Powered Dust Hoods

[Dale Critchlow]

I would be interested in hearing from people who have experience with battery powered dust hoods.

I have a cyclone with 0.2micron filters, an exhaust fan and an air filtration system, but I am starting to react to fine wood dust. Therefore I am considering buying a powered dust hood.

Wood Magazine reviewed the Aircap 2, the Trend Airshield and the Triton Powered Respirator in the May issue.


Dale

[Jim Tobias]

Dale,
After trying all of the strap on filtered types for a couple of years, I finally broke down and bought a powered air hood system about 6 months ago. I was also starting to have reactions(allergies) to the wood dust and decided(with encouragement from my wife) that my lungs could not be replaced and that the price tag was cheap when you looked at it that way. I bought the 3M "Breathe Easy" system. It is a positive air flow system. The helmet is comfortable, the battery does not run out and I can spend an entire Saturday in the shop and never smell the first hint of wood dust. I would highly recommend it from my experience. You can check it out at the site below.
http://www.airwareamerica.com/prod04.htm

Jim

[Terry Quiram]

Dale

I have been using the 3M Airmate for over 10 years. The battery doesn't last as long as when new, I can only go about 6 hours now. I have replaced the filter twice. The Hepa filter is pretty easy to clean. I use it religiously. I have both hardhat and soft Tyvek hood. There are 2 kinds of Tyvek. I do not use the version that drapes the shoulders. The system is expensive but I have more than gotten my moneys worth.

Terry

[Dale Critchlow]

Jim: I looked at the 3M page your referenced. There are a number of possiblities. Which do you use?

Thanks,

Dale

[Jim Tobias]

Dale,
I bought the following items below. I also bought a set of the cartridges to protect against vapors, etc. When I bought mine, I belive they had a price that was a few(not a lot) dollars cheaper if bought as a umit.

Hope this helps. I have had nothing but good service from mine.

Turbo Unit, Battery Pack, Airflow Indicator, 3 filters & Smart Charger 520-15-00SC $629.00
Breathe Easy 1 Hardhat & 526-01-13R01 Breathing Tube Assembly 520-01-83HP 329.00


Jim

[Dale Critchlow]

Jim, Terry: Thanks for the info. They do get expensive don't they.

There are a number of newer respirators on the market a quite a bit lower cost, in the order of $300. I read somewhere that some units were developed specifically for woodworking. I wonder if they really work well.

Do you have any insight into the effectiveness of these units?

Dale

[Jim Tobias]

Dale,
I don't have any info on these newer units. Once I sunk the $'s into mine, I quit looking. Partly because I felt like I had a good unit and partly because I did not want to look backward and wish I had waited for something less expensive.
Anyway, no regrets here.
Jim