Since installing a central DC system a few years ago, I no longer work in an obvious cloud of dust when in the shop. What a huge difference it made! However, I've contemplated in the time since adding a filter system. My shop is about 400 sq. feet with only about a 7 1/2 foot ceilings. I also probably only average 3-4 hours a week in it. Would it be a worthy investment for my health given my situation? What have people found to be the case?
I installed one of those air purifiers in my shop and I was amazed at the amount of dust that accumulates on both the prefilter and the main
- > Since installing a central DC system a few years ago, I no longer work
I have a home built unit and use it all the time. I notice my nose is spotless after a day in the shop, compared to the nasty buggers I had before the air filter! I do some metal work to and run the air filter while welding too. Greg
I've got one in my two car garage/shop. Since putting it up, I've noticed considerably less dust out there after I woodwork. All of that dust on the washing machine would also be in my lungs; now it's not on or in either.
Consider the fact that the most damaging dust to your lungs is the smaller dust particles. These are the ones that will be 'suspended' in the air you are breathing.
A room filter will help get the stuff out of the air, reducing what you breath and what settles on stuff (and then gets into the air again when you disturb it)
I wrote an article for Popular Woodorking a couple of years ago about building your own room filter using a furnace fan. Easy to make, just be sure to use a bag filter (from an HVAC distributor) in addition to one or two pre-filters to get the maximum benefit.
Michel.
Uh, that's what I was writing about. First I put in a dust collector but still had the floating dust problem. Then I added the air filter and the dust went away. As an aside, I was kind of proud of how I mounted that 80 lb air filter from the ceiling by myself. Tried muscling it up there but that wasn't going anywhere fast... ended up jury rigging a series of pulleys. Eureka!
Yes! Made a "sanding table/air filter" from ShopNotes plans out of MDF. It holds 3 disposable furnace filters and has a squirrel-cage
1/4 HP motor, rolls on wheels, has a convenient electrical outlet. It can clear the shop air-borne dust in less than 15 minutes. Also, I found that I can place a painted or finished object on top of it to dry quickly.
Before I built an air filter I used a furnace filter bugee-corded to a box fan--very cheap, works well until you build yourself a better one. Wear a good-fitting respirator.
I agree with both of these recommendations - filter-on-fan is a lot better than nothing, and a respirator is really the best when you're making a lot of dust. I also have a home-built air cleaner that I use whenever I cut or sand (basically a squirrel-cage blower in a box with a fiber pre-filter and a "super-allergen" furnace filter on one end). I hooked this up to a cheap outlet timer from HD, and it works great. In the summer, I usually just set a fan in the window and suck air out of the shop (this would depend on the neighbor situation, etc.) As a previous poster mentioned, I bet you'll be surprised at how much dust accumulates on a filter, even with the use of a DC. My thinking is that I only have one set of lungs, and I want them to last a long time - best take care of them! Andy
My DC is (probably optimistically) rated for 30 microns. My (shop built) ambient air cleaner has a final filter rated for .3 microns.
I still won't do anything even remotely dusty without my respirator on.
I got my first set of lungs free. But once you're hooked on breathing, the price goes up for the second set.
Bill
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