# Dust Deputy & Shop Vac Combo



## apehl (Jul 18, 2016)

I recently purchased a dust Deputy to add to my shop vac. I thought making a mobile cart would be best. I have a 1 stall garage that we still park a car in so space is vital. My current shop vac is just too big, at 6hp 16 gallon and pretty wide. Since the dust deputy with a 5gallon bucket will collect almost all the dust, could I buy a small 6.5hp 3gallon shop vac to save space and gain power? What is the best sized hose to go with if I plan to use this on a lot of my smaller tools? Any insight would be much appreciated!


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Yes, as long as you don't let the 5 gallon bucket get overfilled, you really only need enough space in the shop vac to house the filter.


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## clin (Sep 3, 2015)

You're correct that you do not need any collection capacity in the shop vac. But, you still need it to move as much air as possible. Unfortunately, higher power tends to go with a larger collection capacity.

I use a 2 1/2" x 20' long hose that fit the DD. I then use whatever adapter I need to use it with a smaller hose when needed. Obviously you can adapt a smaller hose right to the DD.

I like the long hose because I don't have to move the vac or DD around. Also, consider building a cart that stacks the vac and DD vertically. I think I've seen designs where the business end of a powerful vac is adapted to a small homemade box.

Also, the DD works so well, you can use a HEPA filter in the shop vac. I also use a bag in may vac. The bag just keeps the HEPA filter that much cleaner.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

As Clin mentioned, a vertical cart is a good idea. Jay bates has a video on the cart he made for his. On the other hand, I simply stack my homemade separator right on top of my shop vac. The magic of bungee cords. I made this as a crude prototype and it works so well I just never replaced it. I use Cleanstream filters. Mine are almost 3 years old and still going strong.


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## apehl (Jul 18, 2016)

Currently my beast of a shop vac is under my mobile miter saw stand. I will be making either a wall mount or vertical dust cart (just like Jays). Therefore i want to make as small of a footprint as possible. I explored the hoover garage vac, but i dont think that will work best for my woodworking needs. I am looking at something like this Ridgid. 6hp or this Performax.

Currently i have a 2.5" hose and it works well. I just run into issues when I use it for my kreg jig or sander because of its weight and size but my guess is i need to invest into a hose adaption kit.


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## brtech (May 26, 2010)

For smaller tools, it really is nice to use a smaller hose. I use a 2.5" 5 meter Bosch hose, which is much more flexible than the stock hose on either a ShopVac or Rigid vac. I also have a smaller diameter hose with a 2.5" adapter and a set of tool port adapters for that. When I'm using a sander, Kreg jig, my Domino, or other hand held power tool, I connect the smaller hose either directly to the intake port on the vac or the end of the 2.5" hose. That makes it much easier to use.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Rockler sells an adapter kit that they claim will fit any tool that might be work a look. It is a little pricey but if you have multiple tools that require different adapters, it might not be too bad.


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

SEVERAL years ago, I bought a metal Dust Deputy. It did such a good job keeping the efficiency up I no longer needed a sixteen gallon beast, so went to small vac with the most punch I could get. I believe the one I use is about five gallons. Years later I still see no reason to turn back.

Stay with a hose that fits the Deputy. I use my the hose of my old sixteen gallon vac and slide it over the top hole. For the input, I use hose I picked up at the Depot/Lowes. Currently, that's a twenty foot hose, which lets me run it on my Festool sander, and reach over to vacuum sawdust and shavings off the drill press, so I don't have to fire up the collector and the four inch hose for that small task.

I did have to run a wrap of duct tape over the inlet pipe to get a tight fit, when I slide the hose over it.


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## apehl (Jul 18, 2016)

> SEVERAL years ago, I bought a metal Dust Deputy. It did such a good job keeping the efficiency up I no longer needed a sixteen gallon beast, so went to small vac with the most punch I could get. I believe the one I use is about five gallons. Years later I still see no reason to turn back.
> 
> Stay with a hose that fits the Deputy. I use my the hose of my old sixteen gallon vac and slide it over the top hole. For the input, I use hose I picked up at the Depot/Lowes. Currently, that s a twenty foot hose, which lets me run it on my Festool sander, and reach over to vacuum sawdust and shavings off the drill press, so I don t have to fire up the collector and the four inch hose for that small task.
> 
> ...


What shop vac did you go with? HP and CFM?


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## Bob5103 (Feb 13, 2016)

I have a narrow shop and I really hate the battle with a shop vac always in my way. This is what I came up with to eliminate the shop vac. I bought a central vac and the ducting that goes with it and some Rockler 2" blast gates. In my shop I have my miter saw, router table, drum sander oscillating sander and drill press attached to the duct. The vac came with a 30' hose that I use for my handheld tools and general clean up. I also ran duct into the garage portion of the building for vacuuming the cars. I bought the central vac new, but I see them on CL all the time. The ducting is 2" but it is proprietary to centrals vacs. It is very inexpensive through a shop that carries central vacuums. With the dust deputy attached, it has been over a year for a filter change and I looked this morning and it will be at least another year before I have to worry about it. The suction is amazing, and it frees up my DC for the large tools.


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

I went with a Ridged. When I pulled this one up, off line, it shows as a four gallon, rather than a five gallon vac.










If it helps, I'll shoot and show a photo of my hoses and connections. Since my unit hides under various tools (currently, the miter), it's not stacked. Interestingly, that would eat more space for me, since the space it would occupy is taken by three different collectors.


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## Lynden (Oct 13, 2009)

Here's an idea for a dust deputy cart which uses the 4-gallon Ridgid vacuum.

http://www.oneida-air.com/images/static/dust-deputy-diy-sample-02.jpg


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## apehl (Jul 18, 2016)

Just wanted to give an update on what i went with. Plus i have a question regarding hose size. I decided to go with the craftsman wall mount. Performax and Vacmaster have the exact same model I just got the craftsman for a good deal on amazon $85 and I like the red/black more. I struggled between that, the ridgid, and some of the smaller shop vacs. I tried to rely on cfm rather than hp because i know cfm is a good indicator of the actual tested performance, however it is very hard to find that number on some vacs. I liked the small size, wall mount feature, on/off switch on the hose, and attachments. Since i dont know if i will make a dust collection cart or not i thoughtthe wall mount feature would be a great option if i decide to mount that right on a cart or on the wall and put the Dust Deputy below.

*One note of caution for people who are looking at cfm as a deciding factor. It seems to me the Shop Vac brand has different marketing at different big box stores. The Menards vacs show a considerably lower CFM 60-100cfm on their boxes than Lowes 120-200cfm. Maybe i researched everything too much but that was concerning to me. I wanted to go with this https://www.amazon.com/Shop-Vac-5986000-5-Gallon-Stainless-Vacuum/dp/B00EPH63K0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1487957550&sr=8-2&keywords=shop+vac from amazon for $50, rated at 160 cfm this was a huge deal. However Menards has what i think is the exact same one yet the cfm on the box is only 60. http://www.menards.com/main/tools-hardware/power-tools-accessories/wet-dry-vacuums-accessories/shop-vac-reg-5-gallon-4-5-peak-hp-wet-dry-vacuum/p-1444442264749-c-10092.htm?tid=4542563320788165780 . Just some information for those others that overthink these types of decisions.

The one question i do have is in regard to what size hose i should use. The craftsman has a 1.5 (inside diameter) hose and it comes with about 20+ ft of it. Once i shorten is and connect it to the DD i am trying to determine what size i should use to go to the tools. Should is stick with the same size or will i get better performance if i attach a larger 2.5 inch hose and use a smaller connection at the tool or wont that matter?


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## Holbs (Nov 4, 2012)

I second jay bates dust deputy / shop vac cart. Very simple, vertical, small footprint, mobile.


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