Workshop air filters ?

[Smallfry]

I am thinking about buying an air filter for the workshop. One of those through flow metal boxes that hang from the ceiling and has a fan and filters inside.

Does anyone have one, and are they effective for welding and grinding dust etc, or a waste of time ?

I also thought it would be useful in the house when doing dusty work.

 

[cheb]

I can't comment about welding and grinding dust but mine did a cracking job keeping wood dust down. It's an Axminster unit, 15 or so years old.

I say did a great job, I don't need it anymore and am looking to sell it when I'm back in the UK in early February.

 

[MattF]

They do catch a lot of dust. They don't catch every bit though, obviously. I have one in the workshop & one in the flat. I like them.

Any dust which ends up in those is less floating around in the air.

 

[frank horton]

I made mine.......more efficient than the box type....and I'm not gonna pay £200 for that stuff....
perhapds not so pretty..but all made from junk....
mine hand from the flouresant light chain and took power from the same.....the fan I used 6", is around 25watts n shifts 3-4 cu/m hr.....
I use 3 units around the wood shop.....
the filter element is a used one from a big Scania truck....free for the taking.....
will make my own filter stack when I get a Dust Deputy...one filter on top of another ....not gonna pay £100 odd quid for the big filter thats ready made.....

 

[Parm]

I am thinking about buying an air filter for the workshop. One of those through flow metal boxes that hang from the ceiling and has a fan and filters inside.

Does anyone have one, and are they effective for welding and grinding dust etc, or a waste of time ?

I also thought it would be useful in the house when doing dusty work.

Totally utterly useless, don’t waste your money, if you want control of contaminants it has to be at source of generation

 

[MattF]

Totally utterly useless, don’t waste your money, if you want control of contaminants it has to be at source of generation

It does, but no extraction is going to be perfect, in most of our conditions/environments. We don't have controlled areas. Any & all extraction & filtering is a bonus, IMHO.

 

[Parm]

It does, but no extraction is going to be perfect, in most of our conditions/environments. We don't have controlled areas. Any & all extraction & filtering is a bonus, IMHO.

Don’t agree, these things draw dirty air across your breathing zone, giving potential for greater human exposure. I stand by that they are useless and a waste of money. They are not a control measure

 

[premmington]

Don’t agree, these things draw dirty air across your breathing zone, giving potential for greater human exposure. I stand by that they are useless and a waste of money. They are not a control measure

I agree - point of extraction should be - at the point the dust/fume is made - not miles away.

Pardon our interruption...

Pardon our interruption...

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I got into NEDERMAN exhaust extractors in my workshop - 25yrs ago - I got a bit of thing about this...

nederman exhaust extraction systems - Google Search

 

[Parm]

I agree - point of extraction should be - at the point the dust/fume is made - not miles away.

Pardon our interruption...

Pardon our interruption...

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I got into NEDERMAN exhaust extractors in my workshop - 25yrs ago - I got a bit of thing about this...

nederman exhaust extraction systems - Google Search

The correct name is Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV), give away is local - to the point of contaminant generation

 

[premmington]

The correct name is Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV), give away is local - to the point of contaminant generation

I got abit of thing about this subject - I got into this decades ago...

Power tools with extraction - welding extraction at point of source - vehicle tail pipe extraction....

25yrs later - I can still breath - this sort of kit - just needs small motors to run - no expensive fitlers to change - just vent the poop outside...

@Parm got the right idea (he knows more about this than me or you lot)

Mate of mine - good friend was an early morning baker - flour dust wrecked his lungs aged 33yrs old (after 17yrs doing it) - was the wide awakener I needed. He dead aged 40yrs old. Nice chap - hard worker/family man... Used to go on the **** with him - plus holidays with kids - beech holidays and kids (when mine were young). All he did was get up early - go to work and work hard...

 

[Smallfry]

Don’t agree, these things draw dirty air across your breathing zone, giving potential for greater human exposure. I stand by that they are useless and a waste of money. They are not a control measure

My idea of using one is to try to keep the dust down that settles just about everywhere, NOT as replacement for PPE.

Extraction would be ideal, and I do have a 400mm axial mounted fan on a shelf, but the problem with extraction is that the air going out must be replaced by air coming in, which will mean vents somewhere at the other end, and will be pulling out all of the heat in winter, and replacing with damp air, which is something I am trying to avoid in part

 

[MattF]

No-one's disagreeing with what you say, @Parm. We all respect your knowledge, experience & expertise. It's merely that our realities differ from the perfection we can only strive to achieve.

 

[Parm]

No-one's disagreeing with what you say, @Parm. We all respect your knowledge, experience & expertise. It's merely that our realities differ from the perfection we can only strive to achieve.

What is your primary reason for installation of such a device ?

 

[Brad93]

If they're so useless why do Kemper sell them for large fabrication workshops alongside on torch extraction

 

[MattF]

What is your primary reason for installation of such a device ?

To try & capture what dust escapes my tool extraction methods/equipment.

I'd rather have that dust stuck in a filter, than floating around or settling, to be disturbed later.

 

[cheb]

Mine was to limit the amount of dust tracked from the workshop into the adjoining house.

 

[mark roberts]

They are not used to replace any kind at source extraction or ppe and are only useful for scrubbing the local environment. I use one to clean the air whilst Im not in the workshop on a timer. A simpler method is to just replace the air in a workshop with 'new air', like through extraction. There was some of those aircube industrial cleaners at an auction recently, went quite cheap. I was tempted but bought industrial dehumidifier instead.

 

[Erie Fred]

I have seen people simply attach a 20 x 20 furnace filter to the back of a box fan.
either tape or just turn it on and let it keep it attached by suction.

 

[DanZac]

If they're so useless why do Kemper sell them for large fabrication workshops alongside on torch extraction

If the on tool extraction is correctly designed, specified and operating correctly there should be no need for general dust or fume removal, becuse there will be nothing left to remove.

Any high level or ceiling mounted extraction is likely to do as much harm as good as it will be drawing dust and fume over the operator.

Hence why a well designed spray bay will have all the extraction at floor level, or a welding bench should have any extraction at bench level or at least below operator head height, drawing the fume and spray downwards, away from the operators instead of over their faces.

 

[Brad93]

If the on tool extraction is correctly designed, specified and operating correctly there should be no need for general dust or fume removal, becuse there will be nothing left to remove.

Any high level or ceiling mounted extraction is likely to do as much harm as good as it will be drawing dust and fume over the operator.

Hence why a well designed spray bay will have all the extraction at floor level, or a welding bench should have any extraction at bench level or at least below operator head height, drawing the fume and spray downwards, away from the operators instead of over their faces.

And what about angle grinding?