTS of dust every day. Until recently, I've been using my CT-26 with an Ultimate Dust Deputy and been reasonably happy, but I get tired of constantly switching hoses from tool to tool.

The Oneida Dust Cobra seems like an interesting solution for on-site work, plus I have a mini-storage space that I use as a shop space when weather (temperature) permits, and the Dust Cobra seems like a nice starter, mobile shop-style dust collector.

My intended use for this tool would be to use my CT-MIDI for small tools (sanders, Domino, etc...), free up my CT-26 again to be a dedicated vac for, say, my Kapex, while the Cobra would be tied to tools that produce larger volumes of dust, for instance my table saw, CMS, or thickness planer.

Has anybody used the Cobra in a shop or on-site application? Are there any tasks it's particularly well suited to? Are there tasks it is not well suited to? I understand that this collector would likely not keep up with tools with a 4" dust port, I'm mostly looking to better keep up with tools with a 2" dust port.

Thanks!
http://www.oneida-air.com/inventory.asp?CatId=%7B88398A7C-ADBE-46C7-976A-AEAD1AE24147%7D

 

[NuggyBuggy]

One thing I notice  is they do not list table saws or planers in their list of "ideal" applications - but one of their pictures appears to show it being used with a portable table saw.

Oneida has excellent customer service.  I'd give them a call.  I'd bet that the unit would perform better than a CT in the kinds of things you're looking to do, but it is more expensive and likely, far less convenient to use.  However, it could be that the cost of consumables for applications generating lots of dust could make it a good proposition.  I had a UDD and found it to be far less than optimal - awkward as hell. 

Right now I am using a Laguna Dust Separator with my Ct33- http://www.lagunatools.com/accessories/dustcollectors/DS16-Dust-Separator_2.  It's less ungainly than the UDD, but still awkward and it seems like suction is considerably reduced, which is perhaps not surprising. 

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

Yeah, the UDD can get t one pretty clumsy if you want to still wheel your CT around, you really need to treat it as a semi-stationary piece of equipment.

Edgers and floor sanders produce TONS of fine dust, so if a dust extractor can keep up with and edger it should be able to keep up with a lunch box planer.

A previous employer of mine had one of the Bona trailers with the integral gasoline-powered dust extractors for his equipment, at the time nobody made a dust extractor that could keep up with his flooring equipment.

I'll give Oneida a call and get their $0.02. If nothing else, I'd treat this as a sort of glorified, UBER-extractor.

Very cool that it's "Certified HEPA", mobile, and more than double the CFM of my CT-26. Certainly not a replacement, but could be a very nice supplement to my current system... I'll post more info as I get it.

 

[gnlman]

Hi. I would like to hear from someone who has this unit as well. There are very few reviews on the Cobra, and while I have shop vacs and a Dust Deputy (Just ordered a festool vac as well) I am pondering one of these for the larger part of my shop to use with my drill press, router table, portable table saw and the ts55 on occasion as it is where I break down plywood..... I like the idea of the hepa filter, and the cyclone...While I am still thinking about a larger cyclone, it seems like they don't really work on the smaller machines and you require both systems to be effective....sounds like this unit could at least keep up with a portable planner as well...
I have a few very short 2.5 inch runs to my drill press ect. (with blast gates), but with the dust deputy attached to my shop vac, it reduces the suction enough it's not all that effective....
If anyone has one of these units and has it attached to a small dust collection network it would be great to hear how it works.
Thanks, Greg.

 

[grbmds]

Hi. I would like to hear from someone who has this unit as well. There are very few reviews on the Cobra, and while I have shop vacs and a Dust Deputy (Just ordered a festool vac as well) I am pondering one of these for the larger part of my shop to use with my drill press, router table, portable table saw and the ts55 on occasion as it is where I break down plywood..... I like the idea of the hepa filter, and the cyclone...While I am still thinking about a larger cyclone, it seems like they don't really work on the smaller machines and you require both systems to be effective....sounds like this unit could at least keep up with a portable planner as well...
I have a few very short 2.5 inch runs to my drill press ect. (with blast gates), but with the dust deputy attached to my shop vac, it reduces the suction enough it's not all that effective....
If anyone has one of these units and has it attached to a small dust collection network it would be great to hear how it works.
Thanks, Greg.

I don't have a Cobra but wish it was available when I bought my Oneida 20+ years ago. I assume, however, it is similar in design to the older model with an internal HEPA filter. I have used mine for 20 years and it works well. I wish there was a HEPA filter available for this older model but I'm stuck with what I have or dropping another $900 to get HEPA. It might be worth it. If the Cobra is at least as good as my older model, it should be a good investment as a central dust collector with mobility. My guess is they made many other improvements also. They are a great company with generally great products.

 

[NYC Tiny Shop]

Thanks for posting this, Tom. It's good to see that Oneida is doing it's R&D. I had it's first bucket system. (...now use the Laguna.) While I was impressed with its efficiency, I wasn't impressed with its construction and electrical grounding system.
  The Cobra is, by far, a big improvement. If it had CFM volume control (so, that it would work with my sanders) and remote activation, then I would order it today.

 

[gnlman]

Thanks for the info guys.

Hmmm I thought the same thing with regards to adjustable cfm and remote activation...
I use one of those Ivac switches and simply plug a power strip into the activation side of it, plug my drill press, chop saw, ect into the strip and voila tool activation....I've also seen remote boxes to do the same with less wiring.....

Adjusting the cfm would be a little more difficult aside from either closing a blast gate partially, or having a valve or something to open somewhere in the line to decrease the suction at the sander.....I know Oneida's smart dust collectors are adjustable, maybe it will make it's way to the lower models someday....
I'd also be concerned what effect fiddling with the suction might have on the cobra....

For my purposes, no need to lower the suction that I can see other than I'm a little concerned what might happen to the dust shroud on the Kapex as it might be too powerful and suck it upwards.....we'll see when I get the new Kapex..

I don't tend to sand in the larger part of my shop, but take the smaller parts into the area with my mft3...I can turn the vac down in there when I need too..

Thanks again , Greg.

 

[grbmds]

Just a quick note. Generally the dust collection unit like the Cobra works best for machines like jointers, planers, table saws. For sanding, the Domino, and routers, I would think one of the Festool vacs or similar would work best. They provide a lot of suction whereas the Cobra going to move more air but not probably provide as much direct suction of the dust. At least that is what I"ve fount with my much older Oneida cyclone. I get much more efficient collection from sanding especially with a vacuum.

 

[NYC Tiny Shop]

Just a quick note. Generally the dust collection unit like the Cobra works best for machines like jointers, planers, table saws. For sanding, the Domino, and routers, I would think one of the Festool vacs or similar would work best. They provide a lot of suction whereas the Cobra going to move more air but not probably provide as much direct suction of the dust. At least that is what I"ve fount with my much older Oneida cyclone. I get much more efficient collection from sanding especially with a vacuum.

This is interesting. I haven't noticed a difference between sanding with my CT26 only or CT 26 +laguna cyclone canister. Has anyone else noticed a difference? (Is this off topic?)

 

[gnlman]

Hmmmm....The Dust Cobra has a 2.5 inch inlet and hose....it's a really powerful shopvac.....it's not a large scale cyclone dust collector with a 4 inch or larger inlet....
It is my understanding that this will work much better on the smaller machines such as drill press, portable rounter table, and should work well with a track saw. I don't think it would work well with sanders as there is no means to limit or adjust the suction.

I have read and been told that hooking up a larger dust collector to items with 2.5 inch ports does not produce good results as not enough air is moving to collect the dust.....sounds like you are using your laguna, and not noticing the difference, although I'm a little confused by your post as it reads like you are using both collectors at the same time...
Greg

 

[NYC Tiny Shop]

Hmmmm....The Dust Cobra has a 2.5 inch inlet and hose....it's a really powerful shopvac.....it's not a large scale cyclone dust collector with a 4 inch or larger inlet....
It is my understanding that this will work much better on the smaller machines such as drill press, portable rounter table, and should work well with a track saw. I don't think it would work well with sanders as there is no means to limit or adjust the suction.

I have read and been told that hooking up a larger dust collector to items with 2.5 inch ports does not produce good results as not enough air is moving to collect the dust.....sounds like you are using your laguna, and not noticing the difference, although I'm a little confused by your post as it reads like you are using both collectors at the same time...
Greg

Are you addressing my post?
If so,  I'm using the Laguna DS 16 with my CT26.
http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2085813/43098/Laguna-16-Gallon--Cyclone-Canister.aspx

 

[grbmds]

Hmmmm....The Dust Cobra has a 2.5 inch inlet and hose....it's a really powerful shopvac.....it's not a large scale cyclone dust collector with a 4 inch or larger inlet....
It is my understanding that this will work much better on the smaller machines such as drill press, portable rounter table, and should work well with a track saw. I don't think it would work well with sanders as there is no means to limit or adjust the suction.

I have read and been told that hooking up a larger dust collector to items with 2.5 inch ports does not produce good results as not enough air is moving to collect the dust.....sounds like you are using your laguna, and not noticing the difference, although I'm a little confused by your post as it reads like you are using both collectors at the same time...
Greg

Sorry I didn't realize the Cobra had a 2,5 inch outlet. That might work for smaller tools and sanding. I think the other poster meant he has a Laguna cyclone cannister which is like using a Dust Deputy with the Festool vac.

 

[gnlman]

grbmds
Hi. I thought you might have felt it was a larger outlet as what you said was sort of opposite of what we were talking about....lol

Yes was addressing you NYC, but was confused.....thought you were talking about another dust collecter in use as well as your festool vac.....

Sorry have cyclone dust collectors on the brain since I've been reshearching it so much......lolol

I think they came out with that model of seperator you have after I bought my Dust Deputy.  How do you find it?

I am waiting for my festool vac, and was not thinking of a Dust Deputy for it as it's not supposed to lose suction as the bag fills, but I forgot about the one you have which is a little more robust by the looks of it.....Does it do a good jo of both chips and dust....

Sorry for the confusion,
Greg

 

[NYC Tiny Shop]

grbmds
Hi. I thought you might have felt it was a larger outlet as what you said was sort of opposite of what we were talking about....lol

Yes was addressing you NYC, but was confused.....thought you were talking about another dust collecter in use as well as your festool vac.....

Sorry have cyclone dust collectors on the brain since I've been reshearching it so much......lolol

I think they came out with that model of seperator you have after I bought my Dust Deputy.  How do you find it?

I am waiting for my festool vac, and was not thinking of a Dust Deputy for it as it's not supposed to lose suction as the bag fills, but I forgot about the one you have which is a little more robust by the looks of it.....Does it do a good jo of both chips and dust....

Sorry for the confusion,
Greg

No apologies needed.
I like the Laguna DC16. One clasp is weak and was popping open frequently causing a pressure loss in the system, so I bungee-corded over all the clasps and now it works well.  I'm not sure that it's collecting as much dust as my previous cheapo Oneida bucket.  (Man, what a hassle that thing was...tipping, static denting, pulling the lid off...can't believe that they're still peddling that garbage.) That said, I recently saw an Oneida cyclone funnel made of steel that I would consider. I think Oneida does understand how to shape a cyclone better than the competition...thus, my interest in the Cobra.

http://www.amazon.com/ONEIDA-SYSTEMS-Super-Deputy-Cyclone/dp/B002L7WTPE/ref=sr_1_3?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1396469856&sr=1-3&keywords=oneida+cyclone

 

[gnlman]

Hi. Yes it's a nice design and unlike the Dust Deputy that needs to sit on top of the bucket, your unit could sit beside the vac saving headroom so it could say live under a bench ect.
I use the DD with my old craftsmen 200cfm shopvac. I put them both on a stand with wheels and did some bracing as the DD and bucket are all plastic and the bucket lid is fairly flexable. I did a few mods to improve that, but for the money the DD works great. The only issue is I find it cuts the air movement down on the shopvac to the point it is less than effective on my router table and chop saw. It still works great on my drill press, and great on my track saw. I have even used my sander with it (my shopvac can be dialed back) and it works fine....no dust on the filter in the vac but with a clean shopvac filter and the shopvac on it's own, once I hook it up to my chopsaw, hard to find any dust anywhere....too bad that doesn't last too long as once the clean filter gets dirty.....it stops be effective.....hence my interest in the Dust Deputy.....lol

I think I'm going to just try using the Festool vac under my mft by itself for now. I only do final cuts, some routing sanding and I guess now domino..ing....lol
and my kreg jig, so I think a bag will last me a long time on a ct36.

I think I will call the closest dealer around and see if anyone there is using one of these Cobra's.(300 miles away) If I end up ordering one, I'll make sure I come back and give a review, and let you know how it works within a mini sort of 2.5 dust collection system with tools like a drill press, chop saw, router table and portable table saw.....
Thanks again, Greg.

 

[NYC Tiny Shop]

Greg,
It would be good to get your take on the Cobra.

The Laguna DC16 used to be under my MFT. Now, it's bungee-corded under my wheeled CMS. They move together.

 

[jacko9]

I have the Oneida V-3000 for my shop machines and the CT22 with the Ultimate dust deputy for my power tools.  Both are very good at what they were designed to do including getting all of the dust and chips off my Powermatic 100 planer but, collecting dust from a table saw is tricky because of the amount of material coming off of the blade.  Effective table saw dust collection needs to have a pickup over the blade and one in the cabinet (or enclosure).

Jack

 

[grbmds]

I have always felt Oneida makes top quality stuff. Back when no other companies were making cyclones which were more or less affordable and self contained to fit in a smaller footprint, Oneida was the innovator. The one I have is over 20 years old and, while I cannot get a HEPA filter for it, it does a great job for my planer, jointer, and for my table saw (which I don't really use anymore since I bought the TS55). For sanding and even my bandsaw and router table, I think the CT48 does the best job and is the most efficient at collecting dust. All these are combined with a ceiling mounted air cleaner (old also). And, unless I'm just sanding for a very short time, I still use a powered dust mask no longer made but effective from 3M even when I'm using the 125 sander and the CT48. I find that all these together work well and there is not just one solution no matter what dust collector you have. So, after looking at the Cobra and other Oneida has available now, I'd certainly consider one of theirs over another company if I was in the market for a large dust collector. There are so many choices out there now.

 

[gnlman]

Hi Guys. Thanks for the replies. I have never owned any oneida equipment other than the DD and well it really works well. Thought I'd keep my faith in Oneida so I ordered the Dust Cobra today after talking with the retailer that sells them in my Province. I should get it in a few days, and once I have it up and running I will come back and give you my opinion. I am thinking of doing a You Tube review as well to try and "give back" to all the others that post very useful real world information for all of us to absorb...The old WWW can be a great place to learn if you are willing to put the time in, as is this site. Thanks again for the discussion, I'll get back to you all real soon.
Greg

 

[Paul G]

Hope it works well for you, would be interested in your impressions of the sound level as well as performance once its up and running