Dust Right® Dust Separator

• 10-gallon container is easy to empty yet holds twice as much as competitive solutions
• Translucent container makes it easy to see when it's time to empty
• Five-caster base gives it exceptional stability and makes it a breeze to maneuver around the shop
• Hose connections fit snuggly inside the in/out ports preventing unintentional disconnections
• Includes a 36" flexform hose that connects the Dust Right® Separator to any vacuum with a standard 2-1/4'' ID inlet port
• Shop Vac not included
• Patent pending

Due to the size of this item, there is an additional $50 shipping charge for International shipping.

The Shop-Vac® 5-1/2 HP 8-Gallon Industrial Wet/Dry Vac, Shop Vac Handle, Shop Vac Hose Kit, and Hose Holder are sold separately.

What's in the Box?

One Dust Right® Separator

After moving into a new home I finally set up my wood shop in my extended garage. The one thing I didn’t want was sawdust all over the place. I installed my existing dust collection system but didn’t want the hassle of cleaning or changing the vacuum filter. I received the dust right dust separator as a gift for Christmas. After assembling which took about five minutes I installed it and haven’t looked back. The filter in my vacuum still looks new even after several projects and the garage is 95% dust free. This is a must for anyone who loves to work with wood and does not have a dedicated shop. Rockler also has available additional items that I’ve purchased for my router, band saw, and sander.

Like many others, shop space is limited and so is the funding department. I just purchased a 15" planer and the Dust Right  Dust Separator at the same time. I was a bit skeptical as to whether the Dust Right system and my shop vacuum could handle the load from the planer. On initial start up, I was more then impressed with the ability to keep up with the high volume of chips. If there is any down fall to the dust collection system, it would be that the vacuum and dust collection tub do take up space but with the casters and a clean floor, they are easily moved. The 4" dust port on the planer down to the 2.1/4" fitting is no problem, plenty of pull. It's worth the minimal expense to have this in any shop as it saves time and more important, your lungs.

At last, no need to clean the filter on my shopvac everytime I start another piece of equipment. This equipment not only holds more chips and dust than my shopvac, it keeps my hepa filter cleaner, longer. In my small shop 8'x18' dust piles up everywhere. Now most of it piles up in the Dust Right bin. Thank you for a great product and a great help in the shop.

I purchased the Dust Right Dust Separator after an in store demonstration. Little did I know that I was going to put the product thru such a torture, but it came thru with flying colors. Using my air hammer I removed the saltillo tile from our bedroom floor while my wife kept the Dust Right vacuum going to keep down dust. The vacuum also picked up small pieces of broken tile along with the dust. If I didn't have the Dust Right I probably would have destroyed 5-6 filters. Instead the Dust Right caught the broken tile and only allowed dust to get to my vacuum. The vacuum filter got clogged with dust but a little banging on a rock with some air pressure and the filter came clean. Throughout the whole process I only used 2 filters, one in the morning and one in the afternoon so I wouldn't need to clean them but once a day. And, the filters are still in good condition. The only reason I gave this a 4 is that the expandable hose is not long enough and it keeps retracting. I purchased the Mr. Nozzle Vacuum Tool Kit from my local Rockler store which works great with the Dust Right.

This separator is the best thing since sliced bread. I have two of them and have found numerous uses for each other than in our wood shop. The savings on vacuum cleaner bags more than pays for the product. Our latest use is cleaning the brooder area where we raise quail. Each cleaning of the spilled feed and the used wood chip bedding will fill the separator over 8 times and we rarely have to replace the vacuum bags. Likewise, we use them for cleaning the machine shed and garage. The lid removes easily for dumping the contents. The unit is durable, assembles easily and is of excellent quality overall. We are very happy with the separator and highly recommend it to our friends.

I absolutely love this Separator but had some difficulty putting it together. Customer service was wonderful. The way I understood the directions was to put the bottom inside the top part then pull the top up until it clicked into place. After trying unsuccessfully several hours, I took the whole thing over to my daughter-in-law's house. She stood inside the bottom part while she, my 17 year old grandson, and myself all pulled on the top part. It still would not budge. The directions were not clear or correct I thought. I explained all of this to Customer Service and the lady there said she would send a new one and make sure it would go together before shipping. She sent me a new one with hand printed directions and pictures drawn on sticky notes. When the UPS driver got here and we told him what had happened, he waited while we opened the package, saw the sticky notes,then quickly put the top piece over top of the bottom and pushed down. It instantly hooked together. I felt about 2" tall. I called back the next day and offered to pay for the new one they had sent me, but they would not accept it. Rockler went up about 20 notches on a scale of 1 to 10. Thank you Rockler

AN ADDITIONAL USAGE: My basement shop sometimes leaks rain water. Sometimes up to several inches deep. My wet/dry shop vac has a very small liquid capacity, requiring Many trips outside, to empty the small capacity. The Dust Separator, between my floor pickup tool, and my wet/dry shop vacuum, GREATLY expands my water pickup capacity from the floor of my shop. Almost NO water ever reaches my shop vacuum. It's all captured inside of the Dust Right Dust Separator. What a Bonus !!!

The cyclone works well, it keeps most of the dust out of my shop vac. It was easy to assemble and is a nice size, it holds a lot of dust but doesn't take up to much space. My only complaint is a fairly significant one, it is top heavy and tips over often. It tips over whenever I try to move it to a new location or even sitting in a stationary location if I am using an expandable hose. I am going to try putting a brake rotor inside of it to provide some mass to keep it upright. Overall it works great if I can keep it upright.

I bought my Dust Right dust separator to go with a planer. The separator works just like it should and was easy to assemble, but it still has some flaws. After planing some oak, I got quite an electric shock when I tried to empty the blue canister. In addition to electrical shocks, static electricity made it almost impossible to twist off the lid. This step was more difficult than it needed to be since there isn’t anything to hold when twisting the lid from the canister. I made a jig to make this task a little less frustrating and used permanent marker to indicate the open position. Secondly, the blue canister leaked at the seam of the two parts. Some duct tape solved this issue. Thirdly, the shop vac hose fit loosely into the inlet port on the canister. Again, some duct tape solved this issue. Lastly, I agree with other reviewers who said the canister is top heavy and tilts over. Overall, the Dust Right dust separator does a great job of collecting shavings and keeping the shop vac from filling up too quickly. Also, the separator is much easier to empty than a regular dust collector. I’m still glad I bought the separator, but due to the flaws mentioned above, especially the static electricity issue, I would rate it as 4 stars rather than 5.

Works great. Setup could not be easier. I bought a longer more flexible hose and that enables me to attach it easily without moving it around too much. Definitely worth the money.

This is one of the smartest buys I've made. It works great and has more capacity than I thought. It's minimized the clean up in and arounf my table saw and planer. And I haven't had to buy a new Shop-Vac filter for about a year now. If I have to give it one criticism, it would be that I wish the hose was more flexible/less rigid. I can still occasionally pull it over when I'm using it with just my Shop-Vac.

I purchased this item a couple of months ago and WOW! It made my shop vac perform like it was brand new, even after several days of use the shop vac was still clean and more power full than ever. I have not had to clean the dust filter on my shop vac yet, the Vortex catches everything. The shop stays so clean that if I suddenly have to use it for a wet vac all I have to do is disconnect it from the Vortex and go. I love it! The Vortex saves me so much work and time dumping the shop vac and cleaning the dust filter. This product is AWESOME! Highly recommended.

I just received this 8/30/12. I cleaned my shop, & planed some pine boards. opened my shop vac, & it was empty! not a bit of dust on the filter! I recomend this for those of us who don't have room, or money for large dust collection systems!

I purchased the Dust Right Vortex about a month ago, this thing is amazing. The Vortex has been filled 3 times so far and there is only a film of dust in the shop vac. I would recommend this to anyone with a wood shop where there is no room for a dust collector.

Works very well. Tad top heavy - careful if you move it around by the hose. Could be easier to open and close. Change/clean vac filter once every three or four times Dust Right is dumped. Well worth it.

This works exactly as advertised. Three wood lathe projects and no chips in the vacuum. The only down side is the narrow base makes tip over very easy. That aside, I am very satisfied.

The seperator does a fine job of keeping the larger material from going into the shop vac, however most of the fine dust still finds its way to the filter and I need to clean it just as often as I did before.I've tried it on all three of my vacs with the same result. Since space in my shop is at a premium, it now sits in the shed until I can modify or find another use for it.

Great product...was thinking of making my own, but what is your time worth? Besides, after buying fittings, container & what not I was aproaching Rockler's asking price. This is the best shop purchase I've made in a long time! Cleanup, & tool DC for 2 days w/out having to clean filter.  I've read poor reveiws, & have to say that some people just don't have any common sense! If your filter is clogging due to fine particles, use a bag! That's the only way to catch fine micron dust, period. You have to empty it often because its hooked up to a plainer? No kidding? Ha... of course your going to lose a lil suction, same thing as adding 20' of hose to your vac. If your expecting the magical cure, you'll always be dissappointed. If your looking for a good small shop DC system . I highly recomend, works for me. Shop & lungs are much cleaner! Thanx again Rockler.

I've had the dust separator for about a year. My complaints:  the wheels are junk, you can't pull the tank because the wheels have little stability. Might be better if they didn't put them on at all. Dust doesn't separate well, I cleaned out the shop vac and put in a new filter, but about half the dust still goes to the body of the shop vac, and the filter clogs, just not as quickly.

I use this in my basement shop with a standard shop vac. On the first cleanout, I was stunned at how effective this setup is. Was then not surprised to see a rave review in Fine Woodworking's Tools and Shops edition. I then changed to a Fein Turbo shop vac and now I'm REALLY happy. The Fein is pricey, but incredibly quiet AND effective. My sound level meter says I dropped from 102 dB to 72 dB. As my gearhead friends say, "This is the hot setup!" short of a real dust collection system I'd like to see a better cover release, but I can't deduct a star for that. It's just an outstandingly effective product.

I am one of those people who is very seldom satisfied with the performance of products. But I have to say that I am VERY impressed with this unit. When putting it together, I was skeptical that it was going to live up to the positive reviews. I had expected there to be some kind of internal baffling to direct the airflow, and to give positive separation between the inlet and outlet ducts. There is none, and looking at it, I thought "this can't possibly work". I emptied my shop vacuum, and cleaned the filter very well with compressed air. And I did the same to the inside of the vacuum after dumping the contents on the floor. I wanted the inside of the vacuum to be very clean, so I had a good reference to what was getting through the Vortex. The contents that was dumped contained a large percentage of very fine sawdust, which as closer to talcum powder than it is to saw debris. I full expected the powder to get through, figuring that it was so low in mass, it couldn't possibly get separated from the airflow by such a simple device. I was wrong! I vacuumed up the whole pile, and then a good percentage of my shop floor. When I inspected the inside of my shop vac, I literally could not detect anything getting through. I'm sure there must have been a little bit, but it was virtually as clean as when I had started. Tapping the filter produced not even a puff of dust. I'm very impressed with the performance, and the construction is just fine. I had no problems with the assembly. The casters fit very snuggly, and I'm sure they will not come loose.

This works surprisingly well. I filled the canister two times with only 1 inch of dust making it through to my shop vac. Vac was still pulling strong, so filter was not too clogged you could still see the filter ribs as opposed to the usual bee hive look when emptying. I did vac out my down-draft table which seemed to be a bit of a challenge for it. It still kept most of the dust in the separator, but the filter took a bit more of a hit. I agree  about getting the lid on and off. It would be much easier if there were some sort of handle or grip to hold and keep the whole bucket from turning. There isn't a good hold on either the bucket or the lid. It is a bit top heavy if trying to pull around by the hose. Also, in order to fit my shop vac, I have to hook my shop vac hose to the bucket and use the provided collapsable hose on the suction end. This is not a good working set-up. The working end is too short and collapses all the time. It sucks, and not in a good way. I am back on the sight to order a longer non-collapsing hose. I would buy this again.

Just got it a few days ago after the backorder wait, and it was worth the wait! Hooked it up to my Rigid Shop-Vac and was impressed that the suction and pickup lost no strength at all and the 2.25" hoses mated up perfectly. Wish I'd had something like this for the past years! Very satisfied customer! I would suggest that it have an available handle/extension so that the hose's nozzle can be more easily maneuvered for shop floor cleaning. I'll try some PVC pipe and clamps to implement that.

Submitted  on 4/18/2012

I take most of it back... now that I've been using it for a month or two. It tips over too easily, and when it does, the shop-vac nozzle usually ends up on the bottom side when it falls, sucking everything the separator collected right into the shop vac! The shop vac port should be in the center of the top, the base should be wider than the top and the wheels should be out-riggered a few inches beyond the base to prevent tipping! Finally, it needs a molded-in handle on the side of the container to make it easier to carry to your dumping spot or pour into your favorite waste container.



 

Used a month now. Combined w a small Shopvac to clean up around tablesaw, planer, etc. Nearly everything trapped in the Vortex and the filter in the vac stays mostly clean. Yes, it's pricey and you could make one for half, but that's another issue.

The Dust Right Vortex works exceptionally well. I used it for the first time to clean all the dust from the cabinet on my table saw. The Dust Right Vortex was filled to the line nice to be able see when it needs emptying w/o removing the top, but only a trace amount of fine dust was in the shop vac. I was impressed. Would have liked a more flexible hose, but that's no big deal really.

An excellent product. It does exactly what it says it will. I got a new shop vac and the Dust Right Vortex™ Dust Separator for Christmas and it works great. I have had to clean up my shop, plane boards, sand wood and alot of various projects. All in all I have had to empty the Vortex twice since i got it but have hardly any sawdust in my shop vac. Its great.

This is such a elegantly simple and effective addition to anyone's shop vacuum. It truly saves your filter from a lot of the dust that would normally clog the filter after 5 minutes of use. I use a Vortex filter for my vacuum, when using the Dust Right, I have 15-20 minuets of continued use actual use of sucking dust off the floor or connected to a machine. This increases suction and saves time on frustrating filter cleaning. The flexform hoses are perfect for this use as well as using it for many different jobs around the shop. If you are searching for the perfect Christmas gift for that special woodworker in your life, I highly recommend this, and by giving this gift you may finally get that jewelry box he said he would make you 3 years ago.

This is great dust control for those of us working in our garages or small shop. I use mine with my 16 gal. rig..d shop vac. with the dust bag in the vac. Wood dust on everything's a thing of the past. Great dust control for little money.

So far so good - Works great. Hardly any material makes it past the separator to my shop vac paper filter, but I am not using mine for woodworking, so I don't have a bunch of wood dust and wood chips. My separator  is being used to collect swarf and sanded materials from my CNC machine, a drill press, a saber saw and a 9 inch and 48 inch bench mount sanding unit. The CNC machine material can be anything from aluminum, HDPE, Fiberglass, wood, etc. I have regular pvc pipe that runs under the benches to all machines. Then I use flex hose from the PVC to each machine. Each machine has a blast gate that is only open when using that machine. The shop vac is located outside my shop which eliminates all motor noise from the shop vac. The shop vac automatically comes on when any one of the machines is turned on. I do this using a current sensor unit that senses when current is flowing through a power cord. The current sensor circuit then turns on the shop vac. Pretty nice not having to switch on the shop vac manually when I use the machines. My separator stays in a same fixed spot all the time and so there is no reason to have the wheels on it. I would suggest that you duct tape the seam between the two halves of the separator  bin for an extra tight air seal. Also, I am seeing some people complain that the lid is difficult to get off. You don't pull the lid straight up to remove it. The lid goes down onto three tabs and then you twist the lid to lock it onto the main body. To remove the lid you twist it in the correct direction and it comes off very easy.

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Outstanding job. Especially for the price! Excellent buy for a small work area as it is quick to switch from tool to tool.

Wow!it's better than advertised. As soon as I got it assembled I emptied my Shop Vac on the floor and vacuumed it using the Vortex. After cleaning up the mess using the Vortex the Shop Vac was empty except for a slight film of dust on the foam filter. Very impressive.

I bought a 16 gallon Shop-Vac a few months ago, and when I was down to my last bag I purchased the Vortex. I've filled and emptied it at least fifteen times and still have the same bag in the vac as when I first hooked up the Vortex. Amazing! It's already paid for itself just in bags I haven't had to buy. Would highly recommend it.

It works perfectly. The necessary regular cleaning of the filter on my old Craftsman 6hp/16 gal shop vac is an extremely dirty job. After installing the dust separator and then cleaning the work shop saws, tables and floor, ALL the mess was in the separator and NOTHING was in the vacuum or filter. Nice product !!!

Works as described. Kept a good seal with no air leaks which is a big deal. A larger 4" version would be great compared to the garbage can lid variety. Editor's note: For 4" size we recommend that you use our 4” dust separator components (#34367) to build your own container to maintain your duct collector’s effectiveness.

Got it a couple of weeks ago after the back order wait. The first time I used it 1 caster kept falling out when ever I moved it about my shop. I also have the smaller version which I bought a couple years ago. On that one the lid sets on a pail. No Casters and no problems. The Dust Right Vortex works great but is aggravating to move. For the price you would expect better.

Not perfect, mine leaks a little bit,it could use a gasket on the lid therefore I have less suction, and also it is a real pain to open and close. A couple of wings or handles on the tub would really help opening and closing, which I do sometimes several times a day when planing or jointing.

Like everyone has already stated, the Dust Right performs as stated. I too had a brand new filter in my shop vac and used Dust Right connect in series from the vac to my bench sander. Filter was still as clean as when I installed it.  There are connection issues of the supplied hose connecting to my Ridgid shop vac. My Ridgid has the lock ring at the vac head so the included hose wouldn't connect. I had to use the Ridgid hose for that connection, but that left me with the Dust Right stiff shorter hose to connect from the Dust Right to my tools, luckily I had other 2" shop vac hoses that did the job. Only other issue is the Dust Right is tall but has a small footprint which makes it easy to tip over. If you pull the Dust Right along on its casters, it will tip over. Once that happens the Vortex ends and you will get a huge chunk of dust into the vac. I placed a paver brick in the base to give the Dust Right some ballast. Other than that, it is a great item.

Using it on a planer and found needed to empty too often to keep chips from going into vac. Filter is filled with fine dust. Not what I expected. Should have gone for the 4" self build model.

I love the Dust Right Vortex. It works great and has saved me time from having to continuously empty my ShopVac. I have been planing a lot stock lately and this piece has been great in capturing 90% or better of dust and chips. Highly Recommended.

I agree with most of the reviews here in that this most certainly is a very cost effective way to create a dual stage vacuum solution without making a several hundred dollar purchase. However, here are the issues I encountered: 1) I have a slight disagreement with the advertising photos used to promote the product. The photo depicting the dust on the vacuum filter between a shop vacuum using the Vortex and one without is not what you should truly expect under normal woodworking conditions. After filling the Vortex canister to the line with dust and chips with my shop vacuum connected to my miter saw, table saw, planer and router I was in need of heavy cleaning of my filter. However, I will point out that there was virtually no debris in the canister of the shop vacuum itself. 2) The Vortex falls over easily. Two bricks placed at the bottom fixed this. 3) The top fastens to the base by aligning grooves and then tightening it. There are no locking tabs to keep it from unscrewing itself. I made marks on the cover with a marker so I know that it is in fact "tightened." A few quick release tabs similar to those used on standard shop vacuums would be beneficial.

Got this product along with extending hose back at Christmas. After using for a few months, I can now rate it fairly. I use it connected to a Craftsman 16 gallon shop vac. Last week I decided to empty the Vortex despite being less than 1/2 full. I had noticed less suction so I decided to check the shop vac too. To my disappointment, the vac was full more than the Vortex. I had just bought a new filter at time I bought the Vortex thinking there would be a little dust entering the vac but that was not the case. The only advantage of the Vortex I see is that the vac will not fill up as fast but it will fill up.

It didn't meet my expectations, caught the big wood chips fine, but not so well with wood dust. My shop vac filter clogs quickly with wood dust which is mostly what I need it for. Good for surface planer. However, if you are using it with a table saw or sanding, forgetaboutit.

After reading all of the positive comments I guess my expectations were too high. In my honest opinion, this item does not live up to all the hype. My Vortex is connected to a Craftsman 16 gallon 6.5hp shop vac which I thoroughly cleaned and replaced the filter before using the Vortex. Although the Vortex does a fine job separating wood chips and other large pieces from entering the shop vac, it allows the fine dust to pass right through and clog up the filter. In all actuality, this item hasn't increased my productivity because I have to empty it more often, and clean the shop vac's filter every time also. I have a 2600 sq. ft. shop that is used full-time to manufacture outdoor furniture I'm self-employed, so productivity time is of the ultimate importance.

Will not capture fine dust as well, but does a good job on chips. If you hood up a hose to do sanding and other fine work, this system will clog your shop vac filter.

It works, but getting the lid off is nearly impossible. The hose fittings that come with it are slightly larger than my shop vac. Therefore they don't insert into the port all the way and the shopvac hose fitting is slightly smaller than the hose ports on the separator. I use filter bags in my vac to catch the fine dust but since the hose doesn't insert al the way in the nozzle does not make contact with the filter bag opening so the dust does not go into the bag. I bought the accessory hose so I could use my shop vac hose to connect to the separator but the wire in the hose is so strong it won't extend well when the vacuum is on and when you pull on it the tank tips over.

I really like the  concept and have had great success with a similar device for my dust collector. The problem with this product is one of compatibility. I have a Fein 9.55.13 shop vac, which unfortunately, has non-standard hoses and connectors. I have yet to come up with a suitable set of adapters to make this work. If you have a standard shop vac Rigid, ShopVac, Craftsman, etc, you should be fine. But if you have a Fein, work out the adapter issues ahead of time. At the moment, this thing is taking up valuable floor space and collecting dust only on the outside.

This is a decent system. It worked very well as far as separating the larger shavings. Where it falls short, as all of them do that are designed like this one, is capturing the fine dust. All of the fine dust still goes right through to your shop vac which results in having to clean that filter frequently or you will lose significant suction. I still use this for cleaning the floor etc.

If you're like me and you want something to keep the fine dust from clogging your vac filter, don't waste your money on this. After reading many positive reveiws, I was convinced this was the tool for me. I was sorely dissapointed. It separates almost none of the fine saw dust and my filter needs to be cleaned as often as before. I've always been impressed with Rockler products but not this one!

Warning: All products of this type  that I use rely on gravity to pull out particles. If the wet/dry vac is too strong, the fine particles don't have a chance to fall to the bottom of the cyclone. I've tried the Dust Deputy similar product with a 2.5 HP vac and then a 6 HP vac. The 2.5 HP vac will have less fine dust on the filter. Keep this in mind when setting up your vacuum and separator. Test your weaker vac and your stronger vac. In this case,