The cost of clean air

[Chippygeoff]

Some weeks ago I was working away on the scroll saw, which faces a large window, it was early morning and I could see it was an overcast day. Later that morning the sun came out and the sun’s rays came through the window and as I looked I could clearly see the dust that was in the air and it hit me that I was breathing this in and the thought was a bit scary to say the least. I have the Henry going when I am using the saws but it does not pull in all the dust and like most of us I hate wearing a mask.

I had a look on the Toolpost web site, as they are stockist of the Microclene air filters. I picked one out that I thought would fit the bill for the size of my workshop and the following day spoke to Peter Hemsley at the Toolpost, the model I had ear marked was no longer available so I went for a more efficient model, the MC760. It wasn’t cheap but what price do you put on safety and peace of mind.

A lot of air filters are suspended from the ceiling on cables but I wanted a wall mounted one and the one I ordered could be mounted on a wall or I could have it free standing wherever I wanted it. It came the next day and when I answered the door to the delivery guy I was surprised at how small it was and my initial thoughts were that it would not be as efficient as Peter claimed it would be.
I soon had it mounted on the wall where I wanted it, right opposite my two scroll saws. I turned it on and was quite surprised at the low level of noise, it’s very similar to a fan heater. I stood a few feet away from it and grabbed a handful of fine dust from the scroll saw and threw it in the air, I could clearly see it being sucked towards the filter. This morning I was working away on the saw and again the sun was shining through the window and as hard as I looked I could see no dust in the air.

A lot of air filters come with a remote control but I have heard that after a period of time the remote stops working or the control panel inside the filter develops a fault and there are no manual over rides on the filter itself. The one I have just has an on/off switch and with the mains lead plugging in alongside it. The whole unit oozes quality and built like a tank. It is overkill for the size of my workshop but I would prefer it that way rather than the reverse.

 

[Claymore]

That looks a nice neat bit of kit Geoff (unlike my gert big diy airfilter lol) I have seen a Microclene filter unit but it was round but i prefer the flat unit you have bought.
I must admit reading up and seeing videos etc about inhaling dust particles put the wind up me hence reason for investigating them and finally opting to make one, at the moment it works great and like yourself now have clean air to breath even when using the sanders so it was worth the effort. If it ever breaks then i might go for a bought one, but as I'm a tight git it will have to wait (still saving for more work done on the house.....but would prefer to spend it on my workshop lol)
How do you clean the filter on yours? does it have a pre-filter and then a fine particle filter? also does it suck in the front (the white that's facing away from the wall)? if it does does it exhaust out the back or at the bottom?
Sorry for all the questions but if you don't ask you never get to know anything
Cheers
Brian

 

[Chippygeoff]

Hi Brian.

Yes, Microclene make a variety of filters and some of them are round. I feel the particular filter I bought is quite special. Yes, it does have a pre-filter and also a fine dust filter. With some filters you can just vacuum the dust build up away and it's good to go again but with this one you can't do that. What the manual suggest is that you switch the filter on and then get a piece of paper, say an A4, place it on the front and then switch the filter off, the paper will stay in place for about 30 seconds. When you feel the filter maybe a bit choked you do the same test again and if the paper falls away say within ten seconds then it's time to change the filter and I think they are round about 6 quid a time.

It has been very cleverly designed. there is a flat area on the sides and about half way back the sides angle back at 45 degrees and then you have the back. It is on the angled bit that have the exhaust vents either side and the reason they have done this is that in operation the filter does not cause a draft in the workshop. You can see in the photo a screw in the side, undo that and you can open up the front as it is a door and can then easily change the filter medium. On some filters I have seen in the past you have to seal the sides of the filter pad with masking tape to make it more efficient but not on this one. I don't regret the huge pile of money it cost me, as i said, it's peace of mind at the end of the day.

 

[Alexam]

Hi Geoff,

I have the had the very same one for some time and am also very pleased with it's efficiency. I have mine suspended from a couple of hooks over my workbench, but unhook it and stand it on the worktop when I am sanding and it clearly pulls all the dust in. Great choice.

Alex