Workshop dust filter

UKworkshop.co.uk

Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Hornbeam

Established Member
Joined
21 Mar 2017
Messages
1,142
Reaction score
744
Location
Cheshire
I am looking to buy a fine dust filter and was looking at the Record AC400,
Can anybody tell me what length power lead is supplied with it and is there anything better on the market for the price.
I already have plumbed in extraction on my machines so this is only for fine dust in the air
 
I have the AC400 in my shop and am very happy with it. The power cord is about 70 inches long, but with a power requirement of 0.1kW (less than 0.5A), you should be able to add an extension cord to the cable if needed.
 
I have one. Power lead on mine is about 1.5 meters.
They are the epitome of generic I have seen them in many colours and brands.
It works but I wouldn't buy another, instead i would make my own. It lets a lot of fine dust through, I have added extra spray booth media to mine to improve it a bit.
The filters are quite expensive too.

You can buy the fans pretty cheap and then you could make a box to fit common sized and therefore cheap filters. Then the level of filtration is up to you.

Ollie
 
Last edited:
I am looking to buy a fine dust filter and was looking at the Record AC400,
Can anybody tell me what length power lead is supplied with it and is there anything better on the market for the price.
I already have plumbed in extraction on my machines so this is only for fine dust in the air

Just buy one - the cable is about 1.5 metres as stated - my machine is fixed to a cradle on the ceiling with the cable extended by about 3 metres to the power socket.

The one issue that seems to be common is that the beam on the remote control must be quite narrow - it needs to be pointed pretty accurately towards the control panel - no big deal. Being mean I give the removable filter a really good clean with a Henry now and again to get more life from it.
 
quite a few on here laughed at my home made effort but here u go...
some have more money than sence....hahaha......
it actually cost nothing to make.....I made 3 units to work in my large w/shop.....
if u want further details just ask......
100_2174.JPG
 
quite a few on here laughed at my home made effort but here u go...
some have more money than sence....hahaha......
it actually cost nothing to make.....I made 3 units to work in my large w/shop.....
if u want further details just ask......View attachment 133187

Looks like a pretty good idea to me. Not disimilar to the Thor filters.

I am going to take apart my AC400 at some point and re-use its fan in a better designed box with some nice big panel filters and use spray booth media as a pre filter.
Its funny, I have seen many American you tube videos where they get the apparently ubiquitous "box fan" and strap a 12 inch filter or two on to it with great results. I really struggled to even find a square designed box fan here last time I looked. All ours seem to be round and oscillating.

Ollie
 
I had looked at the diy route. If going that way then a car radiator fan and a 12V 100W power supply are the way to go, probably works out about £50 + filters
 
I had looked at the diy route. If going that way then a car radiator fan and a 12V 100W power supply are the way to go, probably works out about £50 + filters

Might be a good method, there is some debate about which style of fan is best due to the drawing of the air through the filters. The ac400 and most others use centrifugal fans which are better at pressure, but axial fans are better at pure air flow.
When I made my spray booth extractor I asked advice from a fan manufacturer and they recommended a centrifugal design due to the resistance of the filters.

Ollie
 
there are a lot of kits for the DiY route available at a fraction of the cost of generic units(£45 including activated charcoal filter) .
I am about to create my own using an inline centrifugal fan rather than a "bathroom extractor "type due to the resistance of the filter media, the spray booth media is a must to eliminate more fine particles. might post pics when done! toying with combining this into a dust extraction system for my power tools, due to space restrictions, with an inline cyclone to remove the dust?
anyone else done this ?
 
@Hornbeam
Had email from Rutlands today (Sunday 10 apr)
They are selling the same model at £150, not sure if its cheaper or not. Looks incredibly similar. Identical remote control to my Record one.

Ollie
 
I'm not sure if it's available to you in the U.K. but I bought a Wen air cleaner with a remote control and I'm very happy with it. It has 3 speed settings and one that will let it run for an hour after you shut down the shop. Then it turns itself off. So far, it has captured a lot of the fine dust and the prefilter is cleanable without disassembly.
 
I'm not sure if it's available to you in the U.K. but I bought a Wen air cleaner with a remote control and I'm very happy with it. It has 3 speed settings and one that will let it run for an hour after you shut down the shop. Then it turns itself off. So far, it has captured a lot of the fine dust and the prefilter is cleanable without disassembly.

That looks remarkably like the Record and other boxes - just rebadged and a different colour (sorry, "color" !!)
 
That looks remarkably like the Record and other boxes - just rebadged and a different colour (sorry, "color" !!)
Yes, after watching the attached video, I'm sure it's the same one in a different package. I will say this though, I had a problem with the thing turning itself on when I was out of the shop and I had no idea how long it ran. I contacted Wen and they sent me a new circuit board and a different remote control. I fixed it and no more problems. My point though is that they stepped up immediately and got me what I needed. Great company service.
 
I have a Microclene cylinder type filter (older version of this one: TF470 Thor Filtration Air Filter Microclene MC420 Air Filter For Garage Size Workshop - TF470). It's alright but very noisy, I use it with a generic plug in fan speed controller from Amazon and run it at about half speed which gives a tolerable sound level for general use, and crank it up to full speed when running the table saw, router or thicknesser (those being the only machines I have that don't effectively collect most of the dust at source). It seems to collect a lot of dust, and measurably reduces PM2.5/PM10 in the air, but only has a single stage of filtration and no proper specifications for efficiency. On the plus side, it's well built (no plastic parts) and has a decent motor and fan, so should last basically for ever.

I got this one rather than a box type one (like the Record) since I have a low ceiling in my garage workshop, and this one can be tucked in a corner.
 
If you are only wanting to clear the air of fine particles then why not just replace the air in your shop by using something to extract to outside. Not much point in cleaning the air in your shop if your stood by it breathing the same air. Unless you use it to clean the shop air whilst your out, on a timer for instance.
 
If you are only wanting to clear the air of fine particles then why not just replace the air in your shop by using something to extract to outside. Not much point in cleaning the air in your shop if your stood by it breathing the same air. Unless you use it to clean the shop air whilst your out, on a timer for instance.
I have extraction on all machines and power tools but you still get some airborne dust, I am trying to reduce his while I am still working. Extraction to outside is not practical due to increased heating requirements (OK in summer)
Ian
 
been asked about my home made effort posted earlier....
OK
the filter is from a 500HP Scania truck but pretty much they are all the same....free from a skip/dumpster outside a truck repair/service place....
the fan is 6" and the blurb says it's 25watt x 210m3/h...around £15...
I used a 3pin plug that is like the garden mower safety plug...
which means I can disconect it for cleaning from the power supply without killing the electrics...
mine are strung up using the same chains as the flouresants lights...
the fan came with a pull cord so it's wired up direct to the lights....
just have to tug at the cord to turn it on/off.....
when u turn the lights out at the end of the day it dies.....
so it cant run all night by accident....
you can buy a fan with an adjustable delay timer.....but at 25 watts who cares.....
lastly the dirty air is pulled in from the outside of the filter, just like a truck....
my thinking if the filter is good enough to look after a £15,000 engine it's good enough for me.....
oh ....and they are very quiet.....I use three units in my shop...
different places, different machines....
 
been asked about my home made effort posted earlier....
OK
the filter is from a 500HP Scania truck but pretty much they are all the same....free from a skip/dumpster outside a truck repair/service place....
the fan is 6" and the blurb says it's 25watt x 210m3/h...around £15...
I used a 3pin plug that is like the garden mower safety plug...
which means I can disconect it for cleaning from the power supply without killing the electrics...
mine are strung up using the same chains as the flouresants lights...
the fan came with a pull cord so it's wired up direct to the lights....
just have to tug at the cord to turn it on/off.....
when u turn the lights out at the end of the day it dies.....
so it cant run all night by accident....
you can buy a fan with an adjustable delay timer.....but at 25 watts who cares.....
lastly the dirty air is pulled in from the outside of the filter, just like a truck....
my thinking if the filter is good enough to look after a £15,000 engine it's good enough for me.....
oh ....and they are very quiet.....I use three units in my shop...
different places, different machines....
Do you have any pictures?
 

Latest posts

Back
Top