This is a horror story.

My first order was returned by UPS to Amazon as “undeliverable” for reasons never explained (fault: UPS). The replacement for that order (order #2) was received with the dust hood completely shattered. The replacement for this order (order #3) was lost (fault: UPS). The replacement for this last order (#4) was received with the dust hood broken AGAIN.

Rousseau’s packaging, which is used for these shipments, is not adequate to prevent damage in shipping. Too many large parts are loose in the box, which damages the dust hood and pokes holes in the box. Considering the cost of this item, there’s no excuse for poor packaging.

I wish I could evaluate the actual performance of the Downdrafter, but since I can’t get one unbroken my single star is for Rousseau’s poor packaging and Amazon’s unwillingness to ensure that the item is better protected for shipment. Good luck if you decide to order this.

UPDATE: After contacting Rousseau about this problem, I have learned that the supplier of the plastic for the dust hood used the wrong material. Some unknown quantity of Downdrafters had already been shipped to retailers, including Amazon, and there is no way to tell which ones have the defective plastic dust hoods from the outside of the box. Rousseau offerred to ship me one without charging me for shipping, so maybe now I’ll be able to actually put one to use.

My new downdrafter is saving me money. My air handler filters run about $50 each. I was going through one a month before the downdrafter. Now I get about 3 months use out of one. That’s $400.00 a year that stays in my pocket. The downdrafter will pay for itself and then some in a years time. I also suffer from sinus headaches. The downdrafter reduces the amount of dust on my compound miter saw to almost nothing. I’m feeling good and my production level has increased due to feeling better.

We bought this in an attempt to deal with the sawdust from a compound miter saw. It’s probably the most useless item I have ever bought. I didn’t even try to sell it, it went straight into the dumpster.

The downdrafter is a excellent help, I have to wear masks all the time when I work specially with vinyl or plastic material, Now I can fell the difference is less dust especially if I use the downdrafter in conjuction with a vacum

Too highly priced to be worth while. It’s a $75 max item that has been inflated to $150 plus. Analize the product yourself…the stand, the hood etc and it’s not worth the price and will never be fully effective due to the nature of miter saws and specifically, sliding bevelled miter saws.