Which filter?

[p111dom]

I'm looking into buying a workshop filter and have narrowed it down to the Microclene MC1000 £220 here or the Jet AFS-500 £174.50 here.

The Jet is cheaper but only sucks air from one side. The Microlene sucks up from the bottom but blows out is all directions. The salesman recons this creates a vortex effect, stiring up the dust so the filter can capture it. The Jet is much cheaper and has a remote control and three speed but do I really need that? I think I would have it on full all the time. I know some of you have made your own. Just looking for opinions really.

 

[Chems]

I have the jet, its a great machine and I never run it on full, does a good job in my double garage on low. The idea behind them is that you face the back towards a wall or corner a little distance away and the exhausted air bounces off the wall creating a circling air motion around the room brining dust air to the filter. The remote control is great, I keep it on a shelf above the bench and a little click don't even have to point it at it very much and its away. The most useful function is the timer, you can set it for 2hours, 4 hours or 8 hours for it to go off when you leave. Thats the best function of it all. I paid £164 for it in the sale at christmas might be worth going to high wycomb opening to get it for £156?

 

[p111dom]

Yeah High Wycomb's just round the corner from me :roll: :lol: .Thanks for the tip on the Jet though Chems. How loud is it? I know that's hard to write down but on the Mircoclene the smaller versions were actually louder. The 1000 was sort of like a small domestic cooling fan in volume. Not too loud at all. Filters were the other issue. How often do you change them on the Jet? I only ask as the Mircolene filters are about £7 versus about £25 for the Jet. :shock:

 

[Woody Alan]

I have the jet and am very pleased with it. It has a diverter (like a car vent) so you can point the draft where required, handy because I had to mount mine in the middle of the workshop in the apex and it sets up a circular draft by pointing to the side. Very quiet on low speed and the remote and timer are very handy. I haven't got round to it yet but I am going to use cheap vent plant filters as a pre filter to it and catch most of the debris on that. I cannot comment on the microclean other than to say if he's suggesting that it will cause dust that's already settled to float and be caught, I would be inclined to ask for a demo as it sounds like twaddle or at the least an exaggeration and even if it pulls air up and puts it out sidways that's not a vortex. If it's in the air the jet gets it, in my workshop anyway.

Alan

 

[MickCheese]

I have the jet, it's not noisy at all unless you have it on full blast then I would suggest you have something kicking up dust that will be a lot noisier so will drown it out. As already said the little remote control is great and leaving it on to keep working for a couple of hours before it turns itself off is a good feature.

Works really well and the filters are a doddle to change.

Mick

 

[andypo]

Another vote for the Jet.

 

[Chems]

Yes its not at all loud, no louder I would say than the wire of a noisy computer fan when on low. Can't recommend it enough. As for the filters, I've had mine since christmas and I've given it some real hard MDF dust of late and its coped fine. Best thing to do is pop them out and give them a vacuum witht the shop vac.

 

[woodbloke]

I use the single speed Axminster which is great but probably a tad cheaper than the Jet. I've been running it now for about two years now and it's been great...might be worth looking at - Rob

 

[Chems]

I don't think he would consider it the price difference between the to is a whopping £4.55 and for that you get considerably more, you get 30m³ more room capacity, you get the option to have 3 speeds, a timer and a cool remote! I think Axminster should have a look at that, I doubt they sell any of the smaller model anymore now the prices are so close.


Dom, I forgot to look you were based in Scotland, now I've seen that you probably won't make the saving back on the fuel costs.

 

[wizer]

Do you really need one as big as the Jet? What is the cubic size of you WS?

 

[p111dom]

Its 5.5m square (18 feet square) and probably 3m (18 feet at it's highest point tapering down to nothing on all sides) high due to the apex roof so thats about 90m cubed. I do need to sort this out. Am sick of the fine coating of dust every time I go into the workshop. Even when I'm just in the shop for a few hours or so without the machines running when I've come in and blew my nose you can see how much dust there must be in the air. I really don't want to wear a mask when I'm not machining. I do for the sanding machine at all times and and router table when I'm machining MDF. I'm still looking at getting a bobbin sander at some point and don't really need any more storage so I was thinking about building the Jet filter into a base. Would that be ok or would it be better off higher up? Its the dustiest side of the shop having the belt sander, disc sander, impending bobbin sander and extractor all in one corner. The router table is on the opposite wall though. :? Thanks for the replies so far. Looks like it will be the Jet.

 

[woodbloke]

Dom - as I said, I have the single speed Axminster one that I run off an electronic timer four times a day. It comes on for a couple of hours round about 8pm when I ought :wink: to have finished in the 'shop. It's a really good piece of kit...just fit and forget (must'nt forget to clean the filters though ) but it needs to be arranged to get a good airflow around the 'shop which is 20x12' so a tad smaller than yours - Rob

 

[wizer]

I was originally going to get the Jet and put it high up on a storage cupboard. But after looking at the figures and talking to a fellow turner yesterday, I've decided I don't need such a big unit for my single car garage. I'm going to go with the smaller Microlene when I can sell a limb or child :wink:

 

[BradNaylor]

I've got a Jet in my 250 cubic metre shop. I think its the big brother of the one you're looking at.

I can't praise it highly enough. While I try to collect dust at source there are always procedures such as hand routing MDF which fill the air with dust.

The Jet clears it in minutes. I would look no further.

Cheers
Dan

 

[pooka]

I too have the Jet AFS500 and have been happy with it. The remote control is, for me, one of the real selling points of it, but I notice that some sites seem to suggest that it no longer comes with a remote control. For example, Axminster's site talks about using a plug timer for it, and jayceetools.co.uk have this online Jet catalogue which explicitly states that the remote is only available with the AFS1000 model. If you are seriously considering the Jet, it's worth contacting one of the retailers to find out for sure whether it still does come with the remote.

Incidentally, it looks like you may save cash by buying the Jet somewhere other than Axminster. As one example, woodworkingcentreshop.co.uk has it for £165 with free delivery. I've never used that site/supplier myself, it just showed up in a quick google search - further searching might possibly throw back better value sites too.

 

[p111dom]

Cheers Pooka I'll take a look at that.

 

[p111dom]

Oddly the jet uk website seems to suggest it still comes with a remote here.

 

[Woody Alan]

and jayceetools.co.uk have this online Jet catalogue which explicitly states that the remote is only available with the AFS1000 model.

The online catalogue at that link is a 2003 catalogue. The Axminster unit says it has three speed push button controls, (which mine has as manual overide, it's unlikely to be a different one lacking remote facility having been so successful a seller especially if the same control is still used in the bigger one, it would cost more to retool and remove it. Just a case of misdescription by Axminster would be my guess.

Alan

 

[pooka]

It might well just be a case of an incorrect description, and I'd certainly hope that's all it is, but I'd recommend checking to be sure before committing to buying one. In this thread from last year this very topic cropped up too and it seems that the model does vary from one country to another and, as an example, the version available in the Netherlands has neither the remote nor the timer.

I bought my own one from Axminster several years ago and it has both the remote and the timer function so I'd hope they continue to sell the same version.

 

[BradNaylor]

I can't imagine why a remote control would be in the least bit useful. Mine simply has an on/off switch and three speed settings on a panel on the unit itself. It couldn't be easier.

Needless to say I have it on full power all the time. Why would anyone think to themselves 'I know, I'll just get rid of some of the dust'?

A remote control would get lost within hours in anything but an anal retentive's workshop!

:lol:

Cheers
Dan