TTTK Cyclone DIY Dust Collector

I have of these and 2 of the Dust Deputy. The tops broke off the DD's which seems to be a common problem on older models. The new ones have fixed it. I switched to the TTTK because of this and because it flows much higher CFM and has better separation. Being a lot cheaper is also a nice feature . There are major differences between the two units. The TTK has an inlet and exhaust of 2". The DD has an inlet and exhaust of only 1.75". That doesn't sound like much difference but it amounts to over 25% in area. That results in a lesser air flow,( CFM), in the DD. It's just just like sticking a cork in your vacuum hose . I use the Ridgid brand of shop vac which has a 2" id hose and is a perfect match to the TTTK. The smaller hoses, like Festool uses, plug and the bigger hoses are bulky and harder to use. The proper way to attach your hose to either one of these models is with a 2" rubber coupling available in the plumbing section. If you use a hard coupling you risk breaking the plastic cyclones as they are thin plastic. You also get a perfect seal with the rubber coupling with out any air leaks despite different sizes of connections. I ran some filtration tests on both type of cyclones I have. The way to do this is to feed a fixed amount of sawdust into the cyclone and using a manometer across the filter noting the increasing pressure . The higher pressure from a clogged filter is the looser. A clogged filter reduces CFM. The TTTK unit had about 12% better separation using the same shop vac with a Clean Stream HEPA fiter. One review claimed poor filtration for the TTTK. That is caused by a leak between the bottom of the cyclone and the saw dust container or at leak between the sawdust container and lid.. These seals are critical and must be water tight. These are common problems on any cyclone. Use only E6000 glue for the sealant on the cyclone. Silicon will separate from the plastic and should not be used. The DD traps a lot of sawdust at the top of the cyclone this spins around until the unit is turned off and compromises separation, also makes a lot of noise . The V shape is a poor design from this stand point but cheaper and easier to make then the TTTK with the spiral inlet. The TTTK has a spiral entrance at the top which solves this problem and also separates better. The TTTK unit is not a copy of the DD but an original second generation design and far superior. For the dust barrel just make your own out of plywood. A square is easier to build and works just as well as a round drum. This is a DIY project with little to go from. YouTube can help. All cyclones work very well except with the ones with the cone cut off at the bottom or the ones using a round drum. A must to eliminate filter fouling in a shop vac or a single stage DC. The DIY Thein separator which is not a cyclone but a drop box is about half way between no cyclone and a cyclone. I made several and could not figure out why they got so much publicity. They had pressure drops higher then a cyclone and let the small fines pass straight through to the filter. Stick with a true cyclone. The worse made one is 10 times better then a Thein for separation. The question to ask any reviewer is what test equipment did you use. Very few have the necessary test equipment and that's a shame. Shop-Vac just lost a big lawsuit for fraud on HP ratings. About time someone stops the lies in this industry.ALL THIS IS JUST MY OPINION OF COURSE AND OTHERS MAY DIFFER.

The model I received is different than the model pictured, but it works the same. I actually like the one I got a bit better. Instead of the flat lip that bolts on top of the bucket lid, there is about a 1/4" length that plugs into the hole that you cut into the bucket, making it easier to seal afterwards. Also, you attach the screws from the underside of the bucket lid into really thick support pieces around the cyclone instead of it just having a flat lip that you bolt to the bucket lid.Comes with everything you need (screws, washers,and even a hole drilling/cutting template sticker{!!!}). I don't recall seeing that mentioned in the description, so maybe that should be added.Just editing my review to say that the product pictures that are up now reflect the model that I received.

Another perfectly good idea that did not work... I had the same problem as others with the size of the pipes but just wrapped elec tape around until it fit my system... but the real problem is that it only collected about 30% of the dust... I think this cyclone is designed for a very low flow system and my vacuum just over powered it...

On a very tight budget, this cyclone works great. Mounted on cart with shop vac and clear dust container below cyclone and sanding has been much more fun and a whole lot less cleanup afterwards

It seals to the bucket okay and the template is spot on. The mounting looks nothing like the picture in the ad. What I don't like is the diameter of the hose connectors just doesn't fit any vac hoses, or PVC as a matter of fact I couldn't find anything that would fit it. It might work okay for metric pipe and hoses but I don't know. The Oneida brand has tapered inlet and outlets which fits 2 1/2' vac hose and 2" PVC pipe.

this little unit does a great job for me . was easy to install . only complaint is inlet and outlet size but i figured it out.

Great product works well not well made

Item as described at a great price