Dust/face Mask/Helmet?

[Benjimin Young]

I am looking for feedback from anyone who has owned a helmet type dust/face mask with the belt worn battery packs to circulate air.

The idea seems smart to me and my lungs would be worth the price if it works, is safe and reasonably comfortable so I will wear it a lot. It would also need to integrate with good hearing protection.

Thoughts?

[Aaron Beaver]

I have the Trend Air sheild and I wear it on certain taks. Does a good job of not fogging up my glasses and blows just enough air. I like it over the one you are talking about because it a one piece unit, battery is in the head, so no extra hoses or anything to deal with, but that is just my opinion since the Trend suited my needs better.

I have never used the other one, this was just my choice when I purchased.

[Tom Jones III]

Try a search over on the turner's forum, you'll find more related threads than you can shake a stick at.

[Bryan Parlor]

I have been looking for something similar. I found this alternative that some people think is better and a lot cheaper.

http://www.hartvilletool.com/product/10834

Bryan

[Ed Garrett]

For the last 9 years I've had great success with a face sheild affixed to a 4" plastic dryer hose. No batteries, no filters, no dust in my eyes/lungs, no chemical exposure, just fresh outside air pumped in via an inline muffin fan. I also made a blast gate switching system and installed a manifold on the output of an old air conditioner so that on particularly hot days I can receive cold air on my head. The setup is so comfortable and I've become so used to not breathing dust that I wear it all the time I'm in my shop. Total cost was approximately $35. I would attach photos, but I've not yet figured out how.

[David G Baker]

For the last 9 years I've had great success with a face sheild affixed to a 4" plastic dryer hose. No batteries, no filters, no dust in my eyes/lungs, no chemical exposure, just fresh outside air pumped in via an inline muffin fan. I also made a blast gate switching system and installed a manifold on the output of an old air conditioner so that on particularly hot days I can receive cold air on my head. The setup is so comfortable and I've become so used to not breathing dust that I wear it all the time I'm in my shop. Total cost was approximately $35. I would attach photos, but I've not yet figured out how.
Ed,
I am trying to visualize how your system works. How do you attach the 4" hose to your face shield? If you can't attach photos, words will serve well. I really would like something like this for wood working as well as welding. I have the face mask, muffin fans and the dryer hose. I keep seeing myself working with dryer hose getting in my way.
David B

[Jim Becker]

I own and use the Trend product, but only when turning. It's worked out fine for me and it's comfortable to wear.

[walter stellwagen]

Me too: since I am on oxygen using a face shield with my unit would be a real help.
How do you seal the face shield etc? words are fine

Walt

[Jim Becker]

Walter, I can't speak for other solutions, but the Trend has a soft cloth-like barrier that you pull around your chin. Do keep in mind that most of these things are not NIOSH approved devices, but more for basic comfort. The positive pressure helps keep out dust, but it's not complete. The other benefit is that the air flow more or less eliminates any fogging. You still should wear normal safety glasses under the face shields, however.

[Ed Garrett]

Ed,
I am trying to visualize how your system works. How do you attach the 4" hose to your face shield? If you can't attach photos, words will serve well. I really would like something like this for wood working as well as welding. I have the face mask, muffin fans and the dryer hose. I keep seeing myself working with dryer hose getting in my way.
David B


David,

Here's an overview of how it's connected and how it stays out of my way:

Air enters the hose through a screened port on an outside wall. The hose travels to a central point in the shop where it hangs from the ceiling. From that point I have about 15 feet of hose trailing behind me. Wherever I work I hang the hose with a bungie cord several feet behind me. The hose approaches me from below and behind. It's first connected by zip tie to the back of the face shield's adjustable head strap. From there the hose climbs over the center of my head and is connected again by a zip tie to a strap on top of my head. Finally, the fresh air enters the face shield above my forhead through large perforations in the plastic structure which suspends the plexiglass. (see pics) Zip ties attach to the hose by capturing the spring steel hose structure. The hood is simply a discarded tank top wrapping the whole head assembly and draping to my shoulders. For safety I pin the dangling bottom of the hood back with a clothespin behind my back. The main trick for keeping the hose out of my way is to avoid doing too many 360 degree turns in one direction... Beyond that, it's so comfortable I forget I'm wearing it. Tell me if you need more detail.

[Ed Garrett]

Ed,
I am trying to visualize how your system works. How do you attach the 4" hose to your face shield? If you can't attach photos, words will serve well. I really would like something like this for wood working as well as welding. I have the face mask, muffin fans and the dryer hose. I keep seeing myself working with dryer hose getting in my way.
David B

Testing 123

[Ed Garrett]

Me too: since I am on oxygen using a face shield with my unit would be a real help.
How do you seal the face shield etc? words are fine

Walt


Walter,

I'm a noob, so forgive my failure to answer your specific question in my previous post. I'm still fumbling with how to respond.

In the pics in my previous post you can see the setup without the hood, but I almost always use the hood. Without the hood the system is not sealed at all, allowing much of the pumped fresh air to escape and some of the room air to be inhaled. With the hood in place you have positive pressure from the system and you breath nothing but the fresh air being pumped in. With my setup the face sheild is sealed only by stretching one of the arm holes of the green tank top around the perimeter of the plexiglass and over some of the adjustment knobs on the sides. Just the tension on the cloth seals it sufficiently around the face shield that most of the escaping and exhaled air generally flows out between the bottom of the hood and my shoulders. If a better seal were needed, one could use duct tape, velcro, or drill a series of small holes around the perimeter of the plexiglass and lace it up like shoes. I would bet you could successfully use a setup like this in conjunction with your oxygen delivery system. Just make sure you have enough positive pressure to expel your exhaled air. I have on rare occasion forgotten to flip on my air delivery pump (the in line muffin fan) and apparently accumulated and started rebreathing carbon dioxide which resulted in sudden coughing. Please tell me if you have additional questions.

[David G Baker]

Ed,
Thank you for posting the details and photos of your set up. I thought that it would have to be something similar to what you described. Your set up has given me a few ideas. I will post the end results after I do some experimenting. I am thinking of more air pressure than can be generated with a muffin fan and using a smaller hose. Your project has started my mind working.
Thanks again.
David B

[Benjimin Young]

Jim, how do you find wearing ear protection when you use the Trend?

[Loren Hedahl]

Ed,

Thanks for your post and your pictures. There are also a couple of commercial units that run 10 to 12 times your cost and up. You are probably aware of them.

I have been considering purchasing a commercial unit mostly for spraying automotive 'clear coat' on pianos.

Your design might just do everything I might need.

Loren

[John Schreiber]

Ed, I've been thinking about a system like that for a while, but I figure there must be a reason why it's impossible. I've got a muffin fan and could put together the rest of the kit. How do you measure the power of that kind of fan to know if it is sufficient?

[Bill Pentz]

I am looking for feedback from anyone who has owned a helmet type dust/face mask with the belt worn battery packs to circulate air.

The idea seems smart to me and my lungs would be worth the price if it works, is safe and reasonably comfortable so I will wear it a lot. It would also need to integrate with good hearing protection.

Thoughts?

Benjimin,

Lots of good advice and some good ideas as well. I bought a Trend Air Shield and like it so much I added the same unit for my welding helmet. 3M took over that firm and getting parts for my older units became a pain. I bought a used 3M system that uses a clean compressor and filter system with extended hose off eBay to see if I could adpat that setup to mine. I could but was more work than it was worth, so I upgraded to a Triton recently on sale from Amazon for $198 and it is nearly as nice as my Trend.

Although these do a pretty good job of protecting us while on, don't forget that the fine invisible dust can linger for years and get launched airborne every time we use our tools, dust collection, and air compressors. That means if you want protection, the mask pretty much has to be on when you are in your shop. Frankly, I don't like that as none are that comfortable, plus what about the dust we miss getting into our homes, cars, etc.?

bill

[Ed Garrett]

Loren, David, Walter:

I'm most humbled by your interest in my fresh air delivery system. If you're likely to build your own, here's some more info and some photos in which you can see the construction a bit better.

All the attachments between the dryer hose and face mask structure are made with mid-sized zip ties. I'm not sure what the wattage or cfm of the in-line muffin fan was. I couldnt' look because it's buried in tape, caulk, and foam insulation. It's approximately 5" square which large for a muffin fan, but it doesn't impress me as particularly powerful. It came from an HP 3000 Series 48 mainframe computer from the 1980's. I did not engineer the system, just tinkered until it worked. I'm sure the muffin fan moves only a fraction of the air delivered by a typical bathroom ventilation fan, which is what I might have tried next. But the muffin fan is plenty powerful for this purpose with the quantity of hose I'm using (approximately 10 feet of 4" flexible aluminum duct and 15 feet of 4" flexible plastic dryer hose).

You'll see there are quite a few holes in the structure of the face mask for letting the air in above the forhead. You can also see that the hood is pretty low tech, but it's essential and it works well. If the discarded tank top wouldn't have worked, I would have tried sewing something for a custom fit. One benefit of the tank top is that it can easily be unclipped and washed.

Use a face mask which adjusts by a twisting knob in the back. This allows you quickly adjust for size after putting something over your head when your fresh air is cold. I've also found that if you prefer not getting little static shocks on top of your head on dry days, you should take care to keep the structural wire in the hose isolated from the top of your head, particularly if you have bare skin on the top of your head like me.

Lastly, this system works well for me because I have a small shop with an open space in the middle and stationary tools and benchtops around the perimeter. The hose descends from the center of the ceiling over the open area and therefore doesn't easily get tangled or knotted. I'm currently considering building a larger shop. For that larger floor space I'm thinking of either mounting the hose on a swiveling boom or having a branching system with multiple headsets, which would be something like the inverse of DC ducting.

I realize this system looks burdensome, but once you try it on and breath that fresh air, you won't go back to breathing airborne dust. Good luck with your setup. Look me up if you have additional questions.

[Ed Garrett]

Here's three more photos I intended to attach:

[Ed Garrett]

Here's three more photos I intended to attach:

Sincerely,
Ed Garrett
Tallahassee

[Dennis Hatchett]

Loren, David, Walter:
I'm most humbled by your interest in my fresh air delivery system. If you're likely to build your own, here's some more info and some photos in which you can see the construction a bit better.

Ed, I gotta admit that when I first heard you describe your system I thought, "naaahhh, he doesn't really do that." I stand corrected and in awe of your ingenuity.

It kind of reminds me of the Co2 scrubbers the astronauts had to build in the Apollo 11 movie. They didn't have to wear them on their heads but they had to make due with what they had. If your day job doesn't work out you can always send a resume with photos to NASA. I'm impressed.:)

[John Schreiber]

Ed, I'm gonna try it. It should save me a couple of hundred dollars. I just hope that it doesn't hurt too bad when I forget I'm wearing it and I walk away from the bench.:o

[Benjimin Young]

Benjimin,

Lots of good advice and some good ideas as well. I bought a Trend Air Shield and like it so much I added the same unit for my welding helmet. 3M took over that firm and getting parts for my older units became a pain. I bought a used 3M system that uses a clean compressor and filter system with extended hose off eBay to see if I could adpat that setup to mine. I could but was more work than it was worth, so I upgraded to a Triton recently on sale from Amazon for $198 and it is nearly as nice as my Trend.

Although these do a pretty good job of protecting us while on, don't forget that the fine invisible dust can linger for years and get launched airborne every time we use our tools, dust collection, and air compressors. That means if you want protection, the mask pretty much has to be on when you are in your shop. Frankly, I don't like that as none are that comfortable, plus what about the dust we miss getting into our homes, cars, etc.?

bill

Thanks Bill, it seems that 3M buys anything good and then the price usually goes up. I'll check out the Triton. Can you wear ear protection with yours
on?

[walter stellwagen]

Thanks a lot Ed Since my Oxygen is portable and goes to my nose my solution won't be the same as yours but my mind is buzzing with approaches now.
Also like Bill P i do most of my work outside.

Walt