Trend airshield pro ???

[Joseph M Lary]

Im looking at buying Trend Airshield pro ,for those of you that have one what is the filter life on average , I have read the older forums about the older Trend Airshield . The battery's seam to be a problem for some people. Would you buy the extra battery up front or should I just get extra filters? Can you clean the filters to make them last longer?:confused:

[Jim Burr]

I take them off and blow them out, but also have a couple of replacement sets. Someone posted a battery pack build for the Pro a while back.

[Roger Chandler]

I have had the Trend Pro for about a year and a half. I highly recommend it! The filter life will depend on how much you sand and how dry and dusty your shop is. That being said, I still have the original filters in my unit. I have extras that I purchased, but I have increased the life of the filters by taking an air hose and blowing back through the air vents on the inside of the face shield where the air comes through. This blows the dust back out of the surface layer and outside the helment.

The filters are a bit pricey in my opinion, so doing what you can to extend their life makes sense to me. Last I recall the filter set was about $55 and as far as the batteries.........if you charge them according to instructions and do not leave them plugged in all the time, you should not have any problems with them.......both mine are doing great and I get about 8-10 hours of run time out of a full charge.......the unit beeps when the battery power is getting low.

I would also recommend the extra charging stand, so you can have one unit on charge while having the unit on while working .....otherwise you have to take the unit off and charge the battery in the unit.

[Dave Fritz]

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?187778-Trend-Airshield-Battery-Charger

I made one of these as described by Greg. It works really well. One of my two batteries is always fully charged.

Do the new ones have a lithium ion battery?

Dave F.

[Fred Belknap]

What Dave said and I still am using the original filters, jut blow them out.

[Glen Blanchard]

Joseph - Just an FYI. There's one for sale in the classified section here on Sawmill.

I think you have to upgrade to 'Contributor' to gain access though - which is a great investment anyway.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?201872-Trend-Airshield-Pro-Ear-Protectors

[Darryl Hansen]

I put a pre-filter on the Pro. There is filter material that is normally used to put on the outlet side of your floor A/C vents. The material is about 4"X9" or vent size. I cut a piece of the material and place it in the helmet above the normal filters. It does filter out the bigger stuff and I blow out the regular filters periodically.

[Jeffrey J Smith]

I've been using mine for about 2-1/2years now, generally only use when sanding and the filters have only blown out a couple of times. They seem to be in great shape. I'd warn against using too much pressure when blowing them out, though.
My batteries seemed to be fine for the first couple of years, then the charged times seemed to deteriorate. I got the smart charger that was in an old thread here, I believe, and both batteries now seem to perform better than ever. I've got all the parts to rebuild them both, but it hasn't been necessary as of yet.
I do like the Air-Shield Pro - some people have reported a problem with the weight on their heads, but it hasn't been a problem for me. I tend to leave my finish sanding for the end of a day's turning and do it all at once, so I probably use it for longer periods than some and find no problems.

[Nate Davey]

I've had mine for 2+ years and just blow the filter out. Haven't had any problems with the battery. If I were to buy extra anything it would be the faceshield covers

[Ralph Lindberg]

I would caution people about "blowing the filter out". It is real easy to wreck a filter (any filter) by doing this. What happens is you get the air nozzle too close to the filter and blow a hole through it, so now you have a non-filter with a hole.

Roger's method sound safer, and more difficult to over-pressure the filter and blow a hole in it.

[charlie knighton]

+10 on the trend, there is a post on aaw site where an experienced turner had a large burl blow up, whatever i turn i turn with a faceshield

[Roger Chandler]

+10 on the trend, there is a post on aaw site where an experienced turner had a large burl blow up, whatever i turn i turn with a faceshield


Thanks for that heads up Charlie.......I went to AAW's forum and read the post........boy, that is scary stuff! It gives me pause, and makes me hope I can remember to think about the way I do things and inspect the wood often.......I am glad George had on an airstream helment....could have been another fatality........thankfully only a minor injury!

Lets all try to practice safety........think ahead and implement our best practices........please!

[Doug Herzberg]

I've had mine for 2+ years and just blow the filter out. Haven't had any problems with the battery. If I were to buy extra anything it would be the faceshield covers

+1. I'm still on the first filter set and battery after almost a year and a quarter, but I'm an occasional turner. One battery pack charges overnight and lasts as long as I usually need, so I haven't felt the need to buy a charging stand or second battery.

[Mark Levitski]

My input:

Their batteries are not very good. I had to rebuild both of mine in short time despite good maintenance practices. I used the suggestions on this site for the smart charger and new battery inserts. Worked very well.

The rest of the unit is great. The filters last a long time.

The Trend and the 3M models seem to be the most popular units for turning.

[Joseph M Lary]

I want to thank all of you for your input, this is why I like this site so much . I get straight up information for my questions,and a lot of great ideas.
I looked all over the net for information and couldnt find anything worth reading . Thanks again

[Joe Bradshaw]

I ran across instructions for building a replacement battery pack for the Trend. It uses three rechargeable AA batteries. I still have the instructions around someplace in my shop.











AA

[Ray Bell]

Joe, if you find the instructions, will you please post them.

[Rich Aldrich]

I have had good battery life and filter life. I have had it for two years, change the filters once. It is relative to the amount you use it. I am happy with both the battery and filter life.

[Roger Bell]

I have had mine since 2009 and its fine. I turn only a few sessions per month. Batteries (one and a spare) are fine.

In terms of accessories, I recommend getting some extra face shield overlays. I do NOT recommend getting the ear muffs. They are terrible. In fact if someone wants mine, they can have them for the cost of shipping.

[Ray Bell]

Greg, do you charge at 1.8A with the Smart Charger, or does it really matter?

[Jim Burr]

I'm surprised no one mentioned this about reusing filters; never blow them off while on the on the intake ports...you can damage the impellers. This is also in the manual.