Triton Powered Respirator - 3 hours and counting...

[Bob Borzelleri]

I have been using the Triton for cutting paneling and trim. Panels are being cut with a Dewalt cordless trim saw (no dust control) with electrical outlets being cut with the dreaded <G>Rotozip and a Fein Multimaster. I seem to go back and forth between the two tools with nothing remotely close to reason to relate to. Maybe it's whatever I have closest to me when I need to cut. The trim is being cut with a chop saw with nada dust control other than the bag that came hung on the back. In short, none of the tools I have been using are dust friendly (actually, they are quite friendly to the dust, just not friendly to my breathing).

I have had a question or two about why I am using a powered respirator when I have a new Grizzly cyclone in the shop. The short answer is that the Grizzly is waiting for me to finish the walls before I finish the ductwork to hook tools up. The longer (actually not much longer) answer is that I will still use the Triton after the Grizzly is hooked up because super fines is what I am concerned about and no amount of air movement capability is going to capture all the superfine stuff that will still make it into the ambient air in the shop.

As for the Triton, I have been using it in 90+ degree heat and, while I would not consider the air within the mask to be "refreshing", it is clean and adequate for the work I have been doing. Were I cutting panels while jogging in place, it might be another matter, but aside from not being able to multitask woodworking and aerobics, the Triton does quite nicely.

Moving from task to task when one task requires the mask and another does not is an interesting exercise in forward thinking. There are times (especially when the ambient temperature is above 90 degrees), when it would be easier, though hotter, to leave the mask and belt on for work that does not require dust protection, particularly when you know that the next step will require it. For some of those instances, and particularly when it is really hot, I have taken to removing the rig and placing it near the site of the next dust protection needing task. I can say that the Triton has not caused me to sweat with the rig on. I think I can chalk that up to adequate air movement.

All in all, I am quite satisfied. My nose and sinuses are happier than they have been in quite some time and I can thank the Triton for that.

...Bob

[Mike Cutler]

Bob. I have some questions for you concerning the Triton repirator.

We currently use the Trend airshields in potentially radiological airborne particulate areas (Nuclear Power Plant). One problem is that a hardhat cannot be effectively worn with a Trend Airshield. Is the hardhat the comes with that Triton ANSI approved, or do you think that the hardhat can be substituted with an ANSI approved hardhat to meet OSHA requirements? Also is there a NIOSH protection factor rating associated with that respirator type?

I know that this is not exactly wood working,but we are trying to protect peoples health. ;)

[Tyler Howell]

Good answer Bob.

Many schools of thought suggest that a DC actually puts more super fines in the air.
PS. What is the pix in your Avatar?? You've had me scratchin for a while.:confused:

[Bill Esposito]

Bob. I have some questions for you concerning the Triton repirator.

We currently use the Trend airshields in potentially radiological airborne particulate areas (Nuclear Power Plant). One problem is that a hardhat cannot be effectively worn with a Trend Airshield. Is the hardhat the comes with that Triton ANSI approved, or do you think that the hardhat can be substituted with an ANSI approved hardhat to meet OSHA requirements? Also is there a NIOSH protection factor rating associated with that respirator type?

I know that this is not exactly wood working,but we are trying to protect peoples health. ;)
Mike,

Here's a couple of excerpts from my review of the Triton respirator (http://cerealport.net/woodworking/woodarticles.html) which may give you a starting point for cross referencing. HTH, Bill.

"The head piece includes an AS/NZS 1801 approved hard hat with integrated AS/NZS 1270 approved ear protectors and an AS/NZS 1337 approved face shield. The head piece also includes an integrated shroud to keep the dust out and the ducting for the filtered air. The waist belt mounted filter unit contains two AS/NZS 1716 approved dust filters and NiCad batteries."

and

"The filter unit actually contains 3 filters. Two internal filters which are rated to the Australian standard as P2 (Equivalent to the American N95 class) particulate filters which allow 1% of the particles below 1 micron to pass and will remove 95% particulates down to 0.3 micron. Triton also sells an additional filter called CIGWELD. This filter is used during welding operations."

[Bob Borzelleri]

Mike...

Bill's answer is about as good as I could offer. I did spend some time researching the interaction or relationship between ANSI/NIOSH and the down under standards and came up short. Having been a former gov't regulator, I would doubt that there is reciprocity for this sort of standard even if the subject standard is actually more protective than the US standard. I have some friends at Cal/OSHA and would be happy to delve into this a bit further next week, if that would help.

...Bob

[Mike Cutler]

Thanks Bill and Bob. We are always on the lookout for better repiratory aids at work. The traditional Full face, negative pressure masks really "sucked", literally.
A positve pressure respirator is much easier to work in, even if it doesn't cool the incoming air. So far the Trend's have held up pretty well to the abuse, but I really like that hood feature on the Triton.

[Charles McKinley]

Hi Bob,

Please do follow up with your friend at Cal/OSHA. I am haevily leaning toward an Airstream 200 because I do not know how the Trend compares to the US standards. The $350 price difference will mean little if I have to replace the trend because I find it is not working well enough for me or have to upgrade the filters right away.

Running the weedeater and mowing the last couple of times has nearly put me in the hospital. (allergies)

Thanks,

[Bob Borzelleri]

Good answer Bob.

Many schools of thought suggest that a DC actually puts more super fines in the air.
PS. What is the pix in your Avatar?? You've had me scratchin for a while.:confused:

Tyler...

My thought is that the primary way a DC would put more fines into the air is through faulty seals along the air flow path. I guess that the filter exhaust is another source of super fines, but the better ones seem to be up to the task of collecting and holding the vast majority of what they should be collecting.

As for the system seals, I know that I have seen more than a few instances where an apparently well designed system has been plagued by tell tale fine dust hanging on around and near various joints in the ductwork. The irony seems to be that if the seal "almost" works, it is likely to let only the smallest stuff escape and that is the stuff the system should be protecting us from in the first place.

The avatar is a side shot of my old Dustfoe 66 mask. They have been out of production for several years, but I have always liked the feel and performance of the 66.

...Bob

[Steve Rowe]

Bob. I have some questions for you concerning the Triton repirator.

We currently use the Trend airshields in potentially radiological airborne particulate areas (Nuclear Power Plant). One problem is that a hardhat cannot be effectively worn with a Trend Airshield. Is the hardhat the comes with that Triton ANSI approved, or do you think that the hardhat can be substituted with an ANSI approved hardhat to meet OSHA requirements? Also is there a NIOSH protection factor rating associated with that respirator type?

I know that this is not exactly wood working,but we are trying to protect peoples health. ;)
Mike - I also work at a nuclear plant and have the Triton respirator for home shop use. I don't think the Triton would be a good application for this as the fabric hood could spread contamination to the face and neck during removal. Perhaps if the face seal on the Triton was similar to that of the Trend, this potential problem could be resolved.
Steve

[Bob Borzelleri]

Hi Bob,

Please do follow up with your friend at Cal/OSHA. I am haevily leaning toward an Airstream 200 because I do not know how the Trend compares to the US standards. The $350 price difference will mean little if I have to replace the trend because I find it is not working well enough for me or have to upgrade the filters right away.

Running the weedeater and mowing the last couple of times has nearly put me in the hospital. (allergies)

Thanks,

Charles...

Will do. Might take a few days to track him down.

I know that everyone's tolerance to allergens is different, but I used the Triton while knocking down a ton of grasses, sweat peas, fox tails and the like and had no adverse respiratory effect. Without the mask, I would have lasted about 5 minutes before going into fairly serious wheezing with running eyes and the like. Even with a paper mask, I could only hope for about 10-20 minutes before I had to hang it up. The only thing that limited my cutting while wearing the Triton was that I ran out of grass.

...Bob