Fine dust extraction

[Anonymous]

HI all

Just read the latest GWW and saw various ideas for a fine dust extractor.

Well, on my tuit list resides such a device.

My idea is to use a cheap office fan such as one gets for little money from B&Q - they usually have 3 speeds + an off button and run exceptionally quitely

The controls could easily separated form the main unit and then be wall mounted in a small box on the wall next to the light switch. The fan unit is easily removed from the stand a tthe swivel point. Box the fan unit with filters near the ceiling and run a cable down to the speed controls. It would be easy to add a timer function too - I have seen mains timers for around £5 which would fit the bill.

When I get some free time I'll post details here including the electrical side of things if anyone is interested.

Just need to source 1um mesh now.

Cheers

Tony

So many ideas and so little time

 

[frank]

tony done that got the t/shirt what i did was strip the fan down and fit the motor in to a box 34cm x34cm i then made a filter housing that can be removed for cleaning the filter . the filter is from one of those very expensive round filters you see at the shows .the filter pad cost me about a tenner its very easy to make .

 

[Anonymous]

Doesn't seem to have stirred up much interest despite the annoying level of fine dust in a workshop. :?


Well, anyway the second installment:

I have looked around at available units and a suitable one is likely to cost about £270 + installation kit.

I did a few calcs and a bit of reading and found the 12" office fan to be the best bet at about £12 and with 1414 cfm volume airflow

I have ordered some filters from Axminster, first is 5 microns and second 1 micron bag type total about £25

http://www.axminster.co.uk/default.asp?part=AFS500

For 12" fans as used in offices the air flow seems to be about 1414 cfm (40m^3/min) which is about double that in the Axmister 500 shown above and only slightly less than the Axminster 1000 shown below - they run extremely quietly too

http://www.axminster.co.uk/default.asp?part=AFS1000B

If I get any more interest (couldn't get any less ) then I'll post the drawings, assembly instructions and a review.

Cheers

Tony

 

[trevtheturner]

Hi, Tony,

I'm very interested!

Sanding work on the lathe whizzes dust all over the workshop. I keep my breathing tubes clean by wearing a full-face respirator and supplement this with a Microclene filter which I leave running, but there is still plenty of dust which settles, making plenty of work for the 'shop vac.

So, I'm keen to learn how you get on with your project.

Cheers, Trev.

 

[Bean]

Tony
Yes I would love to see the work you have done on this so far, it will come in to its own once I have sorted the workshop.

Bean

 

[Chris Knight]

Tony,

Yes - I am keen to learn how it goes - especially how quiet it is. I hae a microclene thingy and it is so noisy that I don't use it as often as I should. ideally I want something I can leave running all day.

 

[johnelliott]

I own the bigger of the two Axminster filter units shown, and I am going to have to say that I doubt that an office type fan could compete with the fan unit fitted to these units. I'm going to guess that the airflow figures given for the office fan is for free air, not installed in a box with filters.
I think Tony's idea is a good one, but I think it's going to need a more powerful fan to compete with the Axminster unit
John

 

[Anonymous]

John
I suspect you are right as far as the larger of the two models is concerned because as you say, the air flow calc was in free air with no filters.
I do, however, expect it to compete with the smaller Axminster model and have a 'plan B' and a 'planC' just in case :lol:

Cheers

Tony

 

[DaveL]

Tony,

I would like to see plan A before you get to B or C :shock:

I find everything always has a layer of dust, so its not doing me any good either
A home made unit does appeal
And something put together by one of the forum doubly so

 

[Anonymous]

Tony

I'd be very interested to see the plans as well.

How about trying to install a HEPA filter that the home air purifiers use. Most of these will filter down to 0.3 micron and are fairly easy to obtain. The final sizing of the unit could be dictated by the size of the filter.

I have experimented with my Bionaire home air purifier in the workshop and it works very well, it's a bit noisy and the wrong shape to get the best air flow but with 225 cubic metre per hour air flow it filters much better than most commercial units designed for workshops. Plus it was only £100


Nick

 

[Midnight]

Tony.... I'd love to see your plans too...

In spite of using hand tools as often as possible, using shop vacs and DC's whenever using the power tools, seeing the qty of dust that's settled on my stock storage shelves is kinda spooky... Kinda hard to ignore this sort of thing when the need for it to be dealt with is so apparent..

 

[johnelliott]

225 cubic metre per hour air flow it filters much better than most commercial units designed for workshops

Are you sure about that? I would have thought that a commercial workshop air filter would do a lot better than the unit you mention. Does it have a pre-filter as well as the HEPA?
John

 

[Adam]

Would there not be a fire risk if you enclose one of these "cheap" fan motors. They are designed to work in free air, with a large flow past them, boxing them in will make them overheat surely? I can't believe they have as much "oommph" as a commercial unit.

Adam

 

[Anonymous]

Adam

The fans I have looked at have the motor fully enclosed in plastic and run under very little load - just air resistance + small inertia. I am pretty confident at this stage that all will be OK from a temperature point of view as I have run one all day (in open air) and found no heating effect on the actual motor assembly. The air runs over the plastic shroud, not the motor elements themselves. There will still be some airflow over the motor assembly even though it is boxed.

Rest assured that I will be fully testing the system and measuring airflow, temp and noise over a sustained period of use before recommending it to the forum (there are benefits in working in a university and I do specialise in measurement and control after all ).

Cheers

Tony

 

[Adam]

there are benefits in working in a university and I do specialise in measurement and control after all ).
Cheers Tony

Oh yeah, forgot that.

Adam

 

[Anonymous]

Filters arrived - ordered yesterday around 11.00 and arrived 9.30am today. Thanks Axminster :wink:

Hey Neil, I finally got some Jet kit too. :lol:

Hopefully get some/all construction done over the weekend

Cheers

Tony

 

[Anonymous]

I can't believe they have as much "oommph" as a commercial unit.

Adam

Could be right Adam but the low price if it works will be beneficial to all hobbiest members who fancy one. Not really worried about comparing it's performance to a commercial unit as long as it clears the fine dust away from a garage sized workshop

I'm going to give it a go with the 12" jobby as the air flow values are comparable when used in free air, plan B is to mount two 9" units side-by-side and finally plan C (if all else fails) is to buy a rotary cage type fan as used in commercial units, attach my own speed control design and accept that the office fan is a non-starter.

The problem is I am no expert in fan design nor analysis and so I will have to go the suck it and see route (our departmental expert is on hols)

Cheers

Tony
who likes to pla, err experiment and whose fingers are crossed

 

[DaveL]

The problem is I am no expert in fan design nor analysis and so I will have to go the suck it and see route

Maybe that should be blow it and see :wink:

 

[Bean]

Tony
I may be jumping the gun, but I have been pondering and I cannot help but think that the two units intended for plan B, will be more viable than a single unit. Not sure why yet :?


Bean

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Tony

I'll also be very interested in your research. But especially now that you're using Jet filters. :roll:

Cheers
Neil