DIY Air Filtration Help please.

[cutting42]

Hi All

I have been making some speaker cabinets out of MDF and thinking about the amount of dust created (I am fully masked up) even with vacuum extraction on my router there is dust in the atmosphere for some time. Short of buying a proper air filtration system does anyone know of a link to a home-made (UK not US) air filtration unit. It has to be fairly quiet and capable of taking commercial 0.5micron filter panels or bags. The issue seems to be a good source of fans with 700-1000 m3/hr flowrate for a sensible cost.

Any hints out there?

Cheers

Gareth

 

[Doug B]

I made this one

http://thewoodhaven.co.uk/phpBB3/viewto ... 87e4cb4f42

& i`ve been very happy with how well it`s worked, though not that happy about the now obvious amount of dust that was in the atmosphere before i made it.



Cheers

 

[cutting42]

That's perfect,where did you get the fan assembly from?

 

[Doug B]

The fan came from an old industrial machine that was being scraped, so not that helpful #-o

The main thing is to get a fan that`s rated for continual running, most domestic fans are rated in minutes rather than hours so will burn out quickly if run all day.

Sorry i can`t be more help.

Cheers.

 

[9fingers]

One source might be the bouncy castle blowers on ebay. They seem to be quite cheap and designed for continuous running.
The tangential blowers used on laminar flow cabinets and benches are a good source - these are used in the microelectronics industry and get thrown out from time to time - big slow running fans that shift lots of air without making much noise
Keep your ears and eyes open for factory and shop fitters ripping out air handling systems and visit the skips on small industrial units.
Most small outfits will be only too happy to let you have stuff.
Its all about having a collectors mentality and also putting the word around to associates that you are after 'stuff'

Good Luck

Bob

 

[cutting42]

Thanks Bob for the advice. the bouncy castle blower is a good idea, the only concern might be the noise as the ones I have hired in the past for kids parties were crazy noisy.

I am not much of a scavenger - too lazy - but there are a few ind est locally, maybe I will take a drive round.

 

[brianhabby]

Hi Gareth,

If it's any help this is one I made some time ago and it works quite well. I used an old extractor fan that my dad was throwing out. I don't have a clue as to the rating of it but I sometimes forget to turn it off so it can be left running for several days. not come to any harm yet and still doing its job.

regards

Brian

 

[cutting42]

Hi Brian

Appreciate the post, thanks and looks a nice filtration unit. I think I will stop looking for perfection and just get something done as having no filter is definitely worse!

 

[paultnl]

Any idea what kind of CFM you need for these filters?

 

[9fingers]

Try googling for 'bill pentz' to get more about cyclones that you ever thought might be on one website!

Bob

 

[No skills]

Just a thought, would a 12v fan from a car (engine bay) be suitable for a project like this?? Large blades, long life span - not sure on how much air they shift tho.

Just wondering.

 

[cutting42]

Just a thought, would a 12v fan from a car (engine bay) be suitable for a project like this?? Large blades, long life span - not sure on how much air they shift tho.

Just wondering.

Hi

You may be onto something there, great prices and excellent flow rates. Also a 12v controller is easy to make for control of speed and timing - I like it.

 

[No skills]

Just to add, if I remember correctly (?) some of the aftermarket fans have a speed control with them.

HTH

 

[wallace]

I have used a car fan that I got from a scrapyard for £5 as an extractor. I replaced a window in my workshop with ply and inset the fan. I use it to help clear the workshop of fine dust thats airborne. After a big messy project I hoover as much as possible and then get an airline and clean everything, 'whilst wearing a mask' and leave the fan going for a couple of hours. Must do a good job because I have industrial rhinitis and I'm highly sensitive to the smallest amount of dust.

 

[whacky]

Just a thought, would a 12v fan from a car (engine bay) be suitable for a project like this?? Large blades, long life span - not sure on how much air they shift tho.

Just wondering.

Hi

You may be onto something there, great prices and excellent flow rates. Also a 12v controller is easy to make for control of speed and timing - I like it.

I have a spare car fan kicking around - would you have by any chance a link to some wiring explanations of how to wire it up ect?

 

[cutting42]

Just a thought, would a 12v fan from a car (engine bay) be suitable for a project like this?? Large blades, long life span - not sure on how much air they shift tho.

Just wondering.

Hi

You may be onto something there, great prices and excellent flow rates. Also a 12v controller is easy to make for control of speed and timing - I like it.

I have a spare car fan kicking around - would you have by any chance a link to some wiring explanations of how to wire it up ect?

Its just a dc motor, should only have one set of connections. connect one way and it turns clockwise, connect the other and anticlockwise. It might possibly have low speed and high speed windings but unlikely. Just hook up a 12v battery and have a go, you cant really damage it just try not to short out a car battery as it will weld metal and potentially damage the battery.