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Thread: Shop Air Filtration Units?

  1. #1

    Shop Air Filtration Units?

    After installing a new DC system I noticed a huge improvement in DC noise (unit is now essentially outside) but now notice the noise created by my 2 air filtration units. The worst offender is an older one made by Total Shop. It's not much more than a metal enclosure with filters on both ends and a single speed motor driving a squirrel cage fan. Are there quieter units made? As an alternative to buying something new is there a way to quiet the existing unit?

  2. #2
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    You could insulate it. Get some 1-2" ridgid insulation and tape it onto the enclosure. Try taping it first to see how it works for you. If it quiets it down you could then cut the tape and glue it on the body of the unit. Is the unit hard piped or simply hung and an open blower into the shop. If it is piped wrapping the outlet piping will help as well.

  3. #3
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    A quality motor is pretty quiet. The noise should be from airflow. Even if it is both Jack's idea is great, inexpensive and easy to do. I made some window insulating baffles out of rigid foam insulation using packing tape as a hinge. Used them for over 10 years before changing shops. I love it when a simple elegant solution also proves to have a long life.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  4. #4
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    Depending on the noise (a hiss, or screech, or rattle), it could have several different causes.

    I would open it up and check the impeller fit on the motor shaft, and the motor mount itself. Make sure all screw(s) and bolts are tight. Spin the impeller by hand. Make sure it is not rubbing against anything. The impeller may also be unbalanced, which creates vibration that moves the motor and enclosure, making noise.

    -- Andy - Arlington TX

  5. #5
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    Airflow noise. Definitely could be that. I was visiting a manuf of gas power burners about 30 yrs ago and we were in their lab. They had a residential Carlin power gas burner mounted on one of the companies boilers. He turned in on and it just screamed. You could not live with it. He said, “watch this and he put a 12” piece of 4” pipe on the inlet side of the burner. Suddenly you could barely hear it run. Incredible difference. Maybe a plenum to smooth things out would help.

  6. #6
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    Don't you run the air filter while the shop machines are running? That seems like it would be louder.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Jones 5443 View Post
    Don't you run the air filter while the shop machines are running? That seems like it would be louder.

    True, but the air filter runs pretty much all the time while the machines only intermittently. It's purpose is to clear out the fine dust particles. The air filter that bothers me is almost overhead of my workbench.

  8. #8
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    I would consider moving it farther away from where you work, especially from a bench where you may not be using power tools, and is otherwise quiet. Sound intensity drops off with the square of the distance, so if you move the air cleaner three times as far away from your ears, the sound drops to only one ninth (11%) of its original intensity.

    Air cleaners depend on multiple passes of the dust laden air through them. As such, they need to "turn over" the volume of air in the workspace multiple times.

    In contrast, a dust collector gets only one pass at the dust laden air coming from a machine, so it needs a higher efficiency filter, and a lot of suction volume to ensure it captures as much of that dust laden air at the source.

    The air cleaner's purpose is to get the dust laden air that did not get sucked into the dust collector. This is often very fine dust that wisps away on the slightest breeze. The air cleaner's location in the shop near dust sources is less critical. It is helpful if it's intake and output patterns set up an air circulation pattern throughout the shop. If necessary, multiple air cleaners can be arranged to improve the circulation, ensuring that most/all of the shop air gets passed through them multiple times in a reasonable amount of time.

    -- Andy - Arlington TX

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