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Thread: Considering air filtration for my 18'x38' work shop. Any opinions???

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
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    Nebraska
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    Alan, can you recommend an affordable Dylos particle meter? My shop won't be functional with the air cleaners till after the first of the year, but it would be good to measure the performance of the Wen units. I like the idea of building an inlet box with multiple filters to increase the performance. It also allows me to use a standard off the shelf filter size.

  2. #17
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    Jan 2010
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    Quote Originally Posted by Justin Pfenning View Post
    Alan, can you recommend an affordable Dylos particle meter? My shop won't be functional with the air cleaners till after the first of the year, but it would be good to measure the performance of the Wen units. I like the idea of building an inlet box with multiple filters to increase the performance. It also allows me to use a standard off the shelf filter size.
    Justin:

    The one that most woodworkers use is the Dylos 1100Pro model. It's the model setup to measure 0.5 micron particles at its lowest setting. A few years ago there was a group buy here, that many of us used to grab those meters. Not cheap. Worth every cent, for no other reason that you know when you can turn off the air cleaners to save electricity, and stop that loud noise. And three of them running won't be quiet.

    I would definitely avoid those cheap Chinese made meters that you find on Amazon or eBay. Really not terribly helpful for us in woodworking. I have one in the shop for kicks, really not useful to me at all.

    I'm hoping that this discussion is helping you with your new workshop. Buying 3 air cleaners is great (I have a similar sized shop, FWIW). What I find the Dylos indispensible for is that I always wear my 3M respirator until the small particle count gets down to the ambient level of the shop (500 particles in my case. YMMV.) That way, I'm never breathing air worse than outside. Good chance your air is cleaner than mine, though I've never measured it in Nebraska. I live right on the Gulf of Mexico, so if the wind is coming from the west, there's really no polluting entities within hundreds of miles of me. But still 500 particles is that baseline.

    I had a friend buy a Dylos who lived in Reno, Nevada during the forest fires. He saw the readings (the government AQI readings were online also) and was stunned how bad the air was that he, his wife, and his kids were breathing. They moved to Florida.
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  3. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
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    Cincinnati, Ohio
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    To be honest I've got a DIY model using a used blower from a furnace, which is mounted in the ceiling. There's no drywall in my garage, so I'd just put a row of them in the joists. I've got a ton of room up there I could easy put a dozen if I wanted.

    I think you're missing the point of the ShopHacks article. If you look at this list from the same article you'll see that he uses a number of different filters, with varying results. The 3M MERV 13 filter + 20" box fan out performs the WEN and the Powermatic professional air cleaners.

    Systems Tested and Time Required To Filter The Air (worst to best)
    #13 5+ hours. BASELINE - no dust collection and no air filtration.
    #12 2+ hours. 20" box fan with a 20x20x2 off brand "MERV 12" filter (I personally NEVER trust a filter other than 3M or Honeywell unless I could test it using a laser particle counter). I suggest that you use an air quality meter to evaluate the performance of any filter system you use in your workshop and decide for yourself.
    #11 2+ hours. WEN 3410 Air Filtration System (squirrel cage blower, bag filter, prefilter)
    #10 65 minutes. 20" box fan with 3M MERV 6 and MERV 11 filters on the inlet
    #9 61 minutes. Honeywell 50250-S True HEPA Air Purifier (squirrel cage blower, HEPA filter, mesh prefilter)
    #8 60 minutes. Shop Hacks Prototype with 4@2-year-old dust caked filters - (2000 CFM axial fan with four 24x24x1 Honeywell FPR10 - MERV 13- filters)
    #7 41 minutes. Powermatic PM1200 air filtration system (squirrel cage blower, bag filter, prefilter)
    #6 35 minutes. 20" box fan drawing fresh air in window and 20" box fan blowing fresh air out the door (no filters)
    #5 33 minutes. 20" box fan with 3M 20x25x1 off brand "MERV 13" filter
    ​#4 29 minutes. Shop Hacks downdraft table - (1200 CFM squirrel cage blower with two 20x25x1 and one 20x25x4 inlet filters and one 14x24x1 outlet filter. Inlet filters: 1" MERV 6?, 4" MERV 12, 1" MERV 13, 1" MERV 8?)
    #3 27 minutes. 2000 CFM axial fan with two sets of 3M MERV 6 and MERV 11 filters
    #2 15 minutes. Shop Hacks Ultimate DIY Air Filtration System - 2000 (CFM axial fan and five 20x25x1 MERV 13 filters)
    #1 0 minutes. Shop Hacks dust collection system, no air filtration

    Quote Originally Posted by Alan Lightstone View Post
    I would definitely avoid those cheap Chinese made meters that you find on Amazon or eBay. Really not terribly helpful for us in woodworking. I have one in the shop for kicks, really not useful to me at all.
    How so? I got one off Ebay, and it appears to correctly report down to PM 2.5, same as the Dylos. I don't have another one to check it against (sorta defeats the purpose of buying the cheap one is it inaccurate in some way? It definitely seems to respond to more or less dusty conditions in the shop.

  4. #19
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    Oct 2005
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    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew More View Post
    How so? I got one off Ebay, and it appears to correctly report down to PM 2.5, same as the Dylos. I don't have another one to check it against (sorta defeats the purpose of buying the cheap one is it inaccurate in some way? It definitely seems to respond to more or less dusty conditions in the shop.
    I would ask the same question as my experience with the Chinese unit is the same as a lot of others who use it routinely in Oz after the readings of several units was verified by comparison to known accurate instruments.

    Back to the topic and question that started this thread, air filters can be regarded as proof of failure of the primary dust collection system because the dsut has not been captured at the machine.
    Last edited by Chris Parks; 12-01-2022 at 7:06 PM.
    Chris

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  5. #20
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    Feb 2019
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    Cincinnati, Ohio
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Parks View Post
    I would ask the same question as my experience with the Chinese unit is the same as a lot of others who use it routinely in Oz after the readings of several units was verified by comparison to known accurate instruments.
    That's reassuring thank you. I knew mine reacted, but it was unclear how effectively without buying the more expensive meter. I _totally_ expect the more expensive to produce a more objectively accurate reading, but I don't think it's necessary for this purpose.

    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Parks View Post
    Back to the topic and question that started this thread, air filters can be regarded as proof of failure of the primary dust collection system because the dsut has not been captured at the machine.
    While this is not untrue, I honestly do not know how to overcome some of the basic physics of the situation. The miter saw and table saw both have blades moving in excess of 100 MPH, while a dust collector might hit 40 mph. I just don't see how that situation can be easily fixed, along with the dust that is thrown all over the place with doing open cuts with either tool. (Closed cuts usually move the dust directly towards the collector).

    I would agree with you with regards to sanding, which is a far more easier situation to deal with from a capture perspective, and further I believe the dust produced by sanding the most harmful.

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Nebraska
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    94
    It appears all the shop built units use various types of box fans, and all the purchased units seem to use squirrel cage fans. Any particular reason for that? Can a purchased unit perform at a higher level with a modification to the inlet filter? I was thinking of making a triangle shaped box to allow 2-4 filters with higher MERV ratings on the inlet side. With the upgraded inlet filters, maybe the inner filter wouldn't be needed anymore resulting in higher cfm.

  7. #22
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    Feb 2019
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    Quote Originally Posted by Justin Pfenning View Post
    It appears all the shop built units use various types of box fans, and all the purchased units seem to use squirrel cage fans. Any particular reason for that?
    It would appear that the squirrel fans are better at producing pressure than the axial fans.
    https://www.pelonistechnologies.com/...ntrifugal-fans

    I've got my setup with squirrel fans because I've got a buddy who's an HVAC tech, but you can usually get them second hand for $25-50, at which point I don't believe there are any material differences between the DIY and commercial shop air filters.

  8. #23
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    Jun 2003
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    Wenatchee, WA
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    445
    Interesting thread. Years ago when I got my Delta 50-760 dust collector off of CL, the seller threw in a Delta air cleaner as well. Never used it (previous shop had super low ceilings, and no good place to put it otherwise), and eventually sold it. Now, in the current shop I have plenty of head room and found myself really wanting something to catch some of the finer airborne dust that escapes the miter saw, router, edge cuts on the TS, etc. that my DC and shopvac don't always catch.

    Earlier this year I started looking at various air cleaners, and debated on whether to get something cheap, like the Wen, or something nicer. Any of them would have to be shipped. Somewhat as a lark, I started googling box fan air cleaners, and boy was that interesting. Apparently with COVID quarantines and some of the big fires out west last year, regular people started spazzing out (technical term) about indoor air quality. I was laughing my butt off at the number of videos I found showing how to build a cube of furnace filters, one 20" box fan, and some duct tape.

    The really funny part? Apparently folks thought this was something new, and now this design has a name: the Corsi-Rosenthal box.

  9. #24
    I built mine. It has an inner bag filter, with a pleated outer filter. On ceiling, near unit, I have a piece of string hanging down. By looking at string, I can tell when outer filter needs cleaning. Every other year, remove bag filter and using shop vacuum clean inside of it.. My unit is hung on ceiling along long rear wall. It's near where my ventless propane heater is. I mounted a thermostat on ceiling above heater so when heater comes on, so does air filtration unit, circulating heat around the shop.

  10. #25
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Oskaloosa Iowa
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    270
    Good information here. Thanks

    I am wanting to upgrade my shop air cleaner setup soon. Currently using a box fan Corsi Rothenthal (sp) filter. Just changed filters so I'm good for a few months.
    Considering the following for upgrade

    Bill Pent'z inline blower and wynn filter
    Jay's custom creations squirrel fan rolling filter
    Wood smith magazine also had plans for a inline blower / filter cleaner. (april/may 22) issue I think

    My shop dimensions
    14x30 basement shop
    7' ceilings
    hybrid cyclone DC with fixed 5" ducting
    Ceiling space is limited so I'm thinking about a rolling filter setup.

    Any advice on upgrading my air cleaner setup ?

    Thanks

  11. #26
    I built this unit some 15 years ago. Don’t recall where I got the plans/materials list, but it was pretty easy to source the components.

    It uses a pleated bag and pre-filter.

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