supplied air resperator

[tom martin]

Hi all,
I have a triton supplied air respirator. Its several years old and it doesn't seem to be pushing the same volume of air. The batteries are costly as are the filters (if they are still available). I was thinking that I could pick up a battery operated shop vac (HD has one with bat and charger for $99) and just use the blower on it as a new air supply. My question is has anyone tried this? and also does anyone see any safety issues
Thanks,
Tom

[Grant Wilkinson]

I've not seen any specs on battery operated vacs, but off the top of my head, I would say that you would get much to high a pressure, plus it's likely noisy. I use a fan made to boost volume in furnace ducts. It draws air through a hepa furnace filter, then outputs to a hose connected to my old 3M breathe easy. I'm very happy with it, as it takes the weight of the battery and the blower off my waist. It may be worth a try in your situation, too.

[tom martin]

Thanks Grant. Thats a great idea. It should be less expensive than another dedicated shop vac. I'll search for a hepa filtered duct booster. What cfm are you using?

[Richard Coers]

When I ran a professional business, I made a supplied air mask to be used in the spray booth. It takes very little air volume to pressurize a mask. I used a very small squirrel cage blower in the office at the shop. Ran 2" PVC pipe to the booth, then stepped down to a flexible vac hose to a clip on my belt, and then a CPAP ("sleep machine") whip up to a custom elbow I made for a standard 3M cartridge mask. The custom elbow was fit to a hollowed out cartridge with wood spacers. A Rube Goldberg for sure, but super cheap and incredibly quiet. Since we work in a pretty small envelope at the lathe, I don't consider battery power to be required.

[Grant Wilkinson]

Sorry for the delay, Tom. Mine is 220 cfm. Keep in mind, though, that is the rating in a 4" duct. I have it adapted down to a 1 1/2" hose going into my helmet, so I'm sure that I'm not seeing anywhere near that. The one that I got was pricey, but it is guaranteed for 10 years and supplied from near my home in Canada. Here is the website, if you want to look at it.

http://vortexpowerfans.com/vtx-400

[tom martin]

Thanks Grant, Ill check it out

[Tom Bender]

Interesting, can a CPAP be adapted to provide respiratory protection?

[Steve Kormeluk]

Interesting, can a CPAP be adapted to provide respiratory protection?

That would be a terrific option - especially for those of us who may have had a CPAP machine replaced and held onto previous machine.:D
But would have to be sure air intake on the CPAP has appropriate filtering.

[Mike Nathal]

A few years ago Ken Rizza wrote an article about converting a CPAP machine into a respirator in American Woodturner

[Steve Kormeluk]

Thanks, Mike! I found Ken's article in the June 2013 issue (vol 28, issue 3).
Still have my old CPAP that was replaced by insurance, but still work perfectly:)