Works great considering the price: this and a free 5-gal bucket gets you pretty decent primary chip separation. I don't find a need to add any gasket around the rim where it sits on the 5-gallon bucket -- you just pull the metal bucket handle up and it wedges the lid down in place: seems like a good design to me! Plus when you turn on the vac the suction pulls it down. So no problem there. It is true that you need an adapter to use with 2-1/2" OD hose, I use these from Rockler  ("Shop Vac Adapter" allows your 2-1/2" OD hose to work with your shop vac. Small end has a 2-1/4" outer diameter and a 2" inner diameter. Large end outer diameter is 2-7/16" for 2-1/2" hose). but my 2-1/4" Ridgid hose fits right into the ports on these. It's true the description is inaccurate (-1 star) - you cannot use a Shop-Vac 2-1/2" hose directly, you must use an adapter.