Watch This Before You Buy a Dust Separator

Everyone assumes you need a cyclone separator, but how do they impact your extractor's performance, and are they worth the money? In this video, we'll compare three common separators, see how they perform, how they impact your vac's performance, and figure out if they're even worth the cost.

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0:00 - Intro
0:40 - What is a cyclone separator?
2:20 - The three separators I'm testing
3:07 - The testing procedure
4:30 - Rigid + Dustopper
6:04 - Rigid + Oneida
7:17 - Rigid + Festool
8:37 - The CT 26 Vac
9:25 - Festool + Dustopper
10:16 - Festool + Oneida
10:53 - Festool + Festool
12:18 - Dust results
13:18 - Performance results
14:48 - Cost analysis
16:28 - Who should buy one of these things?
18:38 - Which one would I buy?

[garagedwellersww]

I didn’t mention in the video, but no matter what you do or what system you use, use bags! They are such an important step in keeping your vac’s filter clean.

[DiabloandaDP]

Timely video as I am considering this currently. I had already settled on the Oneida and this confirms it. Nice analysis, thanks!

[shanemelville]

Thank you for sharing this was very informative and it helped me to see what works well and not so much.
I have a craftsman shop vac it my third shop vac and I have the rockler dust deputy separator on it. It works pretty well. I’ve been doing woodworking since 2015 I am now a full time woodworker. I’ll be upgrading as the jobs come in

[chrisp]

I have the dustopper, not perfect but does a good job but I think I will look in to the Oneida. Thanks for the info.

[copperhead]

Thank you for making this video. It's very insightful. Like you said, I will never use a shop vac without a bag. It makes a huge difference. All you have to do is remove the bag, toss it out & and replace it. The vac stays pretty clean. I actually bought a dust topper a year ago. But I haven't even used it. 😅 Now im thinking it was just a waste of money.