Ambient Air cleaners
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George
Ambient Air cleaners
Does anyone out there have any opinions/experience withese dust cleaners I'm seeing on the market? Are they worth it, do they show results? In particular I have seen smaller portable ones from Dewalt and a combo designed with an overhanging light from Delta. I am sure I'll get most of the big stuff when I clean up the shop before varnishing but the finer stuff concerns me. Thanks in advance!
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Peter Kotowych
- Posts: 145
- Joined: Sun May 09, 2004 8:10 pm
- Location: Midland, Ontario
Hi George,
I have a portable air cleaner that I purchased from Canadian Tire. I have it on most of the time I am woking in the shop. I also have a box fan placed in a window. I taped a funace filter on the intake side and it works great and is cheap. ( This is an idea I got from someone on the web.) When I recently sanded the hull there was a tremedous amount of sawdust caught on the filter. Since this is my first canoe, I haven't got to the varnishing stage. Whether the air cleaner is absolutely necessary, .... I am sure it can't hurt. I got the portable one mainly to protect my lungs. I worked with cedar in the past and I did not wear a mask, and as a result the dust affects me. Good luck.
Penetang Pete
I have a portable air cleaner that I purchased from Canadian Tire. I have it on most of the time I am woking in the shop. I also have a box fan placed in a window. I taped a funace filter on the intake side and it works great and is cheap. ( This is an idea I got from someone on the web.) When I recently sanded the hull there was a tremedous amount of sawdust caught on the filter. Since this is my first canoe, I haven't got to the varnishing stage. Whether the air cleaner is absolutely necessary, .... I am sure it can't hurt. I got the portable one mainly to protect my lungs. I worked with cedar in the past and I did not wear a mask, and as a result the dust affects me. Good luck.
Penetang Pete
Even if you get an air cleaner to keep dust in the shop down, get a resparator that is suitable for fine particles and make sure it fits right every time. Also safety goggles are a good thing too. I discovered after a night of sanding on wood or epoxy that my eyes were always dry and scratchy even though i had safety glasses on. I really needed something to keep the dust out of my eyes I would not hesitate to use a hooded resperator in the future just for comfort and safety even if it does get a little warm under the hood
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Jeff in Pembroke
- Posts: 83
- Joined: Wed Jun 30, 2004 8:26 am
You may be able to adapt your sander to your shop vac. The dust outlet on my Dewalt ROS fits the hose size of the SHOPVAC brand. I was able to pick up an adapter at a hardware store to fit my Sears CRAFTSMAN. Remove the dust bag and hook your shopvac directly to the dust output of your ROS. By running the shopvac at the same time as you are sanding almost all the dust gets sucked into the vac canister. I tried sanding using just the sander dust bag but found that using the shopvac made a huge difference in the amount of dust in the air. It was especially helpful when sanding the graphite layer. Just be sure to wear hearing protection as a sander and shopvac running simultaneously can be pretty loud.
Enjoy your boat,
Jeff
Enjoy your boat,
Jeff
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Rod Tait
Air filters
I have three large air filters in the shop to collect the dust that vacuums and dust masks don't catch. At over 2000 CFM's total, the air in the shop in theory is interchanged once every 8 -10 minutes if all are running on full speed.
You vacuum will catch a good amount of the dust from orbital sander and is recommended in addition to masks (good ones that fit will), but the dust from sanding is so fine that it can stay in the air for days before settling. And it usually is so fine it rises to your ceiling with warm air and comes down later when you clean up or open the door to a breeze.
As for which model, there are many on the market. A portable one is great for small shops, because you can move it close to a project that you might be working with on your bench or hang from the ceiling.
I have Delta and am disappointed only in that the filters are a custom size which can only be purchased from Delta which means they make their money on replacement parts rather than the actual equipment. I purchase after market and make them fit - damn it.
To give you an idea how well they work, I replace the fully clogged filter once every three weeks even when it is only on for about two hours per day - six days per week. Amazing what we would have breathed in in that time.
You vacuum will catch a good amount of the dust from orbital sander and is recommended in addition to masks (good ones that fit will), but the dust from sanding is so fine that it can stay in the air for days before settling. And it usually is so fine it rises to your ceiling with warm air and comes down later when you clean up or open the door to a breeze.
As for which model, there are many on the market. A portable one is great for small shops, because you can move it close to a project that you might be working with on your bench or hang from the ceiling.
I have Delta and am disappointed only in that the filters are a custom size which can only be purchased from Delta which means they make their money on replacement parts rather than the actual equipment. I purchase after market and make them fit - damn it.
To give you an idea how well they work, I replace the fully clogged filter once every three weeks even when it is only on for about two hours per day - six days per week. Amazing what we would have breathed in in that time.
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Steve Lansdowne
The very smallest dust/wood particles that you likely cannot even see well are the ones that get into your lungs and can cause major problems down the line. Whatever you do to limit these will be good news to your lungs when you're older, if not now. Masks, filters, dust collectors, fans that exhaust out the window and bring in fresh air all help. It is your life. Sanding outside with a fan blowing and wearing a mask is a fairly easy way to keep the dust down, though obviously the dust blows somewhere!
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Pete in the Deep South
Sanding Outside
I vote with Steve....sand outside if possible. Use fans and dust protection as well. I am presently building a 12'X16' deck ground level just outside my shop. I plan to put large wheels on my strongback and buy a table saw with large wheels(home depot has one) so I can move any dust making operation outside. Why go to all of this trouble? Two years ago after sanding way too much without a dust mask, I started coughing up blood...never did know just what that was all about, but it got my attention!