Great Gear: Mullet dust separator

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Cyclone dust separators for shop vacuums have been around for a while. They excel at keeping the vac’s filter clean by dropping debris out of the airstream ahead of the filter. The folks at Mullet have taken this basic idea and improved it by making the connection between their separator and the vac rigid. This means the two units move as one when you tug on the hose—a welcome convenience when cleaning up the shop.

I’ve been using the U.S.-made Mullet for several months now and like it a lot. As advertised, it keeps my vac’s filter clean, and the suction strong. Their instruction manual was clear and actually fun to read with some Texas humor thrown in for good measure. The initial setup took about 10 minutes, the included adaptors mating perfectly with my Craftsman vac. (Mullet includes adaptors for all the major brands.) The clear plastic lid and the translucent hopper make it easy to tell when it’s time to empty the canister, which is a fast, easy, tool-free operation. The only troubles I’ve had have been a couple of clogs after sucking up too many hand-plane shavings. I can live with that.

—Ken Burton